How much longer until spam penetrates text messaging?
I have whole-heartedly adopted text messaging. I clearly see the benefits of using text messaging and many times find myself choosing to send a text message over an email. I even love picking and choosing what types of alerts I want to receive on my mobile phone via text message.
For example, I have my mobile phone integrated with my Google calendar such that I get a text message reminder before each of my appointments. This is especially helpful when I am out and about, away from my computer. Since I almost always carry my mobile phone with me, I am sure to always receive my appointment reminders.
This mobile phone has been spam free for 122 days
One of the other great benefits of text messaging is that I don't receive any spam. Well, at least not a lot of spam. I wasn't particularly happy about receiving a text message with a video attachment from Verizon Wireless at 10:07 pm the other night. Much like a late night phone call, when I receive a late night text message I assume the worst.
What I got instead was a text message enticing me to play a video informing me that full episodes of the television shows 30 Rock and The Office were now available on the Verizon Wireless VCast service. Thanks Verizon, I really needed that nugget of information right before I went to bed.
Sure, there is probably a setting on my Verizon Wireless online account that I don't remember setting that gives permission to Verizon Wireless to send these kinds of updates. But what happens when I start receiving text messages telling me I won an overseas lottery or where I can get discount pharmaceuticals?
Anyone want to take a guess at how long it will take for text message spam? I'll give it a year. Leave your guess in a comment below.
4 comments for this blog post so far...
November 11, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Colin Clark
I don’t necessarily think that we’ll ever get true spam as text messages. Text messages work largely on a permission basis. I have no actual factual basis for making this claim, but I think the anti-spam laws have gotten tough enough that we won’t really have to worry about spam in texts. The only thing I would worry about is that the line between phones and computers is getting so blurred that eventually the line between text and email will disappear. Then there might be a slight chance of spam, but honestly email is much better than it used to be.
November 12, 2008 at 8:28 am
Patric Welch
@Colin I’m not sure I agree that text messages work on a permission basis. I can send a text message to whomever I want as long as I have their mobile phone number. Also, many web sites and chat programs allow you to send SMS (text) messages to other recipients so in many cases, spammers wouldn’t even need a mobile phone to send out their spam.
November 14, 2008 at 2:14 pm
asudduth
man, Im hoping this never happens… My phone gives me calendar reminders, and I have email, so I have almost no need for SMS messages… So I don’t subscribe to a plan with text messages. I get maybe 3 text messages a month, costing me $0.30… I don’t mind paying for the text message if someone needs to send me a message, but I can imagine building a “black list” of text message senders being a real pain.
And “permission base” I kinda agree with that statement… its not a technological permission, its a social one. (i.e. I know person x’s phone number and they know mine, and know their thoughts on SMS)—but nothing would stop a company from trying to send text messages to random numbers…
November 18, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Patric Welch
@asudduth I’ve often wondered how this will play out for people that don’t have unlimited text messages. Do they have to pay to receive spam? Even if they are offered an option to delete a message before opening (and thus paying for) it, they might be easily tricked into thinking it is important.
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