One thing we've noticed since we've moved south of the boarder...

Rain
 
 
Faxing stuff... Seriously? Why don't we just ask these guys how they would do it, instead?
 

 
 

Beepster

Kalle Rantaaho
IMO a text message is great for urgent info and in cases battery life of the phone is an issue. Internet connections are often either unstable or slow to use  on phones depending on where you are or what phone you're using. In my business, for example, auction results are sent as group SMS so people get it in a quickly accessable form no matter in which  corner of their farm they are.
Also, using internet eats phone batteries, so many don't have net on if they know they can't charge the phone during the day. You can send a hundred text messages with the battery strain required for a few e-mails.
 
I think it's a bad joke to have, say navigator for pedestrians if you can't use it duer to low battery life.

These are good points and honestly I was not aware of a lot of that so thanks for the edumacation.
 
However those are practical usages of the technology as opposed to mindlessly blathering in l33tsp33k just because.
 
There is a sociological theory/general sentiment that I first heard ages ago from a pretty hard ass old school punker buddy of mine but I've noticed is creeping into the impressions from academics, social commentators and the more scathing comedians about the "constantly wired in" phenomena and what it says about those who engage in it.
 
That is a large swath of the population, the ones you see constantly glued to their phones no matter where they are or what they are doing, simply cannot stand even a minute or so alone with their own thoughts or self in general. They absolutely MUST be broadcasting everything they think to the world, no matter how mundane. They NEED to know EXACTLY what all their "friends" are currently doing or thinking or pooping or whatever whenever possible. They CRAVE the validation of "Likes" and "Retweets" and "Shares" and "Thumbs Ups" and other happy little nuggets of acknowledgment that they are indeed wanted, loved or relevant. Without it their fragile, artificially inflated egos crumble and their delicate psyches shatter. The mere thought of spending even a day disconnected from that mindless back and forth or not receiving their little digital hero biscuits every couple of minutes makes them want to crawl out of their own skin. It makes them face the cold harsh reality that we are all, in the end, alone in the world. The sad part is if they just looked up from their flashy little gadgets and disconnected from that constant dopamine rush of being "pinged" and "friended" they would realize that they are surrounded by sights, sounds, tastes, tactile sensations and the real life versions of those who make them bark and beg for their biscuits on the intertubes. They might also come to appreciate the sanctity of their own inner thoughts and self and come to appreciate who THEY are as opposed to whom they try to portray to the world simply to impress pixels on a screen.
 
Now please, for the love of all that is holy, mark this post as "Helpful" or I may cut myself!!!

auto_da_fe
Occasionally I watch these horrible e-mail exchanges going on between people who work for me and other teams in the company.
 
People typing up frickin' novellas in response to someone else's novel....I then call the person on my team who is part of the exchange and tell them to set up a conference call,  9 times out of 10 the matter is closed agreeably in 30 minutes.
 
Every form of communication has its place, but none is more effective than good 'ole talkin'.  (IMHO)

sharke

Rain
And guess what? I woke up to find someone had again left a message on my voice mail in answer to an e-mail. 
 
In this case, I'd written an e-mail to ask a very, very simple question, something which could have been answer by a simple yes or no. W/o going into the details, it was as simple as asking a music store rep : "Do you sell Gibson products?"
 
The funny thing is that since I wasn't available when they called, they left me a message - not with an answer to my very, very simple question, mind you. That would have been too easy. Nah, they asked me to call back the 800 number, then press this and that and then ask a specific extension...
 

 
 

So you got called by a sales rep who was hoping to engage you in the subject of Gibson guitars and hopefully have you order one over the phone. It's 1000% easier to make a sale if you can talk to someone. I used to work in a market selling ornamental candles and we didn't have the price on anything, the idea being that customers would ask you the price and that was your opening. Whereas if you provided that info for them in the form of a sticker, they'd invariably take one look at it and walk away.

Magic Russ

sharke
 I frequently read texts, vow to respond to them later, then forget. So clients "shoot me texts" and I ask them nicely, "could you email me that request? I need to have it filed and categorized." It's just how I work. But they claim a text is more convenient for them. 

 
Maybe you should ask how convenient it is for them when you can't find their text because your system does not allow for searching through text messages?