NotePage SMS, Texting and Messaging Blogs

Half of the 863 donors included in the analysis by the Pew Internet Project, together with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, said they used their phones to make a contribution for Haiti immediately after hearing about the Text to Give campaign, and another 23 percent said they made it the same day they heard about it.

That impulse translated into an estimated $43 million that arrived via about 4.3 million texted donations to support the Haiti relief effort, and it set off a race among nonprofit groups to tap what was perceived as a potential new gold mine.

But the survey, which had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, also showed how hard the phenomenon has been to replicate.

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Modern day romance is always on the fast lane. There is not even time to properly end a relationship. A survey says one in 10 people are dumped through a mobile phone text message.

Around 25 percent of people interviewed confessed to having flirted with someone they should not have in a text message, said the survey of 2,000 people by mobile phone site Recombu.com.

R u being lazy when u text? Or are your texting shortcuts and abbreviations a display of creativity and imagination?

Simon Fraser University researcher Christian Guilbault and researchers at the University of Ottawa and the Universite de Montreal are asking people to donate their text messages to science to help them answer those questions.

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Educators say 60 students at a Houston-area school have been disciplined for apparent text message-related cheating on a December test.

Officials on Thursday announced those Clear Lake High School students will get an English exam score of zero calculated into their final grade. The test counts for about 20 percent.

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Rick Farnsler has roamed the halls of Elizabethtown Area High School as its resource officer since 2007, and he has never received a tip from a student via a telephone hotline or a tip box located in the school.

But in the four months since Elizabethtown implemented a system enabling students to submit tips via cellphone text messages, Farnsler has gotten more than 60 anonymous messages about drugs, vandalism, bullying and other concerns.

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The Pew Internet and American Life Project on Wednesday released an in-depth study based on interviews with 863 people who sent donations to Haiti via text message.

Pew found that most of these donations were made on impulse -- an immediate response to media coverage of the disaster, especially on television. For three-quarters of them, it was the first time they had ever donated via text message. Only a third of them made additional text donations to Haitian earthquake relief.

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Texting is being increasingly used by researchers:

Albatrosses will soon be sending text messages about how they feed their young.

A zoology student this week expects to fit the first tracking devices to use cell phone technology to Royal Albatross on Otago peninsula.

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If you use PRTG network monitoring software and wish to use it, in conjunction with PageGate to send alerts to mobile phones and wirelss devices, we have put together a video tutorial to walk you through the setup process.

Checkout the PRTG Integration Video Tutorial

A London borough is set to launch a free text messaging service for tenants which will remind them to pay their rent and get information on housing issues more easily.

The Smokefree T-X-T program offers 24 hour encouragement, advice, tips, all through texts and social media.  Once they sign up, they pick an expected quit date, and supportive text messages are also sent for up to 6 weeks, providing further support and motivation.

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Perhaps to the chagrin of cellphone carriers, all signs point to text messaging’s continuing its decline in several parts of the world.

In Finland, there was a significant drop on Christmas Eve, one of the busiest days of the year for texting, Tero Kuittinen, a senior analyst at M.G.I. Research, wrote in a blog post for Forbes.

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In nearly every country, the young and the well-educated are especially likely to embrace all of these technologies.

Cell phones are owned by overwhelmingly large majorities of people in most major countries around the world, and they are used for much more than just phone calls, particularly for SMS messaging and accessing social networks. In fact, text messaging is a global phenomenon: Across 21 countries surveyed by Pew Research, 75 percent of cell phone owners say they text.

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Text4baby is a free service available to pregnant women and new moms through pregnancy and a baby's first year of life. The women receive three SMS text messages each week, focusing on a variety of topics, including birth defects prevention, nutrition, the flu, mental health, immunizations and safe sleep guidelines. The service also connects women to resources for prenatal and infant care.

To sign up, text BABY to 511411. To receive messages in Spanish, text BEBE to that number. Sign-up is also available on the website, text4baby.org.

A new project to monitor the whereabouts of lions in Kenya — especially important to nearby game herders who do not want their animals to be eaten — is getting around the limited Internet infrastructure with the aid of simple cell modems.

Lions are collared with small device that sends SMS messages to a central computer system to log each animals location.

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1. I understand that every text message I receive or send may be read by my parents, teachers, employers and law enforcement officers. If asked, I agree to truthfully decode texts.

2. I will not send a text that contains profanity or sexually suggestive or explicit messages. If suggestive pictures are sent to me, I will delete them.

3. I agree that text messages received or sent by me are not my private business.

4. I will not read or send a text message during the hours I am supposed to be at school or work – this includes baby-sitting.

5. I will not read or send texts during a meal – whether I am eating alone or not.

6. I will not read or send a text in the presence of a person over the age of twenty-one 21 years. I will turn my cellphone off and conceal it in their presence.

7. I will not read or send a text after 9 p.m. on weeknights. On weekends, holidays and summer breaks, I will not read or send a text after an agreed-on time.

