Opinion Question: Texting—Curse or Cure

According to Nielson, text message usage in mobile subscribers in the U.S. increased 450% from 2006 to 2008. The trend in growth of text messaging is continuing and as phones get better and texting keeps working its way into the business world, we want to know what people think about it.

Personally, texting has been a part of life since I got my phone. With friends, I can quickly share a random thought without taking time to place a call, risking interrupting something. They can then respond at their leisure and the process is fairly passive and unobtrusive.

With friends it was one thing, with work it was another. Until I got to Salty Waffle, I was never encouraged to text anything, work related or not. The default protocol is definitely still to call or even email.

But, as texting is taking over and devices are easier to type on, will business move to texting as a major mode of communication? Is that a positive thing? I like the idea of being able to text something quickly to my boss to give a heads up, but would I like a 3am text from a guy at work asking me to cover?

There are certainly other elements to think about in this discussion, but we are more interested in your gut reaction to texting at work, for work, to co-workers, etc. Is it a cure for untimely calls, missed emails, and a full voicemail box, or is it a curse that will only further bind you to your phone?

Let us know in the comments, we are trying out texting here so we want to hear some thoughts on the matter or personal experiences one way or the other.