Manage Your Contact Information – Or Mess It Up?

Svetlana Gladkova,

on February 08, 2007,

Plentitude of online and offline personal and contact information makes it necessary for us to manage it efficiently. While the plentitude of contact information management solutions requires management of the solutions themselves. A newly launched Txtms is another solution in this row - fun and easy to use and definitely web 2.0. But would anyone really use it?

So after registering for a free account you will be able to create your virtual business card - limited to 160 mobile characters and a photo to share. You will also need to verify your mobile phone to enable exchanging of profiles. So when you want someone to receive your information, you ask them to send SMS with your user ID to x@txtms.com. The service will recognize your account and send your information to the person's cell phone (your personal settings are also taken into account).

It sounds simple and it really is simple but is it actually user-friendly? I have strong doubts about that. First, I would need to remember my user ID with Txtms - while I can easily forget it, I know - I usually rely on my browser to remember the logins and passwords to multiple accounts I have online. And I would not really want to spell the ID to people over the phone or face-to-face - remember how disappointing it was to spell your email and never receive the message you waited for? And the second concern is how serious it can actually be. What the promise is “Free unlimited business cards ready to exchange”. BUT I believe sometimes you simply prefer the old paper ones - well, you would not ask a business partner to send a strange SMS to get your card, would you?

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2 Comments (Subscribe to rss)

Vram Ismailyan - February 09, 2007 at 01:21 am PDT

Dear Ms. Gladkova,

Thank you very much for writing a review about Txtms. We value your feedback and would like to share some relative information. I appreciate your response to my email earlier today. Below is a copy of the information I shared with you in the emails we exchanged:

In your review, you said that “A newly launched Txtms is another solution in this row - fun and easy to use and definitely web 2.0. But would anyone really use it?” While there are many uses for Txtms, the basic use for Txtms is to enhance information exchange; in other words, with Txtms, you are doing an everyday thing by exchanging information, but you are automatically backing up everything you exchange.

Once you register for a free account, you are able to create a virtual business card. The 160 character limit is set to guide users so they know what will be viewable by SMS. Additional characters beyond 160 will not be lost; users can view the entire business card including additional notes on Txtms.com. We are also adding advanced fields so users can share additional and unlimited information. Users can have unlimited Txtms accounts under one email address.

Mobile phone verification is necessary to receive others’ profiles on your SMS; you can continue receiving profiles by email and Txtms.com without verifying your mobile phone. For others to request and receive your profile, mobile verification is not necessary; they can just SMS your UserID to x@txtms.com. So, the benefit of verifying your mobile phone will enable you to receive others’ profiles on your mobile phone.

Txtms allows users to choose their own unique UserID. We encourage everyone to select an ID that is easy to remember. It’s like registering an email address; you can even use your email name as your UserID.

We understand that you sometimes prefer the old paper method of business cards, since you wouldn’t want a business partner to send a strange SMS to get your card. We are actively working to become the standard method of information exchange. We would like people to just say, “Txtms me, my UserID is Vram.” We understand that there will be some reluctance to change, but we are confident that users will find value in our product. If you prefer a business card, why not include your Txtms UserID so that your business partner can automatically back up your contact information with a single SMS. Currently, people use card scanners to back up business card information; with Txtms, you will never have to scan a card ever again.

Txtms as an information exchange tool is similar to email. In the past, people preferred mailing information or letters by postal service. However, electronic mail brought convenience and before long became the standard method of mail exchange. With Txtms, we are trying to accomplish the same thing by offering the convenience of exchanging information electronically and not having to back it up since it is stored online as well. Users can exchange information faster just by saving x@txtms.com in their mobile contacts.

We are currently developing additional features including but not limited to syncing contacts between mobile phone, Google Apps, Gmail, Gtalk, Yahoo IM, and Skype; this will create additional value. You can exchange faster by adding x@txtms as a contact in your mobile phone. Txtms is also functional worldwide because it uses a standard addressing system unlike short codes.

I mentioned earlier that there are many uses for Txtms. For example, if you are interested in purchasing a house and happen to be driving by one you like, instead of picking up a brochure, all you need to do is SMS the UserID displayed on the “For Sale” sign in order to receive information regarding the house directly to your mobile phone, email, and/or Txtms.com (depending our your settings). By offering a UserID, the realtor will benefit from tracking real-time prospect information. There are many uses for Txtms and I would enjoy discussing it further. If you would like to schedule a personal interview, just let me know and I will be happy to accommodate your request.

Again, Ms. Gladkova, we could not be more pleased with your feedback on our product. We appreciate your time.

Kind regards,

Vram Ismailyan
Txtms, Inc.
**To get my profile, text VramI to x@txtms.com**
Svetlana Gladkova - February 09, 2007 at 02:55 am PDT

Hi Vram!

Thank you for your comment and for the detailed explanation, I am sure our readers will find it extremely useful. Please, do not forget to contact us with any news of your progress so that we could cover them on Profy.

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