8. I will not read or send a text message while I am walking, running, riding a bicycle or driving any vehicle. I will not place or answer a cellphone call while I am driving any vehicle.

9. I will not use my phone to gossip, spread rumors, flirt with another persons boyfriend, or defame or tear down another person.

10. I will pay for a new phone with my own money if my phone is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed.

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According to Nielsen the following is the number of messages sent per month are:

Age 13-17 - 3,417
Age 18-24 - 1,914
Age 25-34 - 928
Age 35-44 - 709
Age 45-54 - 434
Age 55-64 - 167
65+ - 64

With the millions of iPhones, BlackBerrys and Androids sold in the U.S., the massive demand for data use is far exceeding the supply of spectrum - the range of all possible frequencies through which signals can be transmitted.

The growing demand has seen wireless companies scrambling to gain an advantage over rivals by finding new and creative ways to acquire the spectrum, in order to provide the growing number of cellular customers the abilities to surf the web, instant-message friends and download full length movies... all from their fingertips.

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Mobile telephone users often send Short Text Messages dozens of times a day, secure in the knowledge that their SMSs are secret and private. This is no longer the case.

The Nation has established that some messages you receive may not be coming from the person shown as the sender on your phone book.

It is now possible for fraudsters to fake the identity of different mobile phone owners and send messages, some ill-intentioned, to offend the receivers.

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Jumping on the mobile bandwagon, DDR Corp. has launched a cell phone-based marketing program at 27 shopping centers, including properties in Aurora, Macedonia and Solon.

The shopping center company, based in Beachwood, said customers at those open-air centers can choose to receive text messages for deals offered by nearby retailers.

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Information about wanted fugitives in Northeast Ohio can now be texted anomymously to the U.S. Marshals Service. Tips can also be submitted on the internet.

The text messaging option is in addition to the U.S. Marshals fugitive hotline number, 1-866-4-WANTED. In both methods, tipsters can remain anonymous and still qualify for reward money from the U.S. Marshals Service.

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A federal study says one in 20 drivers observed at any given moment is holding a mobile phone to his or her ear, and that almost one in 100 can be observed sending a text message or otherwise manipulating a digital device.

At the typical daylight moment, some 13.5 million drivers are on a hand-held phone nationwide, the study says.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released the study Thursday, saying the use of phones while driving is holding steady, and text messaging is growing, despite laws limiting hand-held devices and a tidal wave of publicity about tragedies cause by distracted drivers.

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Smokers trying to quit who took part in in a text messaging program called txt2stop more than doubled their chance of kicking the habit. Some smokers said that the text messages were like having an angel on their shoulder.

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A growing number of U.S. kids say they have been picked on via text messaging, while there has been little change in online harassment, researchers reported Monday.

Of more than 1,100 middle school and high school students surveyed in 2008, 24 percent said they had ever been harassed by texting. That was up from about 14 percent in a survey of the same kids the year before.

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You can text FOOD to give money to UNICEF or text AFRICA to support the International Rescue Committee. Soon you'll be able to contribute via text to a Maryland politician, state officials say.

Regulations to allow campaign contributions by text message are winding their way though a state approval process, and the system is expected to be in place early next year. The new method of giving is intended to encourage younger, tech-savvy donors to get involved in campaigns.

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Do you remember what you were doing 19 years? Odds are high you didn't own a mobile phone, though you may have been rocking a beeper. But believe it or not, the very first SMS text message was sent off nearly two decades ago, much to the bane of linguists who twitch every time they see a shorthand message make a mockery of the English or any other language.

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A retired truck driver was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Wednesday for sending cellphone text messages that a court deemed insulting to Thailands monarchy.

The conviction is the latest in a growing number of cases in Thailand under a law imposing harsh penalties for making insults or threats directed at King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 83, and his family, even in private communications.

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Scientists have taken another step towards creating the bionic man of sci-fi lore with a wearable display mounted in a contact lens.

A team from the University of Washington and Aalto University in Finland managed to squeeze all the necessary equipment into a wearable lens that could display information right before your eyes.

This consists of an antenna which draws on power sent by an external source, as well as an integrated circuit which is able to store energy for use in a transparent sapphire chip which holds a blue LED.

Bionic Lenses

Todays society is all about being connected 24/7. Cell phones now provide instant access to anyone and everyone, from corporate executives to housewives and children alike. While cellular connectivity is a comfort to some, it can be rude and disruptive to others. You may wish to be available at all times, but there are some times when it is simply not appropriate to use your cell phone.

Also, cell phones should not be treated as status symbols, and should not be paraded out simply to impress others. Regardless of how new and impressive your cell phone may be, dragging it out in a public setting is seldom going to win you any fans.

Cell Phone Etiquette

Text message reminders help children -- but not teenagers -- stick with their asthma medication schedule, a new study finds.

It is common for youngsters to forget to take asthma control medications, and missing doses can result in poor asthma control.

This small pilot study included patients ages 6 to 17 who had moderate, persistent or more severe asthma and used inhaled corticosteroids to keep their asthma under control. The participants received daily text messages reminding them to take their controller medication, and their asthma control was monitored by researchers.

