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By Peter RosscloseAuthor: Peter Ross Name: Peter Ross
Email: peter.ross@trafficbroker.co.uk
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Raised by wolves, in the darkest of woods, Pete eventually left the pack. He emerged into the world blinking and half feral with one true dream: to write about mobile phones on the Omio blog.See Authors Posts (39)

Barrack Obama is a really canny political operator. He has a rare ability of being both incredibly inspiring and charismatic while at the same time lacking any real substance. Much in the mould of Blair and Cameron he is a sort of smiling vacuum, eminently loveable but ultimately hollow.

Medium is the message as Marshall McLuhan once wrote, so Obama had to think really carefully how he addresses his public. This is one of the main reasons his campaign has been so eager to use new forms of technology to spread his message because it makes him look so fresh and innovative. Using the internet to attract donantions from grass roots supporters was incredibly successful with Obama breaking all previous funding records.

With a twist on the traditional joint press conference, Obama will be revealing who his Vice President will be via text and Email. It’s another canny decision, innovative and newsworthy in its own right. He’s also rewarding his loyal grass roots by informing them first, directly in a really personal way.

Source: The Guardian

Cost of Texting Slashed by 50%

By Peter RosscloseAuthor: Peter Ross Name: Peter Ross
Email: peter.ross@trafficbroker.co.uk
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Raised by wolves, in the darkest of woods, Pete eventually left the pack. He emerged into the world blinking and half feral with one true dream: to write about mobile phones on the Omio blog.See Authors Posts (39)

Holidays are great aren’t they? I should know, I’ve just spent the last 2 weeks lying on various Greek beaches in a state of catatonic bliss. But it’s so expensive to use your phone abroad which is a real shame. The most pleasure I get from going abroad is rubbing it in everyone’s faces that I’ve been lounging in the sun while they’ve been at work in the rain.

Luckily today the EU Telecoms Commissioner announced that the price of sending texts abroad will be slashed by 50% from 23p to 11p by 2009. This means I’ll be able to double the mount of bragging text messages I can send to colleagues and friends about what a great time I’m having.

Read the full article here.

Source: The Times

Excessive Texting a sign of Mental Illness

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (212)

U.S. Psychiatrist Dr. Jerald Block reckons that sending excessive text messages and emails may be an indication of mental illness. He says that there are four specific symptoms: suffering from feelings of withdrawal when a computer cannot be accessed; an increased need for better equipment; need for more time to use it; and experiencing the negative repercussions of their addiction.

Although text messaging is not directly linked to the Internet, Dr. Block believes that it should be included among the criteria because it’s a form of instant messaging. The ‘condition’ is better documented in countries such as South Korea, where research on internet addiction has revealed deaths from heart attacks and game-related murder.

Source: News-Medical