If you’ve been with Twext.me from the beginning, you know that we’ve been using the various mobile carrier email-to-text options to deliver your Twitter mentions vis SMS. This worked fine, but most of the carriers generated a unique short code for each notification we sent. This resulted in each message looking as if it were coming from a unique sorce, like this:
If you recieved a lot of mentions, the Twext.me updates would dominate your text message screen and require you to delete each one individually. This was annoying at best.
Many of the newest smart phones “thread” SMS messages that come in under one SMS short code. But getting a short code for Twext.me would have been cost prohibitive. And since this is a free service… that wasn’t an option.
Enter TextMarks.com.
Yesterday we used the TextMarks.com api and can now offer a standard SMS option without going through email. This will allow smart phones to thread the Twext.me updates, like this:
All of the individual Twext.me updates will be shown under the single 41411 short code and can be easily cleared if needed. This method requires one additional step in the sign up process.
To take advantage of this option, you must send TWEXTME to 41411 to initiate your subscription. This gives us permission to send SMS to your phone. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to go.
Personally, I had switched from individual messages sent via SMS to a summary message being sent to me on Twitter via DM. With this new option, I have switched back to the individual SMS messages and it works like a charm. Of course, for this to remain free, we all have to put up with the advertising messages, but we think the threading ability is worth it.
Let us know your thoughts.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c6b76e88-34a7-49b7-a333-0081bf3c701e)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=355b065d-ad59-41dc-ac60-ebd1c54dffb1)
Looking At Problems Differently
I have known and worked with Bill Leider for almost two decades.
We share a common set of values, yet we are nothing alike. When we returned from our recent trip to Philadelphia, where both Bill and I served as advisors to The Social Media Marketing Institute, the photo on the right jumped out at me.
As is his practice, he prints out the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzles and brings them with him on trips. The New York Times crossword puzzles are considered some of the trickiest puzzles around. Bill can rip through these crossword puzzles faster than anyone I’ve ever met.
I realized something important as I looked at this photo. The crossword puzzles are the perfect illustration of what makes Bill so good at breaking down business problems and helping companies solve them in ways that produce exceptional results.
Solving a crossword puzzle requires a good understanding of crossword conventions, puzzle logic and a broad general knowledge (vocabulary, literature, culture, art, sciences, geography, etc.). You can learn the conventions and logic relatively quickly, but the general knowledge is what separates the men from the boys. All the tricks and techniques in the world won’t help you solve the puzzles if you’re lacking the general knowledge and the ability to tie them all together.
Bill’s unwillingness to accept the first answer, the answer everyone can see, can be frustrating to some. But first answers often relate to symptoms, not the true, underlying issue or opportunity. I know in our early dealings, I found myself wanting to strangle him. Truth be told, I still do. But what always comes from his ability to see the hidden clues, from his creative approach to asking questions, from his desire to “solve the puzzle,” is a unique perspective on every situation. Even his “wrong” answers and seemingly unrelated questions open your eyes to new possibilities. They help you figure out the clues to solving your own puzzles.
If you’re willing.
Tags: crossword, puzzle, solve, strategy
Posted in Blog, Commentary, Consulting | No Comments »