SMS Alerts - About What

Antony OLBG · Stallion Read My Blog! Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 7108

There have been a few people mentioning they would like to get SMS alerts for certain things that they currently get emails for

Firstly what is it you would like the alerts for

Lets assume they cost 50p each which is looking like the lowest number Id be able to do (and I think I'll be losing money at that) - so it could get quite expensive if you're getting lots of tips a day - but on the other hand I guess the cost could be trivial compared to what you might win Very Happy

aye66 · Stallion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 6361

I'm not too sure about this... so maybe someone who is more tech savy can confirm this.

I heard that some mobile operators provide an "email to sms services". e.g. the email could be something like: +44123456789@mmo2.co.uk.
Email messages will then get translated to sms... with a certain delay (but not too much).

is this science fiction? i remember a friend of mine boasting to me about this service that he uses.

aye66 · Stallion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 6361

anyway... i realised that my point might be a tad unclear...

I was just suggesting an alternative if there is not enough demand to implement this within OLBG. I guess members could look up for this kind of service from the mobile operators if they really feel that they are losing out on a huge amount of profit! Wink

(if the service exists of course!)

Antony OLBG · Stallion Read My Blog! Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 7108

Yeah there are services but Im not sure they are realiable

I tried something last year with O2 and it sometimes took as long as an hour for me to get the text! There are also some subscription services that convert emails to SMS which if I remember work out at about 20p per text.

I think they are quite quick but a bit of hassle to set up (the one I tried was). Also if people changed their OLBG email to something that they couldnt easily reply on they this would cause the site problems - and running 2 emails would be problematic for me - its hard enough with 1 and all the bounces we get. The main issue is that a few people mess about with stuff - so people could set up to email the prime minister or something on the second email - Im just not going there

aye66 · Stallion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 6361

AH well... you probably know best about this Ant... it was just a suggestion. though i'm not sure i can understand the part about emailing the prime minister.... i'm sure you can mess around even with one email for that right? Smile

Antony OLBG · Stallion Read My Blog! Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 7108

No you cant mess with the one email as until youve received and replied to an email at the address you gave your account is suspended, and the same happens when you change it - hence it must be you

If the destination is a mobile via email then how do you confirm its their email?

Antony OLBG · Stallion Read My Blog! Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 7108

Ive worked out that I need about 10 people interested for this to fly

It could get quite expensive for you guys too as if say you get 10 alerts a day thats �5 a day or �150 a month on your mobile - seems like an awful lot to me

aye66 · Stallion Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 6361

you're right there about the cost of it....
i'm thinking of the scenario when sms might be useful....
i think that you would only want to get sms when you don't have access to the internet (to keep the costs down). If you don't have access to the internet and you get the sms, are you going to:
a) rush back to a computer to bet on-line? (not likely me thinks)
b) go and place the bet off-line? (maybe you are there at the races or at the bookies all day?)

it's a bit strange isn't it? maybe the people who wish for the sms feature could clarify this... when would the sms feature be really useful?

Antony OLBG · Stallion Read My Blog! Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 7108

I think its people at work who dont have access to a PC mostly who maybe want to make a bet by phone after getting an alert - not sure though - hopefully we'll find out! Very Happy

Dammo Qwirky · Stallion Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 7974

i cant remember wot its called but if u did get the alert, there is that service whereby u can access the best odds on yer selection and it will place the bet for u assuming u have an account. that would be handy for all the people that cant use the net at work for wotever reason. not all of us can sit around in our pants all day!

Antony OLBG · Stallion Read My Blog! Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 7108

Just bringing this back up
Basically its looking like not enough interest yet, but I'll ask again in 6 months when we have a some more members

geoed · Listed Class Joined: 15 Nov 2004 Posts: 48

Apologies for the delay in joining this thread.

I (amongst others) flagged this idea for those who wish to follow the Top Tipsters and compare what they've selected on a given day against my/our own selections.

The service would act as an interface between whats happening online and say standing in the Turf Accounts looking to back a winner!

Depending on how much time site admin has, there is an option which you can use by installing pre-formatted software on your PC to set up the service.

I'm looking at something similar for my employers, but we're a bit away from vendor appraisal yet.

Cheers
Geoed