cruel to be kind

Twitter stops sending SMS effective immediately, users have to go on cold turkey

That is the the kind of unpleasant mail you do not want to see in the morning, although it was to be expected. Twitter will cease sending out SMS – that is if you are not living in "Canada, India, and the United States", but even then it gives you an outlook on what to expect for these countries.

You can read the full mail here I have attached the complete mail and put the link on how to receive DM by mail plus some remarks / questions below that. [As by experience from myself and others Twitter does not answer questions if mailed to them it is easier to ask you this …].

Set up Twitter to send messages by mail
Most people I know do not use Twitter with a higher userbase than the suggested 10 friends, but do use SMS for direct message receiving. This can be replaced by receiving the messages via E-Mail which you can switch on in the Settings ("Direct Text Emails: Email when I receive a new direct message").

For replies summize search via mobile feedreader is your best option.

Prepaid cards to finally work in the US?

I'm sending you this note because you registered a mobile device to work with Twitter over our UK number. […]
Our challenge during this window of time was to establish relationships with mobile operators around the world such that our SMS services could become sustainable from a cost perspective. We achieved this goal in Canada, India, and the United States. We can provide full incoming and outgoing SMS service without passing along operator fees in these countries.

I did not choose that number but you forced me to do so, but that set aside – does this mean the US T-Mobile Prepaid cards finally work with twitter? You may remember my problems around this as not only receiving but also receiving SMS was not possible.

Also it would suggest that while I am in the US (or India and Canada) I should be able to reset my number to the US system and receive / send SMS for free?

The mobile phone providers who would not see the light …

We took a risk hoping to bring more nations onboard and more mobile operators around to our way of thinking but we've arrived at a point where the responsible thing to do is slow our costs and take a different approach. […]

It makes more sense for us to establish fair billing arrangements with mobile operators than it does to pass these high fees on to our users.

I am not sure what "our way of thinking" is, but to me this is very clear: You send SMS, you pay for SMS. It is a bitch to negotiate with all the mobile phone providers and to charge your customers for this, but basically we could have told you that from the beginning. Different to the US for example, I never payed for any normal SMS I receive because in Germany you do not pay for that other than a Premium SMS.

Rather than 'letting them see the light' we did suggest early on to work on a system for charging the user. For a short time it looked like they experimented with it, as I described in Twitter to monetize by credit based system?

Hint: Taking the unevolved US market as a basis for how the SMS business works around the world is amusing but not a good biz modell …

The mobile interface will get a DM tab then?

He goes on to recommend using the mobile interface which – as you might remember – up til today do not even provide you with a usable interface for seeing your replies or your DM. You can test it out by pointing your browser to m.twitter.com (click on "view twitter in standard" at the bottom to go back to normal). It is not that we want to use API restricted clumsy twitter clients but we have to as the mobile interface is not working properly.

I guess it is on purpose, the "we tried to work with mobile phone providers as we believed they would pay us" idea instead of having a usable interface idea …

btw biz:

Hey folks, if you want to discuss this with us, we have an open thread on our Get Satisfaction forum.

I have no intend to register myself an account there just to send you some feedback ...

Some reactions (it is fun btw to watch the "twitter and sms" search on summize)

As expected, TC takes the number from the mail to put a price on it in "Twitter Ends SMS Support In UK; Says Costs Up To $1,000/user/year":

“We’ve arrived at a point where the responsible thing to do is slow our costs and take a different approach” they said in the blog post.

Next up: a revenue model.

Mike Butcher in TC UK "Twitter cuts UK SMS - there goes another business model":

It may come as a surprise to non-Silicon Valley American’s but not everyone in Europe has an iPhone or is on unlimited data plans. SMS still rules in Europe and makes any update services far more available to the mainstream.

VentureBeat correctly puts the blame on the mobile phone providers "Twitter kills SMS service in some countries over costs. Will someone kill SMS already?":

Look, SMS is great in that it connects so many people around the world. But the fees associated with it are an absolute joke. It’s a very small amount of data yet carriers seem to think it’s okay to charge an arm and a leg for it. In the United States, AT&T switched its policy with the iPhone 3G to no longer include any text messages in its plans for the device. Now, if you want to send messages it’s $5 for 200 of them. That is ridiculous when you already paying for “unlimited” data.

