Is Text Messaging on the Verge of Extinction?

Recently, there has been buzz among social media websites and blogs regarding the status of text messaging. With new free social messaging apps, such as Blackberry Messenger and Facebook Mobile Messenger, simple text messaging could be completely eliminated in just three years.

Phone companies lost $13.9 billion last year because consumers chose to use SMS applications instead of traditional text messaging through their mobile phone plans. This makes sense considering the fact that a purchase of about $1 and a data connection is all you need to message all your friends for free. This is more appealing to consumers than paying for a text messaging plan that could be quite expensive, especially if you go over your data limit.

Although things aren't looking promising for big phone companies, traditional text messages are still used by 75 percent of the world's cellphone users. The appeal of simple text messaging is that it is connected to your phone number and it doesn't matter what sort of hardware or network you are using. For example, somebody on BBM can't speak to somebody on Kik, which causes separation among users.

While text messaging is still in the game for now, smart phones and their apps have opened up a whole range of new possibilities when it comes to communicating. Phone companies need to update text messaging as they update their phones. In order to keep their clients satisfied and compete with cheaper apps, the networks have to find innovative ways to make text messaging available to consumers.

MasterCard Turns Mobile Phones Into Payment Processors

I recently read an article that stated that about 85 percent of world retail transactions are still done with paper currency. This statistic shocked me because I thought that credit and debit cards had passed up cash as the number one form of payment.

MasterCard was aware of this statistic, and viewed it as an opportunity to research why digital payments weren't the norm, and to revolutionize a new way to reach the emerging target markets. They found that the main problem with digital payments is that most people do not have proper bank accounts. However, most people do have mobile phones. In fact, even the poorest countries have 50 to 60 percent penetration rates of mobile telephony.

"This means that most adults can have access to mobile phones," said Mung Ki Woo, group executive for mobile and emerging payments at MasterCard. "Out of this discrepancy was born mobile money services."

Today, MasterCard announced the MasterCard Mobile Money Partnership Program to turn mobile phones into payment processors. This program enables consumers to purchase goods and services through their mobile phones, as well as transfer funds and pay bills.

"By adding these services, we're providing mobile money users with greater flexibility for their payment decisions," said Woo. "Now a consumer in India can go to a general store that accepts MasterCard cards and can purchase goods without the use of physical currency, something that was never available to them before."

MasterCard made a smart move in the business world by identifying a neglected potential target market and finding a way to penetrate into this market by innovating a new program. I think that they will find this program to be successful and that several other companies will follow their lead. 

Pinterest's Popularity Does Not Waver

Last month, Facebook introduced social apps for the new "Timeline" layout. These apps aimed to enhance users' facebook pages with apps that help them tell more about themselves, like whether they enjoy cooking, eating, traveling, running, or reviewing movies. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said, "We think that people are going to want to share all kinds of things with their lives and we think that apps are the way they want to show them."

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Pinterest has been quickly making a name for itself in the world of social media. Pinterest's integreation with Facebook has been no exception to this. In fact, in just one month, it has seen visits from Facebook users increase more than 60 percent.

Pinterest's growth on Facebook comes as no surprise, and further reiterates the fact that this is a social media revolution and it is here to stay. I'm eager to see what the future of Pinterest has in store for it's users. Like Facebook and other similar websites, the developers must constantly be updating the features to keep users entertained. We have all seen the different phases of Facebook, and I think Pinterest will keep things just as interesting.

California Takes a Step for Gay Rights

Courts in California made an important decision this week regarding the controversial Proposition 8. This constitutional amendment, passed in 2008, eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry. Naturally, gay marriage became an even bigger issue with activists in California after this ballot passed.

However, a federal court ruling on Tuesday threw out the proposition. Although this is a victory in just one state for now, some activists are saying it could fuel the fight for same-sex marriages across the country. Statehouses in New Jersey, Maryland and Washington are already working on legislation that would allow same-sex couples to marry.

I think that this is a step in the right direction for our country. America bases itself on the premise of having equality for all, but taking rights away from a person based solely on their sexual preference contradicts that. Gay people don't ruin the sanctity of marriage, drunken Vegas weddings and Kim Kardashian's 72 day marriage do.

If we want to keep our country as the "land of the free", then we have to allow freedom and equality for every citizen, no matter what their skin color, religious beliefs, or sexual preference is. By striking down Proposition 8, California is heading in the right direction and I hope that other states follow in its lead.

