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• How’s your cellphone etiquette?

  28 Sep 2011 by Hannah Moore / No Comments

  It’s small, it’s sexy and you can’t live without it. But is your cellphone teaching you bad manners?

  We’ve all had to scramble for a ringing phone at the movies, and we’ve all sent an SMS during a face-to-face conversation. But when does your love for this little device start affecting your friendships, your job and your health? Here’s what you need to know.

  At Work

  We spoke to Ashleigh van Wyk, a Cape Town based employment recruiter to get the low-down on personal calls in a professional environment. “Spending any part of your working day (excluding your lunch break) taking personal calls is unacceptable,” she says. “You are showing that you’re not focused on your job and you’re giving an unfavourable impression of your business to outsiders.” Some calls can’t be avoided, but when you do take them, maintain a buffer zone of ten metres. That way, you won’t over-share or break the concentration of those around you.

  “My co-worker would sit at her desk recounting every detail of her life, from how many shots she had had the night before to which guy she liked,” says Nancy, 22. “Although she was good at her job, she was passed over for promotion quite a few times and I’m sure that that played a role.”

  Remember: your ringtone speaks volumes about your professional image. We all love LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock’ at 2am on a Saturday, but does the polyphonic version really hold the same appeal on a Wednesday morning at 10:00? Be sure to think twice about inappropriate Facebook profile pictures, too. Many people synchronise their Facebook contacts with their cellphone address book, so make sure that you’re OK with sharing that pic of you doing body-shots in Barcelona with colleagues and clients.

  Multitask Madness

  Using your phone to multitask at work isn’t just rude, it’s unhealthy: Doing so can also knock a whole ten points off your IQ and cause the release of stress the hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist from the University of London even likens this head-fog to losing a night’s sleep.

  “At work, I would often talk to friends on my cell while writing important work emails,” says Thembi, 25. “It all stopped when I sent a confidential email to the wrong client and was severely reprimanded. Now I give every task my full attention.”

  On a Date

  Nobody likes to feel less worthy of your attention than a cellphone, especially if they’re on a date with you. “Cellphone etiquette on romantic occasions is basic manners,” says Shelley Lewin, a relationship coach. “Just because someone else wants to speak to you, doesn’t mean you need to be available for them immediately. That’s what voice mail is for. If you’re on a date and you’re expecting an important call, warn the person beforehand. Otherwise, put it on silent and pack it away.”

  Shelley explains that this is a common problem, “A fundamental need of all human beings is to be seen and heard. If we are preoccupied with something else, the message we send to our partners is that they are not important. We become complacent and take each other for granted, forgetting to do the simple things for each other that say ‘You are special to me’.”

  Social Get-togethers

  “It’s an irony that in our increasingly interconnected world, we’re running the risk of substituting electronic relationships for real ones, pushing us further apart from each other rather than bringing us closer,” says Shelley. “Non-verbal communication accounts for 93% of the message delivered in social interaction. So, the less face-to-face time we spend with each other, the more unskilled we become in social situations and the more isolated we become from each other.”

  “I went out to lunch with three girlfriends last week,” says Scarlett, 27. “We don’t see each other often, but an hour into our lunch date all three of them were on their phones. I felt I had to take mine out just so I had something to do!”

  The bottom-line: Follow the ‘crossword rule’. If you think that it would be OK to pull out a crossword puzzle and begin working on it at that moment, then it’s probably OK to send an SMS.

  Hannah Moore is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa.

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• Which API is right for me?

  18 Sep 2011 by Hannah Moore / No Comments

  Panacea Mobile’s Bulk SMS Gateway allows businesses (and individuals) to send SMS messages to clients, employees and customers at a fraction of the price that they would usually pay. This means that we make it possible for our customers to SMS-enable any of their products or applications. The best part? We cover over 819 mobile networks worldwide, in 211 countries.

  Before you begin sending SMS’, however, you’ll need to choose the API that’s right for you. An API (Application Programming Interface) might sound like a complicated term to some of us, but really, it’s just a set of rules that governs the interaction between software programs. In fact, an API is not unsimilar to the user interface between you and your computer.

  At Panacea Mobile, we offer a range of easy-to-use APIs which directly integrate text messaging with your applications, websites, software and back-office custom apps, using one single command. You can use bulk SMS for promotions, ‘text and win’ competitions, orders, notifications, quotations, virtual vouchers, event details and much more.

  Our APIs include HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), SMPP (Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol), SMTP (Short Message Transfer Protocol) and JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), none of which require you to have any pre-existing software. Since not all APIs are the same, however, you should think carefully about your organisation’s needs and about which API is right for you. Here’s what you need to know:

  

  SMPP API

  For organisations that will be sending or receiving large volumes of batch messages (50 000+ monthly), this is the ideal API. Designed to handle high volumes at high speeds, this robust connection supports text, unicode, binary SMS and flash messaging (like all of our other APIs). Panacea Mobile’s SMPP server is compliant with the version 3.4 specification (described in the SMPP Specification). Click here to view our ready-to-use SMPP sample code.

