Image Semantics: SMS vs MMS vs Emotions

Everyone knows that SMS is the driver of mobile data.

Everyone also knows that MMS use is increasing but picture messaging hasn’t been the revenue driver initially anticipated. Moreover, MMS might not ever take over SMS use.

But today I had a very interesting conversation with James Pycock and Richard Harris from a company called Image Semantics  (www.sendfuntext.com).

I immediately questioned the uptake of MMS and both responded quickly with how they were going to reshape the messaging environment with unique emotion based messages.

Hmmm.

My mind raced and I thought of awful SMS links to WAP sites to get to a message.  But this is not the case. On the contrary, Image Semantics wants to create the emotional message.

What?

Basically, the message is more visual and focused around sending upset, happy, love, lust emotions as responses rather than facts (as in SMS) or pictures (as in MMS).

It’s a nifty toss up of the two with cherries on top –because actions speak louder than words.

The company also has some high profile deployments in the UK (T-Mobile) and the US (Sprint) and it made me think of one of its competitors Vidiator.

Vidiator is an avatar based greeting card mobile messaging company that plays in the same field. But the competitive differences are that Image Semantics is about recreating the message with icons and images and Vidiator is more avatar based.

Both are highly fun and it’s great to see new companies making waves in messaging.

Of course, when it becomes more interesting for me and GoMo readers is when advertising initiatives are involved. I can see operators wanting to send emotions to customers, or consumers or even the enterprise getting more involved in the emotions market because it’s easier to talk less provocatively in graphics.

Apparently big things are coming and our eyes are open!