Is technology forcing communications change?

OK, we can say tech is forcing a comms change, or we can say that tech’s allowing us to become lazier, more dependent on it, and into the bargain it’s de-personalising the communications process even further. Maybe technology isn’t forcing comms change, but simply aiding and abetting our sloppy use of it.

 

As with you I’m sure, I received what seemed like a gazillion ‘bulk’ SMSs over the festive and New Year holiday period. I didn’t know I was in quite as many mobile phone directories, but I can’t say the messages were appreciated. In my social etiquette book, getting a ‘bulk’ (impersonal) SMS categorises you somewhat, if not totally. In other words, you don’t count enough to get a really personalised message, but ‘we’d better send you one anyhow’. I’d frankly rather not receive it. As soon as the first few words indicates it’s a bulkie, I delete it without bothering to read the rest. Last year I took my god-daughter to task for having the sloppiness, effrontery or lack of thought to send me a bulk SMS. This year she sent me one as a joke and then called.

 

Not in my wildest dreams would I send a bulk message to anyone I cared about unless it were something urgent and several people needed the same info, pronto! I guess composing a message and then just selecting ‘all’ in your phone or computer address book is seductively easy. But give a little thought to what the real message is, that you’re sending. In my opinion it’s not an appropriate one.

One other aspect that folks might want to consider when sending such messages is that it really helps to put your name at the end of it. Mailing a bulk SMS when you might not be in the phone directory of the recipient is kinda dumb. Because it’ll show a number but we’ll never know that the time-wasting message was from you. But hey – there is an upside. The mobile phone networks want to thank you sincerely for generating vast tranches of revenue for them! ;-)

Comments

[Roy Blumenthal]

Heya Clive...

Happy New Year to you!

I have to admit to being guilty of the bulk sms thing.

I recently terminated my old Vodacom number, which was ten years old, and which hundreds of people still have.

I basically decided that to reach the 400 or so people on my phone, and to be certain I didn't leave anyone out, I would HAVE TO resort to the bulk sms.

I'm pretty transparent about such things, so at least the person receiving it doesn't think I'm trying to disguise the fact.

So it said something like, 'Roy Blumenthal here with my new number. Please save it, as the old one is now ex.' And so on.

The first time I tried to send the number change, I tried sending it to my entire phone book at once. But the phone couldn't cope, and crashed some of the way through. I'm told by some of the recipients that they got the message around six times! Ouch!!!! I suspect I paid for all repeats.

So I had to resort to being ultra-disciplined about things and redoing the entire send one letter of the alphabet at a time.

Even with the best will in the world, I would have struggled to do that one WITHOUT the bulk sms feature. Cos one slight straying of concentration, and someone definitely would have been left off the list.

Just for the record... Roy Blumenthal' OLD number WAS 082 659 3165. My NEW number IS 074 104 6386.

But you know that already. I'm just thinking that maybe it's a good idea to have the old number and the new number in the same place so that search engines can give people a clue where to get hold of me. Hehehehe.

Happy New Year, again!

Blue skies
love
Roy

[Clive Simpkins]

Roy, bra'- that 'new number' dissemination would fall into the absolutely permitted category, in moi opinion - in fact I received it. It's the pseudo-personalised festive wishes that get my goat!