SMS Weblogs / Textually / 2003 / 12 / 13

2003: SMS, good for the soul

This is the fourth post for Textually 2003 - The Year in Review, a series of entries rounding up the most interesting mobile news (best and worst) reported this year.

2003: SMS, Good for the Soul

This year, religions from around the world awakened to text messaging as a way of reaching out to young people and as a means of communication to spread the good word. They offered both guidance - and guidelines; the Catholic church said NO to confessions by SMS and Malaysian authorities overturned the Islamic Syariah Court’s ruling, allowing Muslims to divorce by SMS. Elsewhere:

-- In Italy, Ireland and the UK, a Papal Thought of the Day text messaging service was launched, emanating from His Holiness John Paul II.

-- In Indonesia, Islamic preachers with poster boy looks and pop star styles won legions of fans. "They shared the stage with rock bands and used TV, radio and sent text messages to spread their message".

-- To inspire users into contemplation, the Roman Catholic church in Holland offered religious ringtones.

-- txt@verse, a campaign backed by Christian charities raised money to mobilize against poverty, by offering verses of the Bible by text message at a premium rate.

-- In Sydney, a text message service allowed mobile phone users to receive Bible passages directly to their handsets.

-- Jews were able to send text messages with a prayer or request to a rabbi, who then placed the note in Jerusalem's Western Wall, thus observing a centuries-old tradition.

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