Text messaging has become the fastest, easiest and most efficient means for people to communicate. Below are some recent statistics that show how popular text messaging has become.

Nearly half (47%) of US teens say their social life would end or be worsened without their cell phone, and nearly six in 10 (57%) credit their mobile device with improving their life, according to a national survey from CTIA and Harris Interactive.

The study also confirmed that texting is replacing talking among teens. Teens admitted spending nearly an equal amount of time talking as they do texting each month.

13-44 year old consumers use text messaging more often than voice. On average 97% of text messages are read.

95% of consumers keep their cell phone with them all day.

  Three billion active users of SMS text messaging throughout the world.   
  SMS texting is the most widely used data application on the planet.

  The active user base of SMS is three times the total number of personal
  computers - desktops, laptops and netbooks all put together.

  SMS text messaging is used by over twice the number of people who use
  the internet. Even if we allow for all internet use, PC based and mobile
  phone based and all the access at internet cafes and university campuses and libraries etc, the total internet user base is 1.4 billion.

The global user base of SMS shot past email total user base seven years ago and today there are 2.5 times as many people on the planet who send messages using their phones, than send messages via the email system. Total email user base is 1.3 billion.

SMS text messaging is used by over four times more people using Instant Messaging (which is at about 700 million, worldwide). Individual social networking sites, like MySpace, Facebook, etc. totally pale in comparison. Facebook has about 150 million users.

How about some specific reasons to use text messaging for your venue?

• It empowers your fans to discreetly and instantly report stadium issues directly to your command center
• Works when voice doesn't (loud, crowded bandwidth)
• Thousands of "Eyes" become part of your security team
• Acts as a deterrent of unruly conduct when fans know other fans
  are watching and have a way to report them discreetly & quickly

It can be used for a variety of Incidents:

• Preventing altercations from escalating
• Reporting of emergency medical situations
• Housekeeping issues (broken seats, spills, etc.)
• Parking lot monitoring (tailgating pre & post game)

So with just about all your patrons carrying, using their cell phones and texting in your venue, shouldn't you provide them with texting as a means to communicate with your administrative staff?

Not all text messaging systems are built equal. We have developed our platform after carefully evaluating the current systems in the market. 

We then went about interviewing many security directors, guest service officers, stadium operations personnel and numerous other individuals in the Arena, Stadium, Convention and Sports Industries including the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA.

It was with the above input we were able to formulate what would become the gold standard in the industry. Below are several features and functions to look for when considering implementing a text messaging system.

•   100% Web-Based Interface Allows Access From Anywhere - No Software to download
•   Allows Multiple Simultaneous Users to be logged in at the same time
•   Message "Conversation" Threading - See Both Messages Received/Messages Sent on
    Same Screen
•   Easy to Use (one click message blasting) - no complex instructions for operation
•   Full Statistics and Reporting of Platform Usage directly to Excel.  Instantly you should be  
    able to generate a post-event excel spreadsheet report indicating the amount of
    messages received, the time each came in along with an analysis by:
       * Message type (legitimate, non-complete, prank)
       * Location (section 100, upper level, club seats, etc.)
       * Incident type (fighting, cursing/taunting, drunk/alcohol related/unruly, smoking, etc.)
       * Group that the incident was assigned to (security, guest services, event staff, etc.)
       * Resolution (warning issued, resolved, ejