The S.I.A. Marketing Method
Archives: Daily Issues
Issue #2398
- WEALTHY: How to spot an economic rebound (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: Six-pack abs without a single sit-up (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: William James on quality
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 7 steps to making serious money online (Paul Lawrence)
- Do u txt? (Suzanne Richardson)
- It’s Fun to Know… about the deadly artistry of spider webs
- Add "capacious" to your vocabulary
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The Sign We All Want to See
It doesn’t matter whether we’re in a recession or an economic slowdown (which falls just short of a recession). The main point is, the economy is hurting.
So, what’s the cure? I posed that question in ETR a few weeks ago. But of all the possibilities I suggested, only one makes sense to me: We should look for the end of what got us into this. The housing mess. It needs to straighten out. When housing prices begin to pop up again, we’ll start spending again. It’s that simple.
The one thing you cannot do is depend on the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for reliable information. It’s been saying a bottom is just around the corner for about a year now. It is a biased industry shill. It is not to be trusted.
Instead, look for housing inventories and foreclosures to drop. And listen to what home builders are saying. They’re the first ones to know what’s going on, and right now they’re saying the market looks brutal. They don’t want to raise expectations prematurely and unnecessarily disappoint shareholders. When they start to change their tune, you’ll know the bottom really is near and the economy is rebounding.
And how do you invest in a rebounding economy? Transport will start shipping more things months before you see it in the stores. Basic material companies should also pick up with manufacturing recovering. That’ll get you started.
[Ed. Note: It's easy to spot where there's big money to be made - especially if you have expert advice. Andrew Gordon, ETR's Investment Director, has spent the past 25 years evaluating companies and appraising investments. Help him help YOU make a lot of money.]
William James
Attact Customers Cheaply With the S.I.A. Marketing Method
Being in business means staying on your toes. It means being flexible and quickly adapting to changes in the marketplace. This is especially true for small-business owners – people like you and me who don’t have the resources to compete one-on-one with major corporations.
The good news for us is that the Internet levels the playing field, putting us nose to nose with the big guys. As a small Internet publisher I’ve spent my time focusing on ways to attract new customers that don’t require a lot of capital. Today, I’m going to share one of the most effective – and least expensive.
You already know how important it is to capture the e-mail addresses of your customers and prospective customers. (That point has been made many times in ETR.) Once you have their e-mail addresses (and their permission to contact them), you can continue to send them promotional e-mails at virtually no cost in order to convince them to buy.
Many shrewd marketers use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to collect new e-mail addresses. They make an attractive offer in their ad – often for some sort of free information. And when people who are interested in that information click on the ad, they’re directed to a Web page that (1) asks for their e-mail address so the free report, e-book, etc. can be delivered, and (2) asks for permission to send them additional information/offers.
Although I certainly use PPC advertising myself, I have found another way to acquire names that can be even more economical. I call it the S.I.A. (Special Interest Advertising) Method.
Let’s say you offer a product or service that caters to a special interest – such as water skiing or knitting or gardening. You can usually find a number of websites that attract many visitors who have an interest in that subject. And the owners of those high-traffic, special-interest websites often sell advertising on their sites to other Internet marketers.
For example, when I decided to sell my screenplay marketing manual via the Internet, I looked for a website that appealed to aspiring screenwriters. And I found one that reported recent script sales. The site provided free information on what producer bought which script, who sold it, what agency represented the writer, and even the reported sales price. This site got a lot of traffic, and I knew it was attracting tons of MY potential customers. So I checked out their advertising options.
The cost for a small display ad on the site was $150 a month – well within my budget. So I placed an ad for my manual. I ended up selling two manuals at $79 each, which means I broke even. Not very exciting.
The next time I advertised on that site, I was smarter. Instead of offering the manual itself for sale, I offered a free report on a related subject that people could download once they submitted their e-mail address.
This time, I hit pay dirt. Almost 200 people signed up for the free information – and I had almost 200 e-mail addresses of potential customers for my manual. At $150 for my ad, that means it cost me less than $1 per e-mail address. (And anyone who’s been doing pay-per-click will tell you that $1 is a pretty good price for a bona fide name.)
