I was catching up on podcasts this weekend, and listened to the Media Hacks series over at Six Pixels of Separation, the blog of Twist Image. The January 31st episode was all about the iPad, and at one point I believe CC Chapman said – somewhat offhandedly – that this type of technology and others like it were really driving people to stop using text message as a form of communication.
What he was pointing to was that with more ways to reach friends, people may be less inclined to go right for the SMS option in some situations. With the increase of data plans on mobile phones and the ability to access the internet from almost anywhere now, device users have more communication options at their disposal, and they’re available more often than not. They can email, be on Facebook, and Twitter all from their phone.
Additionally, with the iPad, without either hacking the device, or using an SMS-specific app, there’s little you can do with a text message.
However, just as technology is giving people more ways to communicate, technology is also offering more options for SMS usage. At this point, text messaging isn’t confined to your cell phone any more. You can text your friends from your computer. Soon you’ll be able to interact with a group of your friends on the TV using SMS. The ways you can use text is increasing.
I also don’t need to remind you that text messaging is increasing in general, so it’s a technology that will likely continue to be used for some time.
Yes, the different platforms that people can use is increasing. But the ways you can use each individual platform is also increasing. People will still use text messages – they aren’t going anywhere soon.
