Provocative video about mobile

October 4, 2007 - 0 Comment(s)

This is a really interesting documentary-style video about the expansion of mobile within education in the UK. Definitely worth 25 minutes

Straight from Smart Mobs

May 20, 2007 - 0 Comment(s)

A Washington Post story today on texting concludes by quoting an AT&T television spot in which a teenager uses the text above to say: “Oh my gosh, it’s no big deal.” Texting is, however — as this article describes in some interesting detail — a big deal and getting bigger, especially for the younger generation:

Market research indicates the consumers mostly likely to send and receive text messages are those between the ages of 13 and 24. Last year, 158 billion text messages were sent nationwide, nearly double the number in 2005, according to CTIA, the Wireless Association. With that kind of growth, texting will continue to be very profitable for wireless companies, said Roger Entner, senior vice president for the communication sector at IAG Research, even with bundling plans to lower consumer cost.

Exclusive provider of mobile notifications at Bb World '07

April 16, 2007 - 0 Comment(s)

In case you missed the announcement on the company blog, clearTXT will be Blackboard’s exclusive partner and provider of mobile alerts for Bb Word ’07 in July. This is the best way for attendees to get reminders when presentations are getting ready to start, when schedule or room changes occur, and everything else happening at the conference.

We’re really excited to provide the service for a second time, and also that Blackboard is putting some muscle behind the service this year. The first time we offered the service was the 2005 Bb User Conference in Baltimore, MD. Blackboard was excited about us providing the service, but left most of the marketing and promotion up to us. We had a lot of people sign up, but Blackboard’s marketing efforts will probably result in many more subscribers this year. Blackboard’s a great partner and certainly knows how to market, so this should be a great event.

We received a lot of feedback in 2005, almost all of it positive. In general, people liked the reminders and the schedule updates the most. Reminders were sent to people 5 minutes prior to events starting with the event information, such as room location, title of the event, etc. With so much happening during the conference it’s easy to get distracted and lose track of time. The reminders ensured that people didn’t miss the events they were most interested in attending.

The schedule changes have obvious value - you certainly want to know if a presentation you’re on your way to see has been moved to a different location, the time has changed, etc. This year, we hope to add some other types of messages and make this a truly valuable service to attendees.

We’ll have more information, as well as the signup page, available soon. I hope everyone will sign up.

What is mobile? (part 1)

March 26, 2007 - 0 Comment(s)

A long time ago (at least in Internet time - you know, like 10 years ago), when people used the terms “mobile” or “mobility”, they were referring to laptop computers. More recently, mobility has become synonymous with mobile phone. Google the term “mobile” and 7 of the top 10 results are related to mobile phones.

Here at clearTXT, we love mobile phones…as you can imagine. However, we view mobile a little differently than other companies (differently than most people, I suspect). To us, mobility is not just about the mobile phone — it’s about the freedom to be connected with your information, groups, and peers no matter where you go or what device you carry.

I’m not talking about the ability to logon with some device and “go get” your information (i.e., on demand), but rather, the things you say are important to you are delivered to you wherever you are…period.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, I’ll write more about this concept and discuss how this concept relates to clearTXT. With the upcoming release of our newest product, I thought it was time to get the conversation started.

101 Things To Do With A Mobile Phone In Healthcare

February 3, 2007 - 0 Comment(s)

The Wireless Health Case Report on the 101 medical uses of cell phones includes some really interesting ideas about technological advancements in healthcare. Some of the ideas are pretty … well … out there. Other ideas not only look realistic, but strangely similar to things clearTXT (and others) already address in the education space.

Here’s a quick list…

10.1 Appointment Reminders (SMS)
10.2 Patient Support (SMS)
10.3 Medication Reminders (SMS)
10.4 Appointment Booking
10.5 Medical Data On SIM Card
10.6 Patient Information For Relatives
10.7 Peer Support For Patients
10.8 Post Cardiac Surgery Support
10.9 Accessing Patient Records
10.10 Access To Dietary Information

Full report is available here

Will robots become the doctor’s of the future? I don’t know, but cell phones becoming a part of almost every aspect of life sure seems like a good bet!

New Beloit College Midset List Shows The Realities of Today's Students

January 8, 2007 - 0 Comment(s)

Each year, Tom McBride and Ron Nief from Beloit College in Wisconsin release the Beloit College Mindset List. This list is not only interesting and informative, but it also provides a valuable look at “the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of today’s first-year students.�?

If you haven’t seen the 2006 list yet, I encourage you to take a few minutes and have a look. McBride summarizes the characteristics of this year’s incoming class as:

“a generation that has always been ‘connected’ and is used to things happening in ‘real time,’ like live satellite coverage of revolutions and wars, instant messaging and movies on demand. They expect solutions for every problem, from baldness to diseased organs. To the chagrin of teachers and parents, they’ve developed their own generational means of communication.�?

This description, and a review of the list, illustrates the dramatic changes in the ways in which students communicate. Most notably:

#8. They are wireless, yet always connected.
# 20. Text messaging is their email.

This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve read about the rise of connectivity and text messaging—evidence of this seems to be everywhere these days. What the findings do provide is a “reality check�? –- each year, students gets more connected and more mobile, and we better deal with it.

As the trend continues, it’ll be very interesting to see how much of their lives (academic and social) get integrated into their mobile lifestyles. One thing’s for sure – 2007 is going to be interesting!