Fun with SMS!

I love easily staying up to date with whatever I can! Be it Orlando Magic games, the latest news, my friends and family, and whatever info I might want to get at any time. Since I don’t have an iPhone or a phone with a data plan, text messages are the way to go! (My unlimited text plan helps too!)

Here are a few great (and free!) tools that I’ve come to enjoy and use to keep current in this fast-paced world:

Twitter – I’m sure you’ve heard of this snazzy web tool to keep in touch with what your friends are doing. But you can also keep up with your favorite news sources (e.g. CNN, NPR, etc.) and artists/authors/celebrities. If you want updates on your phone, Twitter gives you the option to receive a text message as a source updates. See http://twitter.com

TwitPic — TwitPic allows you to post pictures onto Twitter. Set up your phone and you can easily send a picture message on a whim! See http://twitpic.com

4INFO — This is a recent favorite for me! Set up free alerts for sports scores, stocks, weather, news, and personal reminders. 4INFO allows you personalize updates for sports games to come at various times (lead changes, final score only, each quarter, etc.). You can also opt to receive daily tips, jokes, and trivia just for fun. See http://4info.com

ChaCha — Do the ChaCha! Send a text message to CHACHA (242242) with ANY question, and a guide will do the online research and send you a response! Looking for parking at the game? Want to settle a trivia bet with a friend? This is the way to go! Use keywords (like “w ZIP CODE” for weather) for a quick response. See http://chacha.com

Google — Text one the web’s most used search engines for directions, weather, sports scores, word definitions, and tons more. It’s automated, so it tends to be quicker than ChaCha, but this service is less personalized and at times unreliable. Text GOOGLE (466453) to use it, and be sure to check the website for available features and keywords. See http://google.com/sms

Joopz — This service allows you to send individual or group/mass text messages from the web. You can also easily set up personal reminders to be texted to your own phone. The free version has some feature limitations, but you won’t need their premium service unless you use this heavily. See http://joopz.com

Facebook Mobile — Keep your Facebook page up to date via text message. My personal beef with this is that it doesn’t support T-Mobile. (Honestly, that’s how I got into Twitter in the first place!) See http://register.facebook.com/mobile

Keep surfing for more useful and fun text message tools on the web. (There are LOTS!) I recommend checking your favorite newspaper to see if they offer news alerts. If you find anything interested, comment about it here!

~ by Socrates on March 26, 2009.