Since coming home from SXSW, I’ve been half-joking that I sent more text messages during that event than I sent the entire time I had a cell phone. (This billing cycle is up to 98 already) I’ve got a beefy data plan with something like 1000 included text messages, so why not? Text has taken on a new meaning for me lately, and apparently for many of my contacts. It seems like there’s a new dynamic to text – it’s not quite as intrusive as a phone call, but it’s quicker and more personal than an email.
People I met, or got to know better at the event have now started to use SMS text messages as a replacement for email for our communications. In some ways this puts the intrusiveness factor back up on the board, since it can be midnight when you get a text, and you feel obligated to respond. But it’s also an interesting dynamic because you feel immediately more relevant in the eyes of that friend/client/colleague. My brother won’t answer his phone or respond to his email, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t reply to text messages within seconds.
Who knows if my interpretation of each technology makes sense to anyone but me. I think there are certainly trends emerging. Perhaps one day our business cards will have our contact info listed in order of personal preference.