My next step was to start sending e-mails to those people that pitched the manual. Within 60 days, I’d made seven sales. Within three short months, I’d made a nice profit – and I still had the e-mail addresses of 200 potential customers for other screenwriting-related products I might develop. All from placing an inexpensive ad on a targeted website and sending a few promotional e-mails.
Now my immediate profit on this particular deal wasn’t huge. However, you can see that if you have a series of products that would appeal to the same special-interest group, you can set yourself up to have a nice steady stream of moolah trickling in. And if you can find 50 sites for your ad that get a lot of traffic from your target market, you could be making some serious money.
Advertising on special-interest websites and offering free information to capture names is a strategy I strongly recommend. You can put it to work by following these simple steps:
1. Scour the Internet to find websites that (a) cater to your potential customers and (b) accept advertising. You can find them by using keyword searches in major search engines like Google.
2. Contact the website’s marketing department and check out their advertising rates. They should be based on the amount of traffic the site attracts. The best way to know if the rates are reasonable is to "comparison shop" at a number of sites.
3. Put together some free information that your prospective customers might want. PDF text files are easy to create. Audio files are also effective, and there are many inexpensive programs that allow you to create these files yourself.
One free gift I currently give new subscribers to one of my natural health websites is a PDF manual on how to avoid knee problems. Since knee problems often afflict middle-aged and senior adults – the prime market for my natural health products – this report helps bring in super-targeted names. I am also about to launch a marketing campaign for entrepreneurs that will give new subscribers a link to a free 10-minute audio program that delivers five keys to success when starting a small business.
4. Create your e-mail address capture page. You have a lot more space here than you’ll have with your ad. So this gives you the opportunity to really go into detail to make your prospect see the benefits of the free information you’ll be giving away in exchange for their e-mail address. Once you’ve got the copy down, any Web programmer with basic skills can easily upload it to your website.
5. Create a small ad that you’ll place on the special-interest websites. I like to include a small attention-getting image in my ads – but check with each website’s marketing department, as they don’t all allow you to do it.
It’s best to use an image that shows the main benefit of the information you’re giving away or the product you’re selling. For a muscle-building program, for example, you might advertise with a banner ad showing before and after photos of someone who used the program. If you can’t think of a way to portray the benefit with a small picture, at least use an image that has some relevance. For instance, when marketing my screenplay marketing manual with a banner ad, I used an image of a movie projector.
If it’s not possible to use an image to grab attention, you’ll have to do it with a strong headline. The headline is always the most important part of an ad – and even more important when it doesn’t get any help from an illustration. The most effective headlines either describe the benefit or say something outrageous that piques a website visitor’s curiosity. An example of a benefit headline would be something like "Lose 10 pounds in 15 days." An outrageous headline might be something like "Every doctor you’ve spoken to is dead wrong!"
6. Be prepared to send the information/product you promised as soon as people sign up to receive it. But don’t stop there. Be prepared, too, to keep sending them additional information they might find interesting, as well as promotions for the products/services you’re selling.
It’s critical to establish a relationship with your potential customers as soon as possible. One way I do this with new subscribers to my natural health e-zine is by sending them a special report with up-to-the-minute information – maybe something about a just-released study on how to relieve pain naturally.
7. Track your results. If your first ad is profitable, find additional special-interest websites where you can expand the program. If it’s not profitable, tweak the ad and try again with a different website.
[Ed. Note: Growing your e-mail list is a classic direct-marketing technique that can help you pull in bigger profits. Learn more about how to attract boatloads of customers from two marketing masters.
Starting a business doesn't have to deplete your bank account. Expert entrepreneur Paul Lawrence is the publisher of a new program for entrepreneurs who don't have a lot of extra money to spare. Check out the details of Cheapskate Internet Fortunes: 8 Ways to Start a Million Dollar Internet Business for $99 or Less right here.]
