Mobile spam: Be afraid, be very afraidSMS: Right for advertising Youhanaie, despite his questionable means of reaching his potential customers, made a strong point. "This is the new wave for marketing. It brings our message right to the people's doorstep," he told the Wall Street Journal. Some members of the wireless industry agree with him, believing that SMS advertising is inevitable and will eventually help subsidize cellphone use. In a recent survey by technology research firm Forrester, 56 percent of responding companies indicated that they planned to use text messaging as a marketing tool in 2003. It is easy to see why. SMS is immediate, personal and cost-effective--the same reasons they have been popular with users. Furthermore, as Acacia demonstrated, SMS allows companies to reach thousands of potential customers at one go. Mobile phone technology makes location-based services possible. For instance, a restaurant could send a special promotion by SMS to people in the vicinity during lunchtime.
Emerging technologies will also play a part. Rudy Temiz, CEO of mobile accessories firm Plugout.com, predicts that Bluetooth will eventually be used to send messages to cellphones.
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