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Fremont County has adopted a policy regulating the use of cell phones, instant messaging and text messaging at work.

The policy says:

- Employees should exercise the same discretion in using personal cell phones as they use with Fremont County phones.

- Employees should restrict personal calls during work time, striving to make them only during scheduled breaks or lunch periods in nonworking areas.

- Employees should not engage in the use of a cell phone when doing so would cause a distraction not the user or co-worker assisting a member of the public.

-Employees should avoid lengthy conversations on cell phones.

-Cell phones should turn down the sounds on their phones or switch to vibrate to prevent them from becoming a distraction in the workplace.

- The use of text messaging is limited to immediate family contact.

Will other counties and companies follow suit?

Hackers have found a way to listen in on every move, see text messages and even know exactly where someone is by hijacking a cellphone.

Software makers sell spyware as a way to catch a cheating spouse or protect children from a bad babysitter. The software allows the spy to peek in on another person through their cellphone.

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The car used to be the signal of adulthood, of freedom, according to Sheryl Connelly, the Ford Motor Companys manager of global consumer trends and futuring, said in a recent phone interview. It was the signal into being a grown-up. Now, the signal into adulthood for teenagers is the smartphone.

Bullying used to primarily take place at the bus stop, at recess on the playground or in the school hallways; however, adding easily accessible mobile devices into the equation provides more chances to directly target kids through platforms like social media and text messaging.

A recent Pew  study claims that nearly nine out of ten (88 percent) American teens between the ages of 12 and 17 indicated that they have seen someone act cruelly toward another student on a social networking site.

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Teenagers and adults say they slip under the radar of law enforcement when they text on cellphones while driving their vehicles.

A state law which became effective Dec. 1, 2010, bans people from driving a motor vehicle while writing or sending an electronic text message.

Based on the amount of citations written for violating the law, many people continue to text and drive.

A survey of local law enforcement agencies shows few if any citations written since the law went into effect Dec. 1.

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Text messages are an irresistible marketing opportunity for brands to connect with their customers. But some text campaigns are tripping over a federal law, leaving companies with a nasty legal bill instead of new sales.

In a federal class action suit filed last week in Oakland, a California man accused a PR firm of sending an unsolicited quit smoking message to his cell phone. He said the firm, PHD, broke the Telemarketing and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and should be penalized at least $5 million.

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According to a survey of 2,227 adults by the Pew Research Center, the average text message user sends or receives an average of 41.5 messages a day.

How much someone texts is not surprisingly tied to how old they are. Those in the 18-to-29 age group send or receive an average of 87.7 texts a day, whereas that total is only 4.7 for those in the 65-and-over group.

Partners Healthcares Center won a research grant to pilot a text messaging program aimed at helping diabetic patients manage their condition.

The program, called Mobilizing for Health, targets under-served patients to study whether personalized text messages have an impact on clinical outcomes and physical activity in people with Type II diabetes, who are often obese and have low activity levels.

Over the last few months, there has been increased interest in using text-messaging at school. Although many schools do still have strict policies that forbid using cell phones in class, more are exploring ways to use text-messaging as a communication tool to bridge home and school.

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Being single can be tough, but now there is a new service that will make your friends think you are taken, thanks to a text messaging service.

You can carry on a non-existent relationship with the help of technology.  Add Fake Girlfriends number to your phone and text her whatever you'd like.  She'll respond with a series of loving messages.  Every time you talk to her, she responds.  

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A study by UK-based Portio Research indicates that the worldwide mobile messaging was the highest earner in the industry, raking in US$179.2 billion in 2010 alone.

The report said mobile message was set to rake in more than US$200 billion this year, and go beyond S$300 billion by 2014.

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A week before Election Day, Democrats have taken legal action to try to stop thousands of unsolicited text messages encouraging people in Northern Virginia to vote against their candidates.

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UW–Madison Libraries patrons have the opportunity to ask questions of librarians in a new way. Beginning this week, texting is now an option for the Ask a Librarian service, which allows students, faculty, and staff to connect with reference librarians and staff at campus libraries from their dorm rooms, offices, off-campus—from anywhere they might need a research or general question answered.

To send a question via text, send a text message from your phone or mobile device to 608-729-7886.

Text messaging is being used in the campaign to vaccinate almost 40,000 Northland children and rangatahi against Meningococcal C. Health providers can send appointment reminders, lab result notifications and medication reminders. The system can also be used for measles outbreaks and other public health threats.

Soon you can get an SMS alert on your mobile phones 10 to 30 seconds after an earthquake occurs anywhere in Gujarat with its location and intensity. This is being made possible with the new Autolocation software which is installed at the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) centre in Gandhinagar. Subscribers for this service will have to simply register with ISRs website.

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No matter how many lives are lost in texting-related car crashes, some people will still text while they drive. Even though 34 states have outlawed texting while driving, according to an October ghsa.org report, Edgarsnyder.com reported that at any given moment there are 812,000 vehicles being operated by drivers using a cell phone.

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