cell phone short codes...new form of domain registration?

[brianzajac]

I just posted this great article (it's my personal site) on cell phone short codes: http://brianzajac.com/weblog.cfm
I feel this could be the next form of the domain registration wars. It seems the big companies out there are registering these codes right now. Here's how it works...a person subscribes to Coke, let's say. They offer text-based promotions on your cell phone. You can text back "coke"...it gets translated, and you get Coke's special offering. Where this could be a problem: Let's say KMart didn't register yet...I somehow register for KMart...now they have to use an obscure code for people to remember.

This might seem kind of odd right now, but they're predicting this to be a $5 billion dollar industry in the next two years.

And, with domain registration, there will be need to be searching done to find these codes to register for specials (just like the net). So, are we going to be search engine cell phone marketers?

[mediahound]

I visited your site, and didnt see anything on short codes. Was that the right link in the initial post? I did see, however, the article about number portability which I've read elsewhere. Whats the right link to read about short codes?
Am I crazy?

[tsindos]

Originally Posted by brianzajac

I just posted this great article (it's my personal site) on cell phone short codes:

Same here. I couldn't see any "cell phone short codes". Maybe I am crazy as well...

[Mac 5]

Where do you buy cell phone short codes? Is there a site where you can register new codes online? Is there any copyright protection to keep someone from registering COKE and then trying to sell it back to them for a highly inflated price?

[brianzajac]

Hello everyone,

Sorry, but I thought I had added that to the blog. Please take a look at the link again (http://brianzajac.com/weblog.cfm) and you'll see what I'm thinking about...

[dnbuy]

I would love to hear your input.

[fazhar]

can you tell me more

please

fa

[brianzajac]

Let's take a snippit of the article:

"Short codes are already widely used in Europe and Asia, where they are used not only for marketing products, but also for polling, paying for parking or even hailing a taxicab, said Kenneth M. Hansen, director of business development for Neustar Inc., the Sterling-based company that is administering codes for U.S. wireless carriers.
But in Asia, the popular marketing practice has been criticized because messages are often sent to cell phones without permission. "


The above article portion shows us the potential for clients using the system. In the USA alone, we get out sports scores and weather this way. So the potential is there...5 billion in 2 years.

Now, here's how also see it working for all of us. Short codes run just like domain registration. They are a set of numbers (like an IP address) that get translated into words. So, if there's a way to register, there's a way to snag some big names before the others do...but how? That's one big question that maybe someone here can answer.

As for SEO's on cell phones, this might be jumping the gun, but it could happen. Imagine that the Telecommunications industry made a major search for easy product finding. The 1st thing that comes to mind is Google. They've got a great system already and I don't see why it won't duplicate. If that happens, we will have a whole new spinoff of the traditional search engine marketer. Overall, I see various mediums heading in this route. I trully believe that we are in the infancy of telecommunications...and articles like these prove it. If anyone else out there would like to venture on new technologies that can offer searchable features, please let me know.

[jshanahan]

I found this site to reg short codes.
[/url]http://www.usshortcodes.com/
You can also go to [url]http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=15520&type=news&bt=short%20code
for another related article.

[brianzajac]

jshanahan,

Thanks for the great info. I checked it out and I've got a better idea on how this is working...however, it seems to be reserved now for some of the bigger companies:

"The common short-code service will work through a Web site, www.USshortcodes.com. Any interested business can log on to the site and purchase a short code. The codes will cost $500 per month for a randomly generated code or $1,000 per month for a pre-selected code. Industry trade group Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association will work as the program’s administrator, while NeuStar Inc. will act as the code registrar. CTIA said the program is open to any interested wireless carrier."

That pretty much excludes most people. But the potential is there...and everyone knows technology gets cheaper by the day. This is definitely something to watch out for.

If anyone has an affilliation with NeuStar or the CTIA, let us know. Your input would be greatly appreciated on this subject.