@Tudor Davies:

Twitter now officially sucks ass! The removal of SMS updates could kill it real quick in Europe :(

@hellobabul:

@jtonline @mbites @dilan SMS costs Twitter a fortune (esp in UK), but stop'n core services is daft. Makes it pointless & another IM client.

@Peter Price

Well done Twitter, you've burnt through your cash by sending texts... what a shame you couldn't do the maths. Your VCs must be very proud...

Used tags: microblogging, twitter

14.08.08 - european view - 1 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

twitter downtime during blOgher - not a good idea

i am sitting at blogher (today finally with twitter equipment), on a great panel i would like to share a lot of. but twitter decided to take a 'short' outtime

"Twitter is currently down for maintenance.
We expect to be back in a couple hours. Thanks for your patience."

currently nearly 1000 women are at blogher, many of them seem to be in love with twitter.

they are in media, marketing and more and now is one of the times when they would WANT to twitter. a lot. instead they will not.

my question? who schedules a downtime during such a conference?!

19.07.08 - default - 8 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

San Francisco, here I come!

I will have a short visit to San Francisco from 14th til 22nd because I will be speaking at Blogher about "Blogging with a global perspective". Not only am I am looking forward to event, but also about how many people I will have the chance to reconnect with.

See my planned events below - if you have anything more as suggestion, please feel free to ping me. Direct message on twitter hopefully will be delivered to my normal german mobile phone.

Additionally (please try that first) this number hopefully works again: +1 702 6356 027. Please note that my online access most likely is limited unless I find wifi. ;)

And now wish me luck that 3h at ORD really will be enough. ;) Used tags: blogher

13.07.08 - default - 0 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Stowe Boyd - Reboot 10 interview

"It is not all sunshine and flowers" says Stowe (meaning his talk), and the several problems with recording this interview should have been a warning for me that the editing would not be a walk in the park either. Let's just say that while I am extremly unhappy to release this last interview so late, I am more than grateful that I managed to recover the pieces (and keep most of my hard drive). nuff said.

We start from semi-international conferences via the obligation of web culture to do something for the greater good via "do not switch your brain off" to farmer's markets and the bottom two billion. And even if this sounds strange, it is definitely worth a listen even when reboot is over.

Download MP3 (41 min, 24 MB)

The name of his talk is "Web Culture: Individuality, Belonging, and Scalar freedom":

Free.... Are we? Free to do what, exactly?

I am interested in exploring the conflict between web culture's tribal aspects -- exclusion of the 'others', the power laws, the mob mentality of fads, herd behavior, taboos -- and the value of deep bonds that can potentially transcend race, language, gender, and culture. Freedom cannot be unattachment.

Our web cultural ethos has be be based on something deeper than self-interest. The web brings us a sort of freedom, but we become ensnared in each other at the same time. I want to explore the known universals of human cognition, and pull out some of the threads about the universals of belonging and examine the bright and dark that can arise from that.

It may be that to be free, we have to accept the traps within us, and unsnare ourselves through web discourse and post-national, glocalized identity. We are like a recovering alcoholic: a kind of freedom, but one where any joy is tempered with doubt.

• his reboot page


• his blog


• he is @stoweboyd on twitter

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).

[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: interviews, preconference_podcast, reboot10, stowe_boyd

24.06.08 - reboot - 0 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Francesca Birks - Reboot 10 interview

Francesca Birks is a analyst with the Foresight group at design and engineering consultancy ARUP in London UK.

She and I talk about her work and what a foresight analyst does, how destilling information is relevant, how her area of engineering and technology is on a different time scale than for example the internet as well as about her topic of "structure versus freedom":

Structure vs Freedom: An exploration of the dynamic relationship between freedom and structure in the fields of architecture and engineering.

How do structures create freedom, and when is freedom constrained by the deliberate imposition of structure? When does architecture reinforce its own cultural bias instead of supporting the community interactions at play?

Quick and dirty abstract + links
[please feel free to add helpful comments :)]

• her proposal: "structure vs freedom an exploration of the dynamic relationship between freedom and structure"
  
• her reboot page
  her blog
  

Download MP3 (26 min, 15 MB)

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).

