Like Pavlov’s dog, we are increasingly conditioned to respond to our various mobile device chimes and sounds. I know by the distinctive shooooosh when I have received a Slack message. I know a heavy, thudded ping means new email. And the angular, high-pitched ping means it’s time for a text message.
So, I’ve been disappointed many times this week when the message I viewed after hearing the distinctive alert was from a New York Times sports reporter from Brazil. I signed up for the service after seeing it promoted and blogged about through media channels. One, selfishly, it’s always good to, ahem, learn from ideas originating elsewhere. Maybe DMN could emulate. Two, on a consumer level, I always want to support innovative ways publishers look to reach their audience.
So, my disappointment is disappointing. It’s made me question how brands and publishers can really make a dent into mobile messaging. For me, it’s a place where I expect one-to-one or small group messages. Any time that’s interrupted by a inbound marketing request or non-personalized publisher communication, there is an inevitable letdown when it’s not a friend sending a joke or someone making plans.
Of course, perhaps this duality of use is more ingrained in a younger generation’s mobile habits, but, for me, it’s never the message I want to receive.