  HTTP API

  For low message volumes, your best choice is the HTTP API. This connection offers the widest range of features that you can implement into your applications. At Panacea Mobile, we have integrated this API in PHP as well as Java. This option is the simplest way of programming your connection, and is installed by default on most operating systems. Click here to view our HTTP sample code.

  SMTP (Email to SMS) API

  Sending an SMS from a server-generated e-mail to a mobile handset is simple with the SMTP protocol. This option can be particularly useful should you need to send high-volume notification alerts. However, SMTP does not feature two-way messaging, meaning that it cannot receive incoming messages for you. For this function, you would need to make use of SMPP or HTTP. Click here to see how simple it is to send text messages via SMTP.

  If you want to get started quickly, we invite you to make use of our library of sample scripts. Should you wish to know more about the various APIs that we offer, contact us by clicking here. We are a leading mobile services company and, because we’re so confident about what it is that we do, we charge no sign-up fee.

  Hannah Moore is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa.

  Image credits: socialsignal.com

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• Going Green with SMS

  23 Aug 2011 by Hannah Moore / No Comments

  Every year, we destroy 130 000 square km (think Belgium x 2) of the world’s forested land. According to Bloomberg, the figures in Africa are the most worrying: Out of 65 nations, Togo, Ghana and Nigeria have the highest rates of deforestation. But whilst the problem might be particularly bad in Africa (and Southeast Asia, by the way), the rest of the world is not immune to alarmingly high deforestation rates. Bear with me for a minute – this is a discussion that might seem old, but it’s also one that has gained renewed relevance in the light of the global food crisis and the desperate search for further agricultural land that this has caused.

  

  Let’s begin here: Why are our forests so important? Well, the obvious answer is that their trees regulate the air we breathe by absorbing CO2 (the stuff we exhale, for those who skipped Biology at school). Without these leafy miracles, humans wouldn’t be able to sustain life on Earth. But did you know that the world’s rainforests are also home to as much as half of life on earth? No? Nor did I.

  And yet, an area of forested land the size of a football pitch is lost due to deforestation every four seconds. The biggest causes of loss of forested land are agricultural expansion, urban development and logging. The latter, which produces the world’s paper-based goods, is responsible for whopping 35% of tree felling. And the sad truth of it all? Nearly 90% of paper used at the office and at home is thrown away. What’s more, research has found that office printers are substantially high emitters of CO2 – another reason for which paper-based communication is becoming problematic.

  Not many business owners and managers are oblivious of these statistics, yet most of them remain reluctant to commit to a policy of paperless communication due to security concerns and the perceived lower response rate.

  At this point, SMS (short message service) text messaging enters our narrative. By communicating with clients, colleagues and employees via SMS, businesses score on three levels:

  Reduced costs: By switching to paperless communication with SMS, small businesses can save over R500 000 per annum. This includes reduced electricity bills, as well as the decreased need for paper, printing ink and toner.

  Increased efficiency: Now that you won’t have to store mounds of paper at the office, you can use your office space more efficiently. What’s more, data will be more accessed and shared more easily, thereby actually increasing your customer response rates.

  Automatic filing of electronic documents can be done with a host of software packages, which ultimately reduces your company’s margin for human error.

  Not only does SMS address all these (and other) issues, it has fast become the preferred method of communication for a large and growing proportion of your customer base. Indeed, many other wireless communication options, such as e-mail and social networking, are considered less personal than SMS – a functionality that is enabled on 100% of handsets currently produced.

  Give it some thought and perhaps you’ll soon agree: Maybe our tree-loving friends aren’t as starry-eyed as we had once thought; maybe what they are promoting can have a tangible, profitable effect in your business?

  Could you see yourself switching to paperless communication for one or more of the following purposes? (:) Then don’t delay; you could be saving some serious cash while making the world a greener place, too!

  • Quotations

  • Orders

  • Competitions

  • Promotions

  • Updates

  • Invoices

  • Event details

  • Coupons

  Click here to find out more about Panacea Mobile’s SMS Gateway or contact one of our consultants.

  Hannah Moore is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa.

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• Bulk SMS leads to Bulk Business

  16 Aug 2011 by Samantha Goldberg / No Comments

  What is an SMS Gateway? It’s not as technical as one may think. An SMS Gateway is a Web site that allows users to send SMS messages from a Web browser to people within the cell served by that gateway. These systems are the first step in routing a text message to a customer’s handset. Companies known as SMS aggregators or SMS gateway providers contract with mobile providers in order to bind their own gateways to networks and sell this capability to interested clients. The SMS Gateway acts as a relay system, translating one protocol into another. Wireless network operators use SMS gateways to connect to SMS centers (SMSCs). An SMSC is the portion of a wireless network that handles SMS operations, such as routing, forwarding and storing incoming text messages on their way to desired endpoints.

  By definition, bulk SMS marketing is the most economic marketing method existing today. SMS can be used as a marketing technique for companies to promote their merchandise. SMS can also be used in many other fields, some being corporate bodies such as banks where SMS can be used to inform customers of account transactions, the stock exchange is able to give tips to share holders on share movements via SMS, and schools can update students on admission tips, status and exams results all through the means of SMS. These are just a few of the many spheres with which companies can tap into what is being called the SMS revolution, where SMS services are being used by all sorts of companies to make individuals aware of their businesses, whether it be through reminders, coupons, promotion updates or competitions.

