Mass Voting Via Texting: Using SMS "In the Cloud" Gateway for Polling
By Lee Simonson
Mass voting via texting, using SMS gateway technology, can be quickly set up "in the cloud" and without the need to buy any hardware or software.
Taking instant votes for polling is becoming increasingly popular, particularly for mass audiences watching television reality shows. But there any many more text voting applications that are being put to use, namely at sporting and cultural events. Using online technology, which provides a "gateway" between the Internet and the mobile phone world, polls can be designed to solicit votes from who the most valuable player should be, to what encore number the orchestra or rock star should perform.
The SMS (short message service) polling can be easily and quickly set up, and is relatively inexpensive to implement and administer. Once you set up a text account with an online text service, you can begin choosing "keywords" that will identify your offered choices. For example, you can have a keyword "A" which your audience can text to your short code which would identify one choice; and another keyword "B" that would be linked to another choice. As another example, "Ladies and Gentleman, we will be serving dessert soon. If you want vanilla ice cream, please text the letter A to 12345, or if you want chocolate ice cream, text the letter B to 12345." People text their preferred choices to the short codes and you'll get a real time result that you can announce or post.
A short code is your text address. It consists of 5 or 6 numbers and is used to identify you in the texting world. By far, you're best bet is to "share" a short code, since getting your own is a long, complicated and expensive process. Shared short codes are readily available from online text providers and you can work with the provider to determine what available keywords would work best for you. The whole process of establishing an account, getting your keywords and implementing a voting via text campaign can be accomplished in just a few hours.
How has voting/polling via text messaging become so popular, so quickly? There are several reasons:
1) People are now using their mobile phones more for texting than talking.
2) Smart phones, with full QWERTY keyboards, makes it much easier and faster to text.
3) Unlimited texting plans which offer discounted texting rates encourage people to text.
4) Organizations are finding that voting via texting is an ideal way to compile lists of mobile phone numbers that can be used again in the future to send messages to supporters, customers, prospects, fans, constituents, students or wide audiences. People who text in a vote will be asked to opt-in to your list. The government, regulators and carriers are all adamant and carry out strict rules to insure that everyone on your list has opted-in. They are trying to head off abuse of the system, which is what happened to email when it severely crippled by spam.
Overall, the voting via text method is popular, easy and inexpensive. It is also a very effective way to engage your audience, either live or through advertising and promotion techniques, and may overtake the remote voting/polling world as the primary way to outreach and instantaneously compile the opinions and feelings of hundreds, thousands, and even millions of people.
You can get more valuable information about voting via texting here: http://www.orangepoint.net/text_blast_sms_messaging_voting.html.
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