[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!]

24.06.08 - reboot - 0 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Ianus Keller - Reboot 10 interview

Ianus Keller is questioning if you still are able to collect images / impressions or if you are too focussed on the computer, the net and social tools.

You might remember Ianus from Reboot 2006 when he presented "a low cost version of the Jeff Han / Surface table", which is called Cabernet.

He and I talk about collecting visual impressions and getting inspired by it (or not). Misqouting him a bit, but Ianus basically noted that interaction designers like to zone out of the physical space - and not even touch it. For them there is not much more physicality than the laptop and their mobile. Also he shares how his work with Wacom worked in expanding their business from hardware to more.

Download MP3 (46 min, 27,7 MB)

Quick and dirty abstract + links
[please feel free to add helpful comments :)]

• his proposal: "Hardware as (free) service - The impact of free, web and social on electronics manufacturers"
  
• his reboot page
  
• his blog
  
• he is @ianus on twitter

Some links he shared:
A longer research movie:


movie by a visitor while I was demonstrating Cabinet:


you can also see an early version of the micropresentation I will try to give at reboot:



Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).

[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: ianus_keller, interviews, preconference_podcast, reboot10

24.06.08 - reboot - 0 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Ton Zylstra - Reboot 10 interview

Ton and I talk about why we should "speed up awakening to the effect of internet and mobile communications", the benefit of the pro active role of citizens, intuitive ways of perceiving information and how the Eurocup is reminiscent of the old race of nations. ;)

Quick and dirty abstract + links
[please feel free to add helpful comments :)]

• his proposal: "New Complexity, New attitudes, skills and Tools to match Or how we can speed up awakening to the effect of internet and mobile communications"
  He also suggested "arduino workshop Build your own ambient devices" and "Facilitators Pool - A pool of volunteer facilitators to help you create your session"
  
• his reboot page
  
• his blog
  
• he is @tonzylstra on twitter

Download MP3 (26 min, 15 MB)

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).

[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: interviews, preconference_podcast, reboot10, ton_zylstra

24.06.08 - reboot - 0 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Brian Suda - Reboot 10 interview

Brian Suda is best know for his involvement in Microformats, but also plays around with mobile now.
[Note: When we recorded this, Brian thought he would not be able to make it, but good news is now, he managed to get plane tickets!]

Quick and dirty abstract + links
[please feel free to add helpful comments :)]

• we talk a bit about his talk why freeloaders are an asset and not a liability, different examples of freeloaders making companies like flickr, youtube, skype, or stumbleupon more valuable
  
• why microformats are awesome and why they may be even better on the mobile
  
• his proposal: FreeLoaders: how moochers help your system
  
• his reboot page
  
• his blog
  
• he is @briansuda on twitter
  

Download MP3 (36 min, 21 MB)

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).


[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: brian_suda, interviews, preconference_podcast, reboot10

24.06.08 - reboot - 1 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Guy Dickinson - Reboot 10 interview

[Preliminary shownotes as I am on the road today but wanted to put this quickly online as the file did not need much editing. ;) Proper context will follow this evening.]

This is the interview with Guy Dickinson, who will not only do again the awesome Micropresentationformat, but will also foster conversations about the cool topics of "urban gardening, why not grow your own food" and "future of books".

Links:

• Website


• Guy's reboot page


• micropresentations (again!)


• Free Food? Allotments, balcony gardens, veg patches...


• The future of the BOOK? Will our ideas be free, when they're not bound in paper?


• Free Your "I haven't got time/Skills" ideas 1 minute 'pitches'; your "I'll never get round to it" & "I wish someone would"....ideas

Download MP3 (26 min, MB)

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).

[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: guy_dickinson, interviews, preconference_podcast, reboot10

23.06.08 - reboot - 1 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Martin Ludvigsen - Reboot 10 interview

Martin Ludvigsen is an interaction designer with a special interest in the physical space where we live our ordinary lives.

In his talk he wants us to rethink the user: "Design for the collective user’s experience", meaning instead of coming from the single user rethink the approach with a collective in mind.

