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Best Texting ideas of ‘07

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with HouseFront

By: Chris Brubaker

denver real estate

Text Thursday

As texting expands to the masses, more companies are integrating text messaging. In our series Text Thursday, we highlight unique companies which provide useful ways to use your text messages. Continuing our week of wrap-ups we’ve put together some of the more creative ways companies are using text messaging. All services we mention are free to consumers, so give them a try.

HouseFront

House Values(Well of course we’re going to put us first) It’s been a year of growth for us here at HouseFront, launching in April of 2007 with our website HouseFront.com and our text messaging service (Text any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873). We’ve got over 100 million homes in our database providing consumers and real estate professionals with information while on the go. There are a multitude of different features and advantages to using HouseFront’s texting service. Say the home for sale that you’re looking at is out of informational flyers, text the address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873 and bam you’ve got all the information right on your cell phone (and the property is saved online at HouseFront.com for later review). Give it a try and let us know what you think, we’re always looking for feedback from users. [link]

MocaPay

MocaPayIt’s got an interesting name, but an even more interesting idea behind it. MocaPay looks to replace credit cards with your cell phone. The process works like an ATM but without the cash, you first text message your four digit pin to MocaPay, who will then respond with a transaction code that you provide to the store as your form of payment. Check out our blog for a more detailed look at the new company. [link]

Texting Pizza

My most favorite dish of all time has gone high tech. Papa John’s now allows pizza lovers everywhere to order pizza by text message. Creating up to four favorite pizza combinations online allows you to quickly order pizza from anywhere with the touch of a few buttons. We have now officially entered the 21st century people. [link]

Joopz

Business Text MessagingAs text messaging becomes more accepted by individuals of all ages, its business use is expanding. Joopz is one company looking to push texting into the business environment. The company’s software allows you to sync with outlook or run as a separate program on your desktop, allowing you send texts from your computer to all your contacts. Joopz makes it fast and easy to send out messages, no longer having to type with your thumbs on a small phone keypad. [link]

Mosio

Mobile QuestionsMosio is a new company looking to connect individuals on the go with those at their computer. The site, which launched this year is building a community where users can text message (or email if you have a blackberry or iPhone) a question into the site and have it answered by people on their computer connected to the Internet. If you’re sitting at a restaurant and want to know the playing times for local movies, ask Mosio and you’ll get a response in no time. [link]

As we continue our Text Thursday series into 2008, expect to see many more great new uses for text messaging, along with expanded features from companies already offering great text messaging features.

Home Value

Denver Real Estate

Joeann Fossland
Advantage Solutions Group - Tucson, AZ
Master Certified Coach to Motivated Agents
thanks for this! There is so much that is great stuff for us to take into consideration.
Jan 10, 2008 08:41 AM
Martinelli Caputi
Martinelli Caputi & Associates, Ltd. - Warwick, RI
& Associates, Ltd.
Steve & Chris:  Wow!  This stuff is exciting... but also scary in a way, re: hackers, id theft, etc.  I know I'm trying to avoid junk texts... have you tried these services?... do they result in the junk texts from other companies that you didn't contact in the first place?  :)  Just wondering.  Thanks for the post!
Jan 10, 2008 08:52 AM
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
HouseFront - Denver, CO

Joeann ~ no problem, these really are some cool companies to check out.

Richard ~ I have tried everyone of these companys and none of them send junk texts.  I know that is a big concern with a lot of people.  (Papa johns does send coupons and promotions, but you can opt out of that).

In regards to HouseFront in particular we do not sell or give out any of our users information in any way.  

-Chris 

Jan 10, 2008 08:58 AM
Alan Kirkpatrick
Austin Texas Homes - Round Rock, TX
Alan in Austin

Hey guys:

That is interesting stuff. I have not gotten into texting it is just too easy to email or call. Hey thanks for commenting on my blog. Enjoyed yours.