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== Highly Recommended ==
There’s a New Gold Rush… and This Time It’s Sweeping the Internet – Those Who Know Where to “Pan” Are Getting Rich
It seems like everyone is dipping their hands in the Internet money-making river, and finding a few “gold nuggets” here and there… But a few people are extracting wagon loads of money from one secret spot.
And, as much as those “lucky few” are frantically scooping up their share, this secret spot keeps growing by leaps and bounds every year, and there’s no way they can keep up. Truth be told, there’s too much “gold” here to take home in several lifetimes – even if thousands of people find this spot. This could very well be the mother lode of online business profits.
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The Rudest Thing You Can Do With a Cellphone
Do you think of yourself as a polite person? I’m guessing you do. But you may be offending people without even realizing it.
Here’s what I’m talking about…
Example #1: I ran into an old grad school classmate at a wedding. While we chatted, I noticed something curious. Every few seconds, he would reach into his pocket, pull out his phone, and glance at the screen. "What are you up to these days?" he asked me. And during my response – which, I assure you, was fascinating – he took out his phone, looked at the screen, and started typing a reply.
Example #2: I was talking on the phone with my cousin. During our conversation, I noticed these short breaks in her story. A little pause. Then she’d pick up where she left off. Finally I asked, "Are you in the middle of something?" Turns out, a friend was sending her a text message. And she was reading it while she talked to me.
Example #3: My fiance went into a gas station to pay. The station was deserted, but it still took him 10 minutes. The reason for the delay? The attendant had been busily text-messaging and didn’t notice him come in.
Now I may be the last person in America to say this, but I don’t text-message. I’ve sent maybe five quick texts in my life. And I have to say, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. But if you are buried in your texts, YOU might be missing out.
Although I haven’t asked him, I’m guessing Michael Masterson feels the same way about extensive text-messaging as he does about e-mail and instant messaging. It’s a time waster. Not only that, it’s rude if you do it while talking to someone else, in a meeting, or at work. It’s a good way to prove to people that whoever’s on the other end of your phone is more important than they are.
Bottom line: Don’t send or receive text messages when your attention should be elsewhere.
[Ed. Note: What are your thoughts on texting? Let us know right here.]
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3 "Core" Exercises for Beginners
It’s summer – the time of year when almost everyone wants six-pack abs. But if you’re a beginner at exercise – especially if you’re overweight – the worst thing you can do to lose belly fat is hit the floor and do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups. The "spinal flexion" of these exercises can cause disc herniations. A much safer way for beginners to do abdominal training is with the following three less well-known exercises:
Six-Pack Abs Exercise #1: Plank
To do the Plank, lie on your stomach. Supporting your bodyweight on your forearms and toes, raise your body up in a straight line. You should be hovering a few inches above your exercise mat. Keep your back straight and your hips up. Hold your abs tight (as though you were bracing for a punch to the stomach), but breathe normally. Hold this position for 20 seconds, then gently rest on your knees. Try to hold the Plank a little longer with each workout.
Six-Pack Abs Exercise #2: Side Plank
To do the Side Plank, lie on your right side. Bend your right arm at the elbow and stack your left foot on top of your right foot. Supporting your bodyweight on your right forearm and your right foot, raise your body in a straight line. Your butt and thighs should hover a few inches above your mat. Keep your back straight and your hips up. Hold your abs tight, but breathe normally. Hold this position for 10 seconds, then repeat the exercise on your left side. Try to hold it a little longer with each workout.
Six-Pack Abs Exercise #3: Bird Dog
To do the Bird Dog, kneel on your mat and place your hands on the mat under your shoulders. Brace your abs. Raise your right hand and left leg simultaneously while keeping your abs braced. Point your right arm straight out from your shoulder and your left leg straight out from your hip. Your pelvis should not rotate. (If someone placed a ball in the small of your back, it shouldn’t fall off.) Your back should be flat like a table, and you’ll look like a bird dog pointing. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, and then slowly lower yourself without rotating your pelvis. Do 5 reps, then repeat with your left side.
Do not rest between each of the above three exercises, but rest one minute before repeating this mini-circuit once or twice more. You can do this every day if you wish – in the comfort of your own home.
