Like everyone I know, I sent a bunch of SMSs at midnight (my time) on New Year’s Eve. I scanned through my contacts and just added them to the list. I knew that Lifeblog would archive them, so I would be able to remember whom I sent them to.
I also received many before and after my message went out. Many were joking about me sending my message before their midnight. Tee hee. Thank you all for sharing with me that night.
Alas, I had just switched phones and the phone was only set to save the last 20 sent messages. Bummer (yes, I sent more than 20). I did go look at the phone log, which keeps a record of all incoming and outgoing communication. I’m not transcribing that list, but I do know how many I sent. And going over that list again, gave me a warm friendly feeling. I am glad to have Lifeblog to archive all that stuff in a nice way
(even though I lost most of my half of the conversation).
Y’see, with me, those who are in my contacts have to work hard to get there. Yes, there are many who are strictly work contacts and other personal info (like the pizza parlor). But many are also there because they mean something to me, even if I have never called them. True, there are many who are not there, who I wished were there, but eventually they’ll end up in my phone contacts.
What’s interesting is that the combination of phone log and phone book on the mobile so powerfully maps our personal communication networks. With a bit of tagging, that info can be useful if made more explicit.
Nothing new here, but I am wondering why no one has done anything with it. Lifeblog was supposed to tie the logs and contacts with the personal media, but that never got off the ground and I have no idea where its at now. But, that would be really powerful, personally.
Oh, and don’t give me this privacy thing. That’s a red herring. I think something can be done here, in a relevant way, that obviates the privacy squeamishness.
Anyone know of anything in this space?
I wonder if Yahoo might be able to capitalize on this? They have the most phone-Web integrated services I know of. But, I am not sure if their services are integrated enough to bring this all together.
How common do you think sending SMS messages like this is in the US versus other countries? Last year, I sent out about 20 and got about 2 back. This year I only sent out about 10 and got about 4 back. I think this is less reflective of the level of friendship than SMS usage in general. And sending SMS’s from the US to other countries does not quite have the same effect (unless I’m really dilligent about time zones and date lines! 😉
Kelly, I for one totally utilize my contact list. I sent out about 200+ sms on New Years Eve and got back about 50, but sms is a big thing for me. I use it more than voice on my service plan. Depending on the service provider and how much you are willing to spend on international sms is up to you. I think about 10 were international.
Charlie, the first thing I always do when switching phones is change the message setting to memory card instead of phone. That way it stores how ever many my card has space for. I haven’t used Lifeblog yet to archive my messages, but I am glad that the new PC suite allows for viewing, replying and saving the messages from/to your pc.
Great, like these!
http://anina.typepad.com/anina/2005/12/merry_happy_hol.html
http://anina.typepad.com/anina/2005/12/happy_holidays_.html