Mo' Better Mobile Campaigns?

Somehow -- and I really couldn't tell you how -- I ended up on the mailing list for Electronic Retailer magazine. I was about to toss it into the recycling bin when I noticed a story on mobile marketing. Now, the magazine is produced by the Electronic Retailing Association, so most every story in the magazine is a sunny picture of how lucrative and awesome various electronic marketing options are. But there are some interesting stats to behold.

According to one article, a recent Forrester Research piece says that:

• 90% of US mobile phones are text enabled, but only 35% are using the functionality
• Only 11% of US mobile users surf the Internet on their phones

According to Forrester's marketing blog, exactly WHO the 35% of text messaging users are is no surprise: 80% of 18-24 year olds use some form of messaging on the phone.

Should Your Text Message Be Censored?

Great article in the New York Times today about a text messaging campaign gone awry. It's a really great piece of reporting. On the surface, it covers the decision last week by Verizon to censor a text message that NARAL Pro-Choice America wanted to send to its supporters. This week, Verizon reversed the decision, saying "It was an incorrect interpretation of a dusty internal policy."

What's most interesting though, is the structure that leaves these kinds of decisions in the hands of the providers. The Times says:

...legal experts said private companies like Verizon probably have the legal right to decide which messages to carry. The laws that forbid common carriers from interfering with voice transmissions on ordinary phone lines do not apply to text messages.