Reality Check: Messaging’s vast contributions to society today and tomorrow

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
There’s no question as to the explosive growth of mobile messaging, giving those of us in the mobile industry good reason to spend countless hours thinking about the variety of ways this technology can be leveraged for business success. While messaging presents tremendous business opportunities, I want to explore in this edition of “Reality Check” how this wildly popular form of communication also is making a valuable difference in the lives of the citizens of our world and how members of this industry are making positive contributions to society for today and tomorrow.
Messaging for the children
What better place to start than looking at a messaging-based program centered on having a positive impact on children before they even take their first breaths: the recently launched text4baby initiative. Text4baby was launched in early 2010 to provide pregnant women and new moms with health information delivered free to their mobile phones. Women who sign up for the service receive free text messages each week (in English or Spanish), timed to their due date or baby’s date of birth. Topics include nutrition, risks of tobacco use, mental health issues, oral health, immunization schedules and safe sleep. Text4baby messages also connect women to support services for prenatal and infant care.
To date, more than 2 million messages have been sent to over 50,000 women who have signed up for the program. Text4baby is the first free mobile health service in the United States and represents an opportunity to reach women with critical health information and support.
Mobile messaging also is helping keep children in the United States safe with the Wireless Amber Alerts program, which sends free, geographically targeted text messages to registered mobile users whenever a child goes missing. Since its launch in 2007, more than 675,000 mobile subscribers have signed up for this free service. Wireless Amber Alerts are part of the national Amber Alert program, which has helped recover nearly 500 abducted children across the United States.
I am proud to say Syniverse plays pivotal roles in both the Wireless Amber Alerts and text4baby initiatives, volunteering our expertise to create, run and maintain the Amber Alerts platform, and providing the SMS interoperability technology necessary to ensure text4baby messages can be delivered to recipients across a myriad of mobile operators and networks.
Making a difference in developing nations
Mobile messaging also plays an important role in developing nations around the globe. In India, for example, the mobile-based Reuters Market Light service is helping protect the livelihood of rural farmers by sending them text messages with localized, personalized information, including weather forecasts, market prices, local and international agriculture news, and crop advisory tips. With this vital information, farmers are able to make informed decisions, reduce waste and maximize their profits. More than 200,000 Indian farmers in 15,000 villages across 10 states have subscribed to this award-winning program.
SMS also is making a difference fighting the spread of HIV in South Africa thanks to programs like Imbizo, which uses text messages to reach out to men, who historically have been a difficult demographic with which to engage with HIV-awareness campaigns. This initiative sends SMSs both to men who test positive for the virus, notifying them about support-related events as well as to those who test HIV-negative, reminding them to retest at a later date.
Since 2005, the program has reached more than 10,000 men in the Soweto region of South Africa, the country’s largest urban population, which is home to some of the highest levels of unemployment, poverty and HIV prevalence. Since Imbizo’s inception, research has shown participants find the use of SMS to be both convenient and supportive.
Supporting those in need via SMS
One of the more well-known examples of the good that can be done with mobile messaging was the Red Cross’s mobile giving campaign to raise money to support the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, which took place in January 2010. Whenever an individual texted the word “Haiti” to 90999, he or she would donate $10, and according to the Red Cross, hundreds of thousands of mobile phone users together have contributed more than $32 million to the relief efforts.
In addition to the outpouring of support for Haiti, mobile giving examples are beginning to emerge, including support from a variety of organizations for earthquake victims in Chile; contributions to singer Alicia Keys’ charity, Keep a Child Alive; as well as gifts to the Teleton MexAmerica charity. According to an article in the New York Times, although mobile giving is in its nascent stages, philanthropy experts expect donations via SMS are likely to have a lasting impact on charities.
The examples of mobile messaging’s positive impacts on the global community go on and on, and what’s even more exciting is to think of its future potential. Today’s examples are largely centered on basic text messages, but the possibilities are endless as MMS and next-generation messaging technologies, such as location and presence grow in global prevalence. Imagine the ability to send advanced warnings to people in the path of an impending storm, tsunami or even pandemic, all based on their presence information.
With the current exponential growth as well as the dizzying potential heights of mobile messaging, it’s easy to focus solely on the business benefits, but I think it’s clear that while we grow our businesses, we also have an unprecedented opportunity to have a lasting impact on our global community. Today, messaging is helping reduce poverty, save lives and rebuild after disasters, and when it comes to future possibilities, I’d go so far as to say we haven’t seen anything yet.
Tony Holcombe is President and CEO of Syniverse Technologies (SVR). Syniverse makes mobile work for more than 800 mobile operators, cable and Internet providers, and enterprises in over 160 countries. With unmatched expertise and more than 20 years simplifying the complexities of roaming, messaging and networking, Syniverse serves as the force at the center of the mobile communications universe, keeping people connected today and forging new connections for tomorrow. For more information, visit www.syniverse.com, follow Syniverse on Twitter or find Syniverse on Facebook.