[Ed. Note: If you think sit-ups and crunches are the best way to get a flat stomach, you've fallen victim to one of the most common fitness myths around. Discover 5 more myths about exercise - and how to combat them - right here.
And for a free source of fitness ideas, nutrition tips, and motivation, sign up for ETR's natural health newsletter.]
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It’s Fun to Know: The Deadly Artistry of Spider Webs
It turns out that the intricate designs of spider webs might not just be for show. A new study by University of Sydney researchers indicates that some species use their webs to actively attract prey. How? The webs reflect ultraviolet light, just like many flowers, which are a main insect food source. The researchers found that webs that had been coated with a UV-filtering substance caught far fewer flies, bees, and other insects than untreated webs.
(Source: National Geographic)
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Word to the Wise: Capacious
Something that’s "capacious" (kuh-PAY-shus) is roomy or spacious. The word is derived from the Latin for "able to hold or contain."
Example (as used by Ellen M. Calder in The Atlantic): "Out of those capacious receptacles he [Walt Whitman] brought forth a small bottle of Scotch whiskey, a lemon, and some lump sugar."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
I concur. While I understand the convenience of a cell phone, the necessity of it truly IS overrated. Most people don’t really need a cell at all. And those who do should still adhere to simple manners: don’t use the cell while you’re (1) driving; (2) dining with others; (3) at the theatre. This list could go on. And my own pet peeve: Please let me know BEFORE you press that ear-gadget (aka bluetooth) that you’re excusing yourself to take a call. You have no idea how many conversations I thought I was a part of, only to find that you were talking to someone else all along. How rude!
my wife has a Blackberry, which she takes everywhere. She will break conversation with anyone if it goes off and starts to answer e-mails or texts. I have repeatedly told her not to be so rude, as whoever is texting/e-mailing her won’t disappear from her phone, but she gets angry with me and can’t see the rudeness in her actions. There is a saying, Crack-berry, which I think is very accurate, as people like my wife are addicts to their phones and can’t come off them
Texting is very much a generational thing. Older people will use the more sluggish email while young ones rely on the immediacy of texting even over voicemail.
Too many people are slaves to their telephones. It is a pavlovian response that they cannot control. They are to be pitied rather than scorned.
This is inconscionable behaviour. However, we have been conditioned to answer the phone, regardless of the circumstances since its first ring over a century ago. It is only natural for this response to extend to cellphones.
Living and teaching in a small town in Mexico, I am amazed at the number of University students who cannot afford textbooks, but can afford the latest cellphones. Students and teachers alike are constantly sending messages both in and out of class.
As I cannot see this phenomenon concluding any time soon, I suppose we’ll have to figure out a way to incorporate it into classes.
At least in English classes we can get students to text message each other and the teacher in English!
I suppose that as society changes with time, the idea of courtesy changes, too.
Suzanne,
I figured that as long as I was wasting time on email when I should be writing ; )… I might as well do it publicly. I’m with you 100% on the texting. I don’t use it either, by the way. Ever. I figure I want to keep my thumbs functional for a few decades more.
Heck, I don’t even use my cell phone much. I forget half the time to take it with me. Or I take it and forget to turn it on.
I will say though that I once heard about a brilliant use of cell phone technology, in a place where it’s usually not kosher to whip out a cell phone and start talking: a restaurant.
Seems a customer who had just sat down was having a tough time to getting attention from the waiter, who wrapped up in conversation with the girl working behind the bar.
After a good 10 minutes of signaling, the customer called the restaurant’s main line… asked for his waiter to come to the phone (he had noticed the waiter’s name tag when the menus were delivered)… then placed his order.
Way to go, Suzanne! I’m with you 100%. I don’t text. I don’t even have free texting as part of my cell phone plan. Unfortunately, acquaintances still text me (my friends know better!) and cost me 15 cents a pop. Just call me! I’d much rather have a conversation with a person than try to decipher a cryptic text message.
