Texting or SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Text messaging is a very popular communication tool. I am not someone who likes to have conversation over text, and yet I can still send anywhere between 450 and 800 text messages a month. I find it to be an efficient way to learn someone’s eta, to make plans to meet up at a later date, or even decide what to have for dinner. When asking my teenage brother, text messaging is the only way he communicates with his friends if they’re not face to face.

Today, texting is starting to gain popularity with the business community and marketing as well. However, just as with instant messaging, there are some pros and cons to consider before communicating through text in the workplace.

Pros: 

• Allows one to be accessible from anywhere
• Can be a silent form of communication, preventing the distraction of others
• A single message can be sent to multiple contacts at once, beneficial for news alerts, and marketing
• Available at a low cost
• Quick delivery and response, eliminating phone tag
• Almost every text message received is read by the receiver, unlike emails which are often overlooked or unopened

Cons:

• Can be a distraction, used for social reasons rather than business; linked to traffic accidents and inappropriate uses, example: sexting
• Security risks, disclosure, can be unable to save messages to meet legal requirements
• Minimal characters allowed in a message, can result in the use to text message slang which is not considered professional
•  Difficult to convey and apply appropriate tone to a message

All things considered, SMS is gaining ground in today’s business community.

References:

Guffey, M.E., Loewy, D., Rhodes, K., Rogin, P. (2010/2013) Business Communication Process and Product. United States of America. Nelson

Jain, A. (n.d.) SMS marketing – advantages and disadvantages. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.atuljain7.com/sms-marketing-%E2%80%93-advantages-and-disadvantages

Texting in the workplace and it’s pros and cons. (2013, April 24) [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://tekgabber.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/texting-in-the-workplace-and-its-pros-and-cons/

Top 10 benefits of SMS marketing. (n.d.) [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.simplycast.com/blog/top-10-benefits-sms-marketing/

Instant Messaging

When I was in high school, instant messaging was the thing to do. It was just before everyone had their own cell phone, and we all lived relatively far away from each other (we were bussed in) so our parents didn’t want us calling long distance. We would spend all day with our friends at school, then go home, and spend hours talking to each other online.

These days instant messaging is becoming more popular within business. Thanks to mobile devices, you no longer need to be seated at your computer in order to send and receive instant messages.

Before a business decides to use instant messaging, there are some pros and cons to consider.

The pros include:

• Immediate communication and information sharing, resulting in quicker decision making

• Services are free if you sign up for an email account

• Multiple people can join a conversation

• Can have a real time conversation no matter where participants are located

• “presence functionality” or “presence awareness” allows you to see who is available for conversation, instead of hunting for someone who is not currently able to reply

Cons of Instant Messaging can include:

• Security risks including spam, and viruses

• Could result in legal issues if misused by an employee

•  Sometimes a distraction, used as a social tool, and slowing productivity

•   Inability to contact people who do not have the same IM system

Considering the pros and cons, would you use instant messaging in your business?

Do you use instant messaging at work?

 

References:

Alexander, P. (2005, November  13) Should your business use instant messaging? Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/81050-1

Gann, R. (2012, August 8) Instant messaging for business.  Retrieved from http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/roundup/instant-messaging-for-business-1075434

Guffey, M.E., Loewy, D., Rhodes, K., Rogin, P. (2010/2013) Business Communication Process and Product. United States of America. Nelson

O’Reilly, Q. (2014, January 13) 50 billion instant messages expected to be sent each day in 2014. Retrieved from http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/sms-messaging-falls-1262017-Jan2014/

What are the pros and cons of using instant messaging? (n.d.) My Mother Lode. Retrieved from http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/technology/ask/3280/What-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-using-instant-messaging.html

Advantages and disadvantages of instant messaging. (n.d.) Big Ant. Retrieved from http://www.bigantsoft.com/tutorial/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-an-Instant-Messenger.html

The Basics

I’ve started this blog to share how to use Texting and Instant Messaging professionally. But I thought we’d start off with the basics, and learn a bit about both of them first.

What is Texting and how does it work?

Texting or “Short Message Service (SMS)” uses a mobile device to send a message of 160 characters or less to another mobile device. It requires that users pay a fee to a service provider for the amount of messages they are allowed to send and receive.

                Mobile devices are able to work in many places as they are always communicating with their cell phone towers. These towers are all over the place in populated areas! I’ve seen a ton of them for myself, as my dad is a cell site quality tech. Our family vacations typically consisted of a road trip where we’d drive from one cell site to the next. The cell phone towers are responsible for the control channels in which a text message is sent and received. You need reception for both actions to occur.

If you want a more in depth explanation on how SMS works, check out this link

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/e-mail-messaging/sms.htm

What is Instant Messaging, and how does it work?

                Instant Messaging (IM) allows you to communicate with someone right away, as long as you are both online. It requires that you have an IM server installed on your device, and an account with that server. You are then able to sign in, and the server will tell you if any of your contacts are also logged in. It is less formal than email as it is a conversational tool.

                There are many different servers which you can use, some popular ones include Google Talk, Windows Live Messaging, and Yahoo! Messenger. These servers send connection information to your contacts, and you can then click on their contact information to start a conversation. A screen will pop up on both devices, and you are able to message back and forth instantly.

To learn more about instant messaging check out “how stuff works”

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/e-mail-messaging/instant-messaging2.htm

Between the two of these, there really is no saying which is easier or a better communication tool. It all depends what you’re using it for, and how many people you need to reach. If all of the people I wanted to talk to had instant messaging, I would choose that in a heartbeat. I type so much faster than I can text!

What do you think? Do you have preference to using texting over instant messages?

Over the next few weeks we’ll explore the pros and cons of both, as well as the best and worst ways to use them in business.

References:

Guffey, M.E., Loewy, D., Rhodes, K., Rogin, P. (2010/2013) Business Communication Process and Product. United States of America. Nelson

Cooper, A., & Tyson, J. (n.d.) How instant messaging works. Retrieved from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/e-mail-messaging/instant-messaging2.htm

Hord, J. (n.d.) How SMS works. Retrieved from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/e-mail-messaging/sms.htm

Martin, T. (2013, September 22) Instant messaging: a better tool for collaboration than email. Retrieved from http://www.business2community.com/business-innovation/instant-messaging-better-tool-collaboration-email-0622521#!uelLq