I happened today across a Web site called Tagga.com which provides free text messaging services. Tagga (82442 on the phone keypad) allows you to create text messaging campaigns so that when people text in a keyword, they will be texted back with additional information. Additional Tagga services allow you to put a Tagga button on your Web site or blog that then gives visitors the ability to easily send information from your site to their mobile phone. The video below explains Tagga’s text messaging services in more detail:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R3h2HCu05k[/youtube]
There are many cool potential uses of Tagga, but one I want to try out soon is the ability to sell something, even your home or car. This is how it works, just log on to the site Tagga.com, create an account, then go through the steps to set up a text campaign. The campaign will include a brief text message and a link to a mobile site with more information. Put the campaign code on your for sale sign, then people who see your sign can text the campaign keyword to Tagga and receive back on their cell phone more detailed information. To test it out, and to let you see how it works, I set up my own text messaging campaign on Tagga.com to sell a fake house. Text the word ‘myhouse’ to 82442 to see how it works.
Church Uses for Text Messaging Services
As we have been contemplating the next generation of Church Web sites, there has been a lot of discussion around mobile phones and text messaging services. Text messaging is continuing to grow in the US and around the world, in fact, there are many people in remote places of the world that do not have access to a computer, but they do have cell phone service. Text messaging services that the Church has thought about are:
- Texting something like ‘map’ to the Church to get directions to the nearest Church building.
- Text a ward name to the Church and receive back its meeting times.
- Providing a Web site for bishops who can’t (or don’t) text to exchange text messages with the youth or other members of their ward.
- Text keywords like ‘priesthood’ to the Church and receive back a definition of the term.
- Allowing a bishop to text a member’s name to the Church and receive back their contact information (address, phone, email, etc.) and who their home teachers are.
What additional ideas do you have for Church uses of text messaging? Leave a comment to let us know. How about the features listed above, are they ones you would use? Fill out the survey below to let us know. (If you don’t see they survey in your RSS reader or email, then go to the blog Web site and you will see it).
I’d love to see a ward clerk be able to set up text reminders to members of their appointments with the bishop or for youth/ward activities.
Way to think forward – I love it!
I would love to have the Church’s map site tell exactly which ward the address sent is assigned to, and what it’s meeting times and Bishop’s contact info are.
The problem I have now, is that the two wards located across a major highway from my home are shown as the first two wards on the website, not the ward that my home address is assigned to (which shows up third on the site.)
Having contact info for the Bishop would be nice, instead of a ward phone number that only happens to have someone to answer it for certain hours on Sunday and an unknown day or two during the week when the bishopric meets.
Expanding on the idea of “text reminders”, I’d like to expand that from just the ward clerk to be any quorum/group leader and/or secretary to send reminders of activities, home teaching assignments, or other appointments to the members of their group.
And I’d like to see more than just a one-way text; I want to see reporting capabilities, too. Consider this:
“Have you fulfilled your home teaching assignment to the Jones family this month? If yes, please reply to this message and include any additional information that may need to be conveyed to the bishopric about the Jones family.”
I’m curious if others would be interested as I would be to have people be able to text in a gospel topic, and receive a text back with say the topical guide entries, which an individual could then text back for the scripture reference they wanted and receive the verse.
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