I so agree I have texted many times with my cell, BUT…I am alone and not in the middle of a converstion with anyone else. I try to put myself in their shoes (would I want someone texting someone while they where chatting with me.NO WAY!) so I try very hard to be aware of this. And I also don’t drive and chat on my cell unless my head set is hooked up to where both hands are on the wheel. Of which I’ve seen dozens of people do already including law enforcement offices as well. I hate that. If my voice mail isn’t good enough then I didn’t need to talk to them is how I see it.
I completely agree!
I don’t mind getting text messages from time to time, specially if I’m at work and it’s difficult for me to take personal phone calls. But don’t expect me to answer a text message. If something is so important it took someone twice the time to text me as it would have taken to just dial my number then DIAL MY NUMBER! Or better yet . . . just send me an email
I HATE text messages. But my children use texting extensively. So, I reluctantly added it to my cell phone plan. I would rather hear from them by text message than not at all. And it’s nice to know they’re thinking of me! Plus, it’s a good way for me to contact them without the social stigma of Mommy calling. However, I would NEVER text in a business situation –send or receive. It’s not professional. Period.
As indicated throughout this message texting
is very rude and the manufacturers should not
be allowed to install it in cell phones; also,
call waiting, ever had your phone to your ear
waiting and wondering when your party will get
back, and it was they that initiated the call?
Quite often I hang up and wait for them to
call back, my time can be used elsewhere!
I agree 100% with Suzanne Richardson’s short article. I do not text either. Have only done a few. I would go one step further. I think it is also rude to stop a conversation to answer your phone. Sure, there are exceptions. But you are sitting in a meeting, or lunch, or whatever and the other person interupts to take a call. Basically that is saying that this “unknown” is more important. People are too tied to thier phones. Or what about the person who talks on the phone all the way through the checkout line? Never even acknowledges the person assisting them. How rude is that? I’m only in my 40s, but sometimes I miss the 80s when no one had cell phones….
Lets face it. Calling, speaking in public like mad person, texing or sms is an unconscious behaviour of people that are used to phones. So for such people it is a normal behaviour and if you dont behave like them, they think you are mad. It is like insaned person calling sane person insaned. Like it or live it. Fact 1. We can stay hungry, but can not stay without using or cudling cellphone. Fact 2. Cellphone has become part of our dressing, either in salon, train or bus station and air and seaports, etc. Fact 3. If you think the person paying attention to cellphone is impolite, that is how he/she sees you, if you are not paying attention to incoming calls on your phones. Fact. cellphones solve more problems than caused. The list could go on and on. My advise, if your partners’ phones ring and he or she attends to it, smile, if he or she does not attend to it, smile too. That is one of the ways to register your presence around. Ha….
I agree with the majority who feel texting while you are talking to someone else is rude. I don’t even have text enabled on my cell phone. When people tell me they will text me a number or message, I explain that I don’t have text and ask if they will just e-mail the information to me.
Suzanne… I COMPLETELY agree with you and except for me being in Canada, you aren’t last person to text message. I occasionally send messages (more like love notes) only to my fiancée… now that IS more important. As for rudeness, I find that whomever I am in contact with should have all my attention or else I might miss something important they have to say. If I notice that we are small-talking then I excuse myself (politely, of course) because then I am time-wasting…
So glad to hear I am not alone!
John – great story about the restaurant diner.
Roberta – I can empathize with teachers who have to compete with cellphones for their students’ attention. During a brief stint teaching college composition, I could hardly get through a class without confiscating a cellphone. Maybe says more about the subject matter (or my teaching!) than about the students, but irritating nonetheless.
I agree with Ms. Richardson’s comments about texting; however, she didn’t mention the most potentially disastrous texting practice: texting while driving.
Just a day or two ago, I saw a young driver turn off a busy road into a commercial driveway while texting. What made this act extraordinarily dangerous was that the driveway crosses a sidewalk that is heavily used by young children from the homes across the street and on the next block.
This particular driver never even checked the sidewalk–she simply looked up from her phone long enough to determine she could turn without being hit by oncoming traffic, and returned to her texting. Had there been a child on the sidewalk, she would never even have seen him.
Talking on cellphones while driving is dangerous enough, distracting the driver’s attention from focusing on conditions; texting while driving is insanely dangerous, because the driver’s eyes must be completely off the road, and should be outlawed, with stiff penalties for violations.
