Audience Interaction with Text Messaging

Many of us have heard of or experimented with audience response systems (ARS) or as a commenter on Techcrunch called them "classroom clickers", to generate interactivity in a presentation.  (see my Audience Response System posting from 2006 for more on his subject)  These systems allow the presenter to integrate polling questions into a PowerPoint presentation while the audience is given a chance to respond through the use of a wireless keypad that is handed out during or prior to the presentation.  While this technology can be a useful way to generate interaction, it also can be expensive given the investment cost in the proprietary software, keypads, wireless access and the time spent familiarizing both the presenter and the audience with the use of the tool in their presentation. 

Now technology has come to the rescue with an alternative to the ARS through the use of a ubiquitous tool that is becoming more and more comfortable for many audiences - SMS messaging or text messaging.  Two interesting solutions that address this technological capability are the integration of Twitter into presentations and the other is SMS polling using a tool like that from SMSPoll.net or PollEverywhere. 

Let's look at these two tools as they specifically integrate into PowerPoint.

KillerStartups referenced SMSPoll.net tool with a quote from the SMSpoll.net web site:

"SMS Poll is the easiest and fastest way to find out what your audience is thinking. Requiring no special hardware or software, you can create a poll in just a few seconds. Your audience votes by sending an SMS to a local phone number and the results are updated right before your eyes, in real-time, in your PowerPoint presentation or on your website.”

Techcrunch technology guru Jason Kincaid featured Poll Everywhere in a recent posting had this to say about the service:

"Instead of using a proprietary device, users simply send a SMS message to a specified number. This data can then be displayed on a dynamic PowerPoint slide, allowing users to watch the results change on the fly."

The limitations to using this type of polling include the  following:

• Although 52% of cell phone subscribers have supposedly used text messaging, there are still many cell phone users, including many high income professionals and older demographic segments who do not have, know how to use or use text messaging
• Text messaging often costs the user, unless they have a cell plan with unlimited text messaging service

Let me know what you think about these services.