Social Networking Web Design

Texting, Cell Phones Play Big Role in Romance

Some 40% of adult texters (age 18-55) who are in a relationship or dating believe that text messaging plays a significant or very significant role in their relationships, and nearly one-third say that their wireless phone has saved them from a bad date, according to research from AT&T.

The survey, which was conducted to gain insight into how text messaging is being used in the modern dating scene,  found that 68% of texters admitted to sending a love note via text messaging, 67% have used text messaging to flirt, and 28% text at least three times a day with their spouse or significant other.

In addition, 52% of texters said messages to the effect of “thinking of you” are the most common text types received from a date or spouse.

1ST D8 CANT B L8

For those who are seeking a relationship, the study also found that text messaging provides an easier approach to making an initial love connection:

• 34% of texters in a relationship or dating agreed they would be more comfortable on a first date if they received a text message beforehand.
• 26% agreed that someone would be more likely to accept a first date with them if they have exchanged text messages first.
• 58% admitted they have at least occasionally shown a friend a text message from a suitor to get his or her interpretation.
• 38% percent admitted that their wireless phone has saved them from an uncomfortable dating situation.
• One-quarter of dating texters have used text messaging to update their friends or family on the progression of a blind date.

On the other hand, texting can have a downside too. AT&T found that communicating via text in romantic relationships can possibly create uncertainty and frustration if the recipient of the message waits too long to respond:

• 84% of texters believe that text messages can sometimes be misunderstood by a date or suitor.
• 24% said the biggest turnoff when texting with a date or a spouse is a slow response.
• 82% said they answer a text message from a date or romantic interest immediately or as quickly as possible.

Interestingly, one-third of texters who are in a relationship or dating indicated they would get upset if a date/spouse responded to a wireless call while on a date, however, 44% of dating texters admitted to answering their wireless phone in the midst of great dinner conversation, and 58% have had their date/spouse answer their phone.

It’s OVR, We Need a Bre8k

In a possible reaffirmation of the importance of face-to-face communication for some types of bad news, only five percent of texters have broken up with someone using a text message and six percent have been broken up with via texting.

Younger Adults Text More

Demographic information points to the fact that texting plays a greater role in younger adults’ relationships, and reveals differences in dating and communication disclosure:

• 37% of respondents age 18-35 said they text at least three times a day with their significant other compared with 22% of those age 36-55.
• 74% of those age 18-35 have flirted via text messaging compared with 60% of those age 36-55.
• 26% of those age 18-35 admitted to texting more than one person at a time to invite them on a date or for other romantic reasons, but only 7% of those who are 36-55 have done the same.
• 30% of respondents age 18-35 have texted friends and family to update them on a blind date, compared with 19% of respondents who are 36-55.

“People have discovered that there are moments when just the right text, sent at just the right time, can go a long way to keeping romance alive,” said Alecia Bridgwater, director of Messaging for AT&T’s wireless unit. ”

Among the most common SMS expressions of affection:

• I LUV U
• MISS U
• THINKIN BOUT U
• DINNER 2NITE?
• HEY BEAUTIFUL
• LETS HANG
• UR CUTE
• XOXO
• MUAH!

About the survey: AT&T’s 2008 text dating survey was conducted by Synovate via an online consumer opinion panel of 1,000 adults age 18-55 in May 2008.

With the rise of social networking, many of us have hundreds if not thousands of online contacts. But how many of them do we actually keep up with? Probably not many. That’s the problem Zentact attempts to solve through a new service that keeps track of all your contacts across email and social networks and alerts you to relevant opportunities to reconnect as you browse the Web.

For example, let’s say Pete Cashmore is in my address book. Zentact lets me tag him with topics that I know might be interesting to Pete, like social media, blogging, or Mashable. Then, let’s say I’m searching Google for social media tools, and I suddenly find myself on Mashable.com. If I’ve installed Zentact’s Firefox plugin, an alert will pop-up notifying me that it’s a good time to contact Pete, since I’m on Mashable reading about social media. In the alert, Zentact tells me the last time I contacted Pete, and lets me know why the page might be interesting to him. From there, I can email the link along with a personal message.

You can imagine this being applied to much more real-world situations – if you tag someone with a more obscure interest – say, fly fishing - you’ll get an alert to contact them whenever you happen to stumble upon a relevant page, anywhere on the Web. This is already the way people communicate today – but it’s typically only within their inner circle of friends that they already know well. Zentact aims to make it something you can do with everybody to strengthen your relationships.

On its website, Zentact lets you manage all your contacts, either by importing your email address book or adding them manually. You also get a tag cloud, so you can connect different contacts that share the same interests. Additionally, you can sync Zentact with your Twitter account, so if you’d rather @reply to someone than email them when an alert pops up, you can do so, assuming you have the other person’s Twitter name.

Zentact is founded by the same team that built and sold MyBlogLog to Yahoo. Much like MBL, Zentact is a new and incredibly innovative way to connect people that makes you go “why didn’t I think of that?” With this project, the team is certainly onto something that could go well beyond the blogging and social media niche, though, they’ll obviously want to offer its plugin in browsers other than Firefox. If you’d like to try it out, sign up here.

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