A report in Business 2.0 discusses the current trend where young people are fast abandoning emailing for text messaging over mobiles. It says though it is a welcome sign for mobile operators, this can have serious implications in the coming future for Web portals and online marketers. After all, kids influence a lot in what sells these days, both in consumer durable and non-durables.
This means that if the trend continues, eventually the Web portals and online operators who pull a lot of Web-based email users to their portals where they either display ads or peddle services and products.
This is something that seems hasn’t escaped the notice of some big Internet companies like Yahoo! or MSN or Rediff for their IMs (where you need an user ID usually created by opening an email account with them) now has the option of send and receive text.
Typically you can send up to three free text messages to a mobile device and only after you receive a reply through the other end using the mobile, you can further the conversation or for that matter send further messages.
The article concludes this way;
Marketers could switch from Web ads to text-message ads. But carriers and government regulators restrict what kind of ads are allowed. And texts are limited in length, making it hard to craft campaigns. That adds up to a tough message for advertisers hoping to reach teens.
Ok, I agree, but then with all kinds of Web services being integrated with mobile services (that include emails on a priority), one can safely say that the Web portals who are already moving towards the mobile direction are not going away anytime soon.
Ok, emails might have diminished in its stature as the communication medium of choice between teenagers, but then it is not going away anytime soon. You still need it for lengthy communications. As long as it is used by grownups, the corporate sector, online marketers will pull through.
Kids don’t need Viagra, neither they need enterprise software or most of the things advertised in text ads. Besides, texting doesn’t mean that kids are moving away from the Internet. In fact, more kids are turning to blogging, participating in communities etc.
Trust me, there every kid texting today will have at least two email IDs and this is going to remain that way for many, many years to come. Of course, the future of the home desktop is something that I am not sure about.