Twitter Scores Touchdowns in the Social Media Game

This year, the Super Bowl was the most watched TV show in history, with 111.3 million viewers. However, the social network data makes you question how many of those viewers were actually watching for the football game.

According to a study done by Networked Insights, almost three-fourths of the conversations taking place on Twitter and Facebook on Sunday had nothing to do with the game itself. Forty-two percent of the tweets were about commercials, while 32 percent were about Madonna and the halftime show. Surprisingly, only two percent of the total tweets had to do with the Giants' victory.

Although the majority of the talk on Twitter and other similar websites was about celebrities, brands, and individual players, rather than the football game itself, the Super Bowl was still successful in attracting an incredible amount of publicity through social media.

Tweets including the hashtag #superbowl numbered around 1.6 million. This is the same amount of tweets as are normally posted in a single day. This drastic increase in Twitter activity led the social media outlet to experience two record-breaking moments during the game - once during the halftime performance and once at the end of the game. Furthermore, Twitter averaged an unbelievable 10,000 tweets per second during the game.

The amount of traffic Twitter received during the Super Bowl may directly relate to the way marketers reach out to consumers in the future. While Super Bowl commercials will always be influential in the advertising world, more companies may look to social media websites, such as Twitter, for a relatively cheap and effective way to reach their target markets. The statistics showing how huge the population of people using Twitter during the game sparked interest in a possible new way to advertise. It is predicted that five years from now, brands could spend up to $10 million on promoted tweets during the Super Bowl.

Komen's Decision to Stop Supporting Planned Parenthood

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an important organization dedicated to breast cancer research, recently stopped its financial support of Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood received $120,000 in annual grants from Komen, which made up half of its yearly budget for breast health care. Although the money received from the foundation was not used to fund abortions, many are speculating that Komen cut ties due to political pressure from pro-life activists.

Being pro-choice, I do not support Komen's decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood, and find it disappointing that an organization of such a high status would give into pressure and directly affect thousands of women nationwide as a result. I believe that it is worse for a woman to have a child that she doesn't want or cannot care for than to have an abortion. According to a report done by The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, there are over 400,000 children in foster care today. If a woman has a baby for the sole reason that she has no other choice, that number will increase, as well as the number of children who are neglected, abused, and financially unstable.


Furthermore, the money Planned Parenthood received from the Komen Foundation was used strictly for breast health care, such as breast exams and mammogram referrals. Both organizations are dedicated to women's health, and it is disappointing that such a large and influential organization would put political pressure over what it truly stands for. As Sue Dunlap, chief executive of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, said, "I think when women's health is more of a political conversation than a conversation about healthcare and taking care of people, then we've gone too far."

Pinterest's Effect on Consumer Spending

An article posted on ReadWriteWeb this week discussed Pinterest's influence on consumer purchases, especially compared to social media leader, Facebook.

Pinterest is a fairly new social media outlet that lets its users "organize all the beautiful things [they] find on the web", share it with their followers, and browse through other people's pinboards.

The direct effect this has on consumer spending is fairly obvious. By clicking on any picture that is "pinned", you are directed to the original website where you are able to purchase the product. Pinterest essentially enables its users to create a virtual wishlist of items and products they like.

Eighty percent of Pinterest's users are women ages 25-44. This demographic is becoming increasingly influential, especially in the economy. According to a statistic, women account for 85 percent of all consumer purchases. Because women are the main spending force in a household, websites like Pinterest enable their spending and make shopping from home even easier. 

Although Facebook has tried to break into the social commerce trend, they have not been nearly as successful as Pinterest. Facebook has already established itself as a solely social site, and that is all its users want and expect from the website. Anything else is considered clutter and is unappealing to users.

Consumers are not the only population who are directly affected by social commerce websites such as Pinterest. Retailers are finding that this is a cheap and effective way to reach their target market without putting in any effort. Nordstrom's social media manager Shauna Causey said, "We view [Pinterest] as another way to engage with customers rather than marketing. Images are a great way to share ideas and trends in the retail social media landscape." 

Although there is no way to tell yet if Pinterest is just a trend, I think the overall idea of social commerce through the Internet is here to stay. Technology has made everything easier and faster for the modern consumer. From sending a thank you letter to buying a car to browsing retail stores, consumers are turning to the Internet to make the errands in their life quicker and more efficient. By making these transactions easier on both the customer and the retailer, websites, such as Pinterest, are less of a trend and more of an online revolution.