Hollywood-Area Residents Increasingly Turning to SMS Message Information Services Like Ask Bongo, Others

The rise of mobile technology is having a significant impact on everything we do, especially when it comes to researching specific types of information. Obviously, searching the internet has long been the go-to methodology for research purposes, and it is indeed a valuable, all-encompassing resource featuring information on just about any subject imaginable.

Although search engines continue to be highly effective for all kinds of research purposes, mobile phone users are increasingly turning to SMS message information services like Ask Bongo. Now that more than half of internet users access the web through some kind of mobile-enabled device, an increasing number of mobile users from all over the world -- including everywhere from Hollywood to Australia -- are demonstrating a preference for SMS message information services.

It’s an interesting development to be sure, and it’s possible that the preference for SMS messaging over traditional search engines highlights a desire among users to feel as though they are communicating with a trusted friend who just so happens to be an expert on the particular subject in question. While traditional search engines provide plenty of trustworthy options in response to a specific user request, there is ample anecdotal evidence supporting the idea that users prefer something that is more akin to a personal interaction, however brief it might be.

Ask Bongo, which is now the largest SMS message information service in Australia and is gaining traction in Hollywood and other parts of the United States, might serve to best illustrate the rationale for this increasingly apparent preference among users.

The SMS message information service relies on a combination of human researchers, an advanced software platform, and a comprehensive database of information to provide a direct response to a user’s query. Since the answer is ostensibly provided by “Bongo” -- a digital persona with a detailed backstory and a “cheeky” sense of humor -- users are able to secure trustworthy information while engaging in what is designed to feel like a realistic personal interaction conducted through a mobile device.

With more and more people communicating with friends and family through text messages and social media platforms, users should have little trouble with the suspension of disbelief necessary to enjoy communicating with a wholly digital persona rather than an actual person.

As the world continues to rely on mobile devices above all else, it seems clear that the majority of people still value the feeling of personalized customer service. It’s often the little things -- a marketing email that addresses the recipient by their first name is one of the most common examples -- that make all the difference in the eyes of the consumer. The increasing popularity of SMS message information services seem to offer further evidence that personalized customer service still matters a great deal to the majority mobile users.