How many children must be killed before drivers see a problem with texting while driving? As we all know, even one death is too high a price to pay for thoughtlessness.
I totally concur. Like Suzanne I’ve sent about 6 text messages in the two and half years that I’ve subscribed to a cell phone service. My one rule at all my project meetings is that cell phones should be turned off and that includes no phone buzzing or vibes, even if someone comes in with a Blue Tooth hanging from his/her ear. (What’s up with that?). Are we all aspiring to becoming Borgs?
AMEN! The cell phone has truly been the most intrusive invention of our time, and the fact that so many people have become dependent on it every minute of their lives is disconcerting. My ability to enjoy any kind of peace or relaxation (unless I am completely removed from other people!) is getting harder and harder to realize, as I am assaulted in restaurants, airports, cafes, on walking/bicycle trails, in theatres, etc. . . . not only by the incessant ringing of phones, but by the loud intrusive conversations of others. In my office, I routinely requested others to refrain from coming into my office with their cell phones, as obviously I was not worthy of their attention if they had to wait for other messages, etc. The cell phone was designed to promote communication and it has achieved just the opposite. People communicate less and less, despite talking more and more, and we have created lots of rude habits besides. Warren Buffett is one of the richest men in the world, and has managed to rise to that status without using a cell phone (or an entourage to accompany him with them), so why is it that all these other people feel it is so absolutely necessary for them to “be connected” 24/7? Judiciously used, the cell phone can provide some benefits, BUT a necessity of life it is NOT!!!
I turned off text messages the first time I got a “Spam” text message (unsolicited ad.) I haven’t needed it in two years. My preferred communication methods are phone and email. I have not encountered cell phone rudeness to the level described in this article. Perhaps my colleagues are very well mannered. But Generation Y is different. My high school freshman tells me that some kids are texting each other in class while the teacher is speaking. And, this is the Honors Math Class! My college freshman tells me that he has shifted to using Facebook to communicate with his friends. It has the ability to send email without the spam. Texting comes in second for him for quick messages to his college buddies. I’m paying attention to their preferences. As a business owner, it is important for me to be aware of the ways my customers prefer to communicate and give them what they want.
I agree! But it’s the same behaviour that you see with phones in general – for some reason if the phone rings, whether land line or mobile, everything is dropped to answer it. And now it’s the same with texting and emailing – somehow people have mixed up the immediacy of this communication medium with urgency. They can’t concentrate or continue with their present task (no matter what it is) untill the phone call, text or email has been dealt with…
Some people use their phones in places of worship, in classical music concerts, in classrooms. Their asinine reasoning — “it might be an emergency.” 99.99% of the time, it’s trivial. Their phone buzzes or beeps. They check just to see who the call or text is from. Then they open the text or take the call to make sure it isn’t an emergency. When it isn’t an emergency, they say, “Well, I May as well reply. I’ve already opened the text.”
I can just go on and on. The irritating ring tones, the interruptions, the distractions, the games, the horrendous spelling, the one-upmanship ["My phone has more features than your phone.My phone is fancier than your phone." Big deal. The basic featires are all I need.].
When will decorum be restored? When will it become common sense? Why do we even have to rail on like this?
Suzanne,
I agree 100%, and the bad manners extend to the use of land line phones by sales clerks when “live” customers are waiting to be served.
Having started my working life before the advent of the cell phone, computer, calculator, copying machine etc. I am convinced that in many areas of business, personal productivity has decreased because of all the new technological distractions that we can use to waste time on “busy” work.
Yes!!! And add to that another new habit I find disrespectful: having your i-Pod in your ear while doing all of what you described!
It has been proven that multi-tasking does not work.
And it does no good to relationships – the bedrock of every transaction we engage in, personally and professionally.
Thanks for all the great wisdom!
I total agree with many of the comments made. I do not text or do I accept text messages. If you want to talk with me I better hear your voice.