Jan 10, 2008 10:59 AM
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
HouseFront - Denver, CO

Alan ~ WHAT, you haven't gotten into texting.  It is true email may be easier...but look at the company Joopz they are making it so texting is like email.  And I'd have to disagree phone is not always the best, especially if you just have something quick to say...and the best part about texting is  you know the person will most likely see it becuase everyone always has their cell phones with them and check it regularly.  You'll have to get with it, its 2008 everyones texting :)

 -Chris

Jan 11, 2008 02:35 AM
Take 5 Team
Take 5 Team, Illustrated Properties - Jupiter, FL

I love texting!  It saves huge amounts of time when I just need to relay a small piece of information.  Why spend 5 minutes calling or emailing when you can spend 5 seconds texting?  The time saved really adds up!

Jan 11, 2008 03:37 AM
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
HouseFront - Denver, CO

Meghan ~ You hit the nail on the head right there, that is simply why texting is becoming more common in the workplace.

-Chris 

Jan 11, 2008 03:39 AM
Emily Johnston
Keller Williams Realty - Rancho Bernardo, CA

Chris-

Interesting tips. Why would I want to use Mosio over Google? I just text movie_name and the zipcode (e.g. Atonement 92126) to 46645 and I get the theater info and showtimes. For a how to text google text "help" to 46645. :-)

I also like that my favorite magazine, Real Simple, offers a text service for their recipes. The send the shopping list right to your phone. (Sorry, I don't have the # here by my desk... it's in the magazine, though!)

Thanks for this post!

~Emily

The San Diego Real Estate Expert

Jan 11, 2008 12:39 PM
Kathy Clulow
Uxbridge, ON
Trusted For Experience - Respected For Results
Steve & Chris - Thanks for being a great window into the txt msg world
Jan 11, 2008 04:33 PM
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
HouseFront - Denver, CO

Emily ~ Google does offer a ton of texting services, that are really helpful, but how about this...you want to know who holds the record for fastest texter (Morgan Pozgar), than a service like Mosio can be a lot more useful becuase people are acutally answering your questions instead of a machine.

Thats sounds like a really cool program Real Simple has, that's exactly what our Text Thursday series is about..cool ways to use text messaging.  Thanks for sharing.

Kathy ~ No problem, texting is a big part of HouseFront so we try and stay on top of mobile news, and we're happy to share it with everyone.

-Chris 

Jan 14, 2008 02:37 AM
Anonymous
nige

hey!....nice list...I've tried out the texting pizza..it's good J ...I actually also use texting to get in touch with my friends for my music updates. There's this great site called http://www.mozes.com/ which allows me to text a keyword to the particular mob I belong to and I get all the updates about  my favorite bands and artists. Maybe you could include that in your list too.

Mar 13, 2008 05:43 PM
#11
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
HouseFront - Denver, CO

Nige ~ Thanks, we do have a great list of useful ways to text message.  I haven't heard of mozes before, but I'll look into it.  We might include it in our Text Thursday's Blogs if we think it's an innovative or creative use of SMS.

-Chris 

Mar 14, 2008 04:43 AM
Goomzee Corporation
Goomzee Corporation - Missoula, MT
www.goomzee.com

MocaPay sounds a bit sketchy... You definitely wouldn't want someone to find your phone...

Texting pizza sounds fabulous!  Thanks for sharing these additional texting ideas.  anything i can do to text and NOT pick up the phone and call is good with me. :) 

Mar 14, 2008 09:28 AM
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
HouseFront - Denver, CO

Erika ~ MocaPay is definitely a legit company, but you are definitely right about privacy issues.  If you dont delete your messages someone could get access to your account (good thing its a refill type account and not your real bank account).  However I do think it is an innovative idea that I can definitely see catching on.

Who doesn't love pizza...and to get it by simply texting, what could be better!

-Chris 

Mar 14, 2008 09:31 AM
Gene Allen
Fathom Realty - Cary, NC
Realty Consultant for Cary Real Estate
We are behind the rest of the world when it comes to paying for items by phone and PDA.  The Sony Clie I bought a few years ago had the capability to pay like a credit card but it wasn't used here.
Mar 22, 2008 01:28 AM