Similar to the analogy of people considering the Internet to be about computers but others see it as a space / place, his desire is to connect the meat space with 'social' gap that bridge between the worlds so that the collective wins and not just the single user.

My favorite quote of this interview probably is "I want to redesign the last 40 cm of the Internet." (and I am not done yet with that refrigerator thought).

Download MP3 (19 min, 11 MB)

Visit his profile on the reboot page or his blog or .

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).


[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: interviews, martin_ludvigsen, preconference_podcast, reboot10

22.06.08 - reboot - 0 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Anne van Kesteren - Reboot 10 interview

Anne van Kesteren works for Opera on web standards and will talk at reboot about "Keeping the Web Free".

The proposal consisted of one sentence "A talk about the recent advancements in Web browsers and Web standards to keep the Web free from proprietary lock in." - so this is probably a longer 'description' of the possible content. ;)

We talk about the tools of the trades and the standards; how while the web grows, so does HTML and how bad things lead to standards.

He wants to hear about your examples and use cases, so try to find him and talk to him.

(Sorry for the ending and the cut in between, but there where some issues while recording.)

Download MP3 (14:10 min, 8,3 MB)

Visit his profile on the reboot page or visit his blog.

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).

[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: anne_vankesteren, interviews, preconference_podcast, reboot10

22.06.08 - reboot - 1 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Peter Rukavina - Reboot 10 interview

Peter Rukavina finds himself exteending his time in Copenhagen every reboot he attends - which makes sense, because it is a long way from Canada. His ventures pay off for us, because he discovered the great Sim card deal at Thelia.

At reboot he will be dong a talk about "Working for Free" and tells a bit in this interview what this could mean and how it can work.

When I work for free, I retain almost complete creative freedom -- what are they gonna do, fire me? -- and so, ironically, I find myself working better, faster, and more productively without the artificial incentive of remuneration.

Download MP3 (20 min, 12 MB)

Visit his profile on the reboot page or visit his blog.

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).

[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: interviews, peter_rukavina, preconference_podcast, reboot10

22.06.08 - reboot - 1 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Claus Dahl - Reboot 10 interview

Picture by Duncan Davidson

Claus Dahl is a software developper from Kopenhagen and would like to hear sounds from you. Well more he wants us to make / have a Sine Wave concert!

"You can add yourself to something which you cannot do on your own." Listen to how it works and how you too can be part of this. We also talk a bit about how reboot has evolved over the years and why you need to participate.

He was so kind to share the following links:

• various recipes for making sine waves with laptops


• A recording from Ars Electronica of sine wave orchestra playing by the Danube at Ars Electronica:


• I'll pregenerate some sines at various frequencies for people to play - But I won't have a link for that until some time later.

Also a short link to the mentioned Arduino-Workshop.

Download MP3 (11 min, 6,4 MB)

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).


[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: claus_dahl, interviews, preconference_podcast, reboot10

22.06.08 - reboot - 0 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link

Flemming Funch - Reboot 10 interview

Flemming Funch is Danish, lived for 18 years in California and now runs a software company in France. He likes to talk about philosophical / technical issues and looks like a Musketeer. A strange, but interesting combination. ;)

Visit his profile on the reboot page or visit his blog subscribe to his twitter user: @ffunch.

Shownotes (did I miss something? add in the comments!)

• he suggested two talks for reboot, "Complexity and Freedom" and "Free as in Choice".


• how can people figure things out by themselves


• 3 completely different worlds both alike and different


• shares a bit how different the french operate


• societies where context is needed or where a low-context approach works


• complexity versus freedom


• why nature is not going for balance, but heads more for the critical catastrophical state


• why you feel more free if you are surfing along a critical state than if you would be in balance


• sand versus the ready to go space ships and dominos

Download MP3 (21 min, 12,5 MB)

Follow what other twitter users are saying using the tag reboot10 on summize and tweetscan. (make sure to check both, as they are often broken).

[Link for the podcast feed - if you subscribe in itunes, be careful to adapt the settings or you only will get one episode per day!] Used tags: flemming_funch, interviews, preconference_podcast, reboot10

22.06.08 - reboot - 0 comments / TB ( ) - permanent link