Several other comments. As a parts clerk for a large national auto parts company, I have to deal with much of this rudeness all the time. Often I’m trying to work with a customer at the counter and they receive a call or text and they immediately forget that they are trying to buy a part and that they tying up my time, as well as the two three or more people who are standing in line, quietly waiting for this idiot, (oops I’m not supposed to call the customers names by company edict) to complete his call. Often it is some trivial conversation that could have waited several minutes until the transaction was completed. I really would like to tell the person to go to the back the line, and when this super important(?) conversation is finished come back and finish what we need to finish. Like to but I’d get fired and lose my minimum wage job. Also in response to one comment, this company has a three ring policy as far as answering the phone. It doesn’t matter how many customers are standing in front of the parts counter. Answer the phone and put them on hold, so they can listen to dead air for the next twenty minutes. So what if they get upset and call another parts house. We answered the phone.
Lastly, the Primerica team my wife and I are a part of has an interesting way of handleing the cell phone situation in our training sessions. If your cell phone ring tone goes off, or you answer or carry on a conversation during that time, it cost you five(5)dollars for every infraction. When it starts to cost, people tend to pay more attention to the subject at hand, and not to their phone.
Amen
If you are talking to me, give me your attention.
I know each generation seems to do things a little different than the one before, but, does that have to mean a total lack of manners?
I have received a text message (usually from my cell phone company), but I have never ever sent one. I agree with Keith. It is very much a generational thing. I don’t even have much need for a cell phone. And I’m not 90 I’m only in my 40s.
I’m thankful I’m not a slave to a cell phone. And to quote Oprah what is everyone talking about anyway?
As a seriously hard-of-hearing person, I love it that text messaging is available – I could not function without it!
However, I find people quite rude when it comes to cell phone behavior, whether it’s text, bluetooth, or whatever. Truly, many act like the phone is more important than the person in front of them. I was with a friend last night (at the fireworks) who spent half of our time together looking at her phone! What a bore! Needless to say I spend less and less time with this friend because she’s not with me when I’m with her!
That behavior is very detrimental to our relationships and damages our connections. I hope people get over this fad, fascination, or whatever it is that causes them to be so rude with cell phone behaviors.
While I admit that I, myself, exchange text with friends on occasion… I find the practice of it to be highly over rated. Just last week on my way to work, my roommate and I saw a car at a stop light where a lady was texting while eating a hamburger! As I see it, some may argue, but quick texts in public are ok – that is if they aren’t in the middle of a conversation with someone else. But texts on the ROAD! There has to be a line drawn somewhere.
I personally love the fact that I can text short messages as an alternative to using the phone. I find texting is less intrusive than the phone in many cases. When I get texts or emails in the middle of something else I reply if and when I am free to do so. When I’m in meetings my Blackberry is on silent – so my calls go straight to voicemail. I’ve been in important meetings where several of the attendees are “catching up with email”. Using a mobile when driving is not only stupid but dangerous and I’m surprised it’s taking so long to ban their use while driving.And texting while talking to someone or in a meeting, or church or the cinema – well it’s rude.
But it’s not the technology it’s the way people use it.
It’s been drummed into us long and hard that one should never leave a phone ringing… so peeople shouldn’t be surprised it’s translated to the mobile phone generation.
Suzanne,
While I agree with you, I laughed reading your article because my husband and I both do not text. We have tried and feel more frustrated and commented on it being such a waste.
The only time that it has proved to be worth while (out of our six attempts) was a quick note to say I love you that my husband sent me while he was at the NASCAR race and it was too loud to call.
Cellphone is a necessity nowadays, I mean I cant imagine being without it and having to rely on home or office phone. Texting is one form of communication that has evolved from mobile phones. I think in our country we use it more often than calls because it costs less and you can reply to the message anytime. Or you can reply without fearing eavesdroppers. I also use text messaging to forward motivational quotes.
in any technology invented, it only depends on the person using it if it’s good or bad.
I do not text message and have informed my friends and family to never text to me. What a waste of time! You can SAY IT much faster than you can type it. Why waste everyone’s time? Texting should be reserved for emergencies wherein you cannot speak (i.e., abductions or a situation requiring this approach).