  More and more marketers are now using or considering using SMS marketing as part of their integrated marketing communication plan. SMS marketing campaigns are really great as they have the ability to integrate with other marketing mediums quite easily. SMS campaigns are also really effective because many individuals who receive marketed SMS messages are likely to spread the word about the company concerned, meaning many individuals talk about the messages they receive on their mobile phones. Almost every person between the ages of 15 and 60 now has a mobile phone; that is a huge portion of the population who own mobile devices that have the capability of receiving SMS traffic. This makes text messaging a lucrative method of advertising and customer service.

  In an ever-increasing digital world, it’s practicable to make use of SMS gateway providers to bridge the gap between the following areas: economical marketing styles, contemporary marketing techniques, commercial interest, the urgency for simplicity and burdened consumers. It is because of this that so many companies are moving towards bulk SMS campaigns to market their brands, in the endeavor to acquire the bulk business they need.

  Panacea Mobile is a really efficient SMS Gateway Provider which can assist with any of your marketing needs. One of their biggest clients can agree that their platform is fantastic; this client will also vouch for the bulk business they have received as a result of bulk messaging.

  ‘Panacea Mobile are truly mobile experts, and has added value to my business in a much wider context’. Johann van Tonder, Naspers Labs.

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• Mobile Counselling: The MXit Revolution

  02 Aug 2011 by Hannah Moore / 2 Comments

  9: The percentage of South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 that are HIV positive.

  One in ten: The number of South Africans who own a landline.

  105%: The cell phone penetration rate amongst South African youth.

  25.6 million: The number of local MXit users who are in the 15-26 age bracket.

  To most of us, these statistics seem unrelated, but for Katherine de Tolly and Marlon Parker, they represented an opportunity to make counselling more accessible to South African youth in a medium that is both comfortable and familiar to them.

  Katherine de Tolly currently heads up Cell-Life, a Cape Town-based company that provides counselling and vital health information to people infected and affected by HIV/Aids in South Africa. Cell-Life offers two distinct services, both of which can be accessed via MXit Cares, a special instant messaging mobile platform that is freely accessible and through which youth can engage in confidential chats with trained counsellors.

  The first of these services is called RedChatZone. By offering live mobile counselling Mondays to Thursdays between 15:00 and 17:00, this initiative has already reached more than 21 000 people since its inception in 2009. The therapists are all trained by the National Aids Helpline, which, in South Africa, is free to call from a landline, but expensive to call from a cell phone. As a result, the chat service is a viable alternative to having to call the NAHL from a landline (which is also often within earshot of others).

  As a second service by Cell-Life, ‘Red’ is an information portal that provides regularly updated HIV information to people. Users add the contact like they would any other, and by looking at the stats, it would seem that they do so in the droves: Since 2009, close to 60 000 individuals have added Red as a contact.

  

  Marlon Parker, Founder of RLabs

  HIV might be one of the country’s biggest social problems, but it is certainly not the only one. Marlon Parker is the founder of RLabs, a drug counseling service on MXIt. Due to Parker’s brother’s struggle with drugs, the cause is especially close to his heart.

  Through the RLabs service called Angel, individuals have access to relevant and helpful drug addiction-related information, as well as to a live mobile counseling service via MXit. Angel has so far helped about 120 000 MXit users, of which 80% are between the ages of 13 and 25. According to recent surveys, the issues addressed include problems like stress, drug addiction, family and relationship issues. Angel is also available as a mobi site, for those who do not have access to MXit. What’s more, this RLabs initiative was selected as a finalist for the 2010 Bees Awards, in the category of the Best Use of Mobile – a huge honour and a sign of the project’s social value.

  So, programmes like RLabs and Cell-Life are clearly reaching thousands of South Africans a day, causing somewhat of a revolution in mobile counseling. The benefits? Well, there are a few:

  • Affordability. Typically, data costs are around $0.01 per counseling session.

  • Privacy. Since youngsters already spend a lot of time on their mobiles, nobody needs to know when they are chatting to a counselor.

  • Efficiency. Once counselors have been trained to understand ‘SMS language’, they can speak to numerous clients at once.

  • Effectiveness. According the National Aids Helpline statistics, about 80% of the calls it receives are hoaxes. With mobile-based counseling, this number has decreased drastically.

  But what are the challenges to this infantile project?

  • Bandwidth. “On World AIDS Day last year, thanks to some advertising done, there were over 1,000 people waiting. This ended up crashing [our] system,” says de Tolly.

  • Human resources. The number of counselors is still too low to support the growing need for services like these.

  • Funding. Since these projects are not-for-profit, financial support still remains an issue.

  However, despite these setbacks, it remains certain that mobile-based counseling is set to impact the social landscape in South Africa in a very tangible way. To find out more about how you can help this worthy cause, contact Marlon Parker of RLabs here.

  Hannah Moore is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa.

  How can I get MXit?

  1. On your mobile phone, go to http://m.mxit.com
  2. Download and install MXit
  3. Register for MXit
  4. Start chatting!

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