Had Another Messaging in the 21st Century Adventure This Morning ⇥ blog.davidchartier.com

David Chartier:

For now we are stuck with two conclusions: either we live in the past with silly SMS, or we install two, three, five, or even 10 different apps so we can chat with all our friends. We sign up for 10 different services, give our information away to 10 different companies, blindly click Accept on 10 different illegible, user-hostile terms of service agreements.

Some of my friends use iMessage, which is great and lovely and sometimes works 70% of the time. Or something like that. Some of my friends toggle iMessage on and off, depending on their mood. Some of the people I chat with are SMS-only, and that’s fine. Others are people I direct message on Twitter (no kidding!), AIM (no shit!), chat with on Facebook, or use a more byzantine service (postal mail, anyone?).

Is this terrifying? Absolutely. But, in a weird sort of way, it works.

The people I message on Twitter or Facebook are people who don’t have my phone number, and that’s a good thing. The people who do send me an iMessage or an SMS are people I’ve entrusted with the power to buzz my front right pocket on their whim. Any time you give your phone number to someone who will likely text you, you’re entrusting them with the responsibility to use that wisely. With great power, etc.