Text Messaging a Timeline of how 160 Characters Changed the Way We Communicate

TEXT MESSAGING A timeline of how 160 characters changed the way we communicate. ANNIVERSARY MERRY CHRISTMAS 1992 First text message sent from Neil Papworth's computer to Richard Jarvis's mobile phone - The message was "Merry Christmas". DECEMBER 3 This year Nokia made the first mobile phone, which allowed customers to send text messages to each other. 1993 NOKIA 1995 This year Americans sent on average only 0.4 text MESSAGES PER MONTH messages per month. T9, which stands for "Text on 9 Keys" was invented. T9 1995 is a predictive text technology for mobile phones. TEXT INPUT DECEMBER 10 1997 First mobile phone that featured a full keyboard for typing text messages was the Nokia 9000i Communicator, which was released this year. First year that text messages could be sent between different operators. 1999 verizon at&t 2000 This year Americans sent on average 35 text messages 35 MESSAGES PER MONTH per month. Short codes were introduced in the U.S. during this year. Short codes are 5-6 digit phone numbers used for text message marketing campaigns. 2003 68398 American Idol 2003 More than 7.5 million American Idol related text messages were sent by AT&T Wireless customers throughout the season. Americans on average paid 10 cents per text message during this year. 2005 CONE 218 213 2007 Americans for the first time in history send/receive more text messages per month than phone calls at 218 per month, compared to 213 phone calls. TEXT PHONE DECEMBER MESSAGES CALLS Sprint was the first operator to raise their fees to 20 cents per text message, followed by other operators thereafter. 2008 CONE CONE United Way 2008 First text to donate campaign launched for United Way. The campaign was promoted in a 10 second NFL FEBRUARY 1 commercial during Super Bowl XLII. Then Senator Obama sends text message to 2008 supporters announcing his Vice Presidential running mate. AUGUST 23 2009 First 911 center to support text messages was launched in Black Hawk County, lowa. AUGUST 7 American Red Cross launches text to donate campaign2010 American Red Cross for Haiti. The campaign has raised more than $10 million in donations to date. JANUARY 12 2010 Melissa Thompson, a 27-year-old British woman 25.94 smashed the Guinness World Record for the fastest AUGUST 23 text message ever. 25.94 seconds to type SECO NDS 160-character phrase on a Samsung Galaxy S. Ohio native Andrew Acklin breaks Deepak Sharma's record of 182,689 text messages in a month set 2010 200,052 in 2005, by sending and receiving 200.052 SEPTEMBER 14 MESSAGES text messages. FAVRE 2010 Brett Favre apologizes for lewd text messages he sent to a female reporter. OCTOBER 12 More than 8 trillion text messages are expected to be sent this year, 1.5 trillion in the U.S. alone. 2011 8 TRILLION MESSAGES 2011 This year on average, Americans sent 357 text messages per month. MESSAGES PER MONTH The common text message acronym LOL (Laugh Out Loud) was added to the Oxford Dictionary. 2011 LOL 585 2011 Text messaging has generated $585 billion for operators worldwide, and is expected to generate more than $1 trillion over the next seven years. BILLIONS Sources: Powered by: tatanca GSM World Press Release - 2001 AT&T Wireless Press Release - June 4, 2003 NielsenWire SM Messaging Tops Phone Calling - ,2008 The Wall Street Journal Obama Announcement by Text Sends Message About Medium - August 23, 2008 Voice of VOIPSA First 911 Center to support SMS - August 7, 2008 Portio Research Mobile Messaging Futures - January 2011 19