TRAI as we might....

There is a lot of information out there about TRAI creating new regulations to fight SPAM so we will not attempt to report on it here. We like many others understand TRAI's goal to improve the customer's experience and eliminate SMS SPAM harassment. However the recent regulations have certainly not properly accounted for the fact that SMS services do add value and especially those that a user specifically opts-in for. Furthermore regulations have made interactivity a lot more cumbersome for users which destroys a key value proposition for SMS. We are sure that over the days as the regulations and unintended drawbacks become more apparent TRAI will create rules that align with those in many countries (where opt-in and interactivity thrive).

Gamification of SMS

Happy to see WATBlog cover Hungama's Cricket Stock Exchange game.

Our piece in this game is the Pavilion which allows users to engage with content via SMS and earn virtual currency that can be used in the game. The integration is seamless and as users engage via SMS their winnings are reflected in their CSX$ balance.

We believe this is an ideal mechanism to enable users to earn virtual currency on social/mobile games in the Indian market (and possibly other SE Asian markets where credit card/Paypal penetration is low especially amongst younger demographics). This mechanism is similar to "offers" that game players on social networks can participate in, so as to earn currency. In the CSX game the offer is to engage with content that is relevant to the game itself but this could be extended to any form of engagement (including with third party content - take a survey, rate a movie/product, agree to subscribe to receive new video/game/application links, etc.).

In an earlier article WATBlog covered how Facebook and Zynga had partnered with MOL to bring credits to the Indian market via gift cards. We think that SMS offers enabled via our platform could be an attractive alternative for users.

Ouch: BSNL connectivity issues

Working to resolve this asap. Impacting outgoing messages.

Unique low bidding game on BSNL

Just launched unique low bid game on BSNL. To play, SMS BID to 59595. First item for bid is a Nokia E5 handset.

Rolling out Bol Bindas on BSNL 59595

One more community deployed. SMS BOLB to 59595 (BSNL customers in India). Users can pick one of four communities to participate in: Taza Khabar, Bolllywood, Sports, Love Tadka.

Boliye BINDAS, kamaiye points, jeetiye rewards!

Have Your Say on ESPNStar

Here's a biggie for us. We've powered a SMS sports community for ESPNStar. SMS HYS to 53776 (India).

Thrilling on many levels. Sure its a huge milestone for our company. More so, its huge for sports nuts like us. Being a sports nut is now also counted as work. Perfect!

Chirp 2010

The first Chirp (Twitter developer) conference took place last week and this presentation is great. It validates why we built the twextter application. Slides 15-34 cover SMS. Enjoy.

Eating our own Dogfood - Twitter Mobile

View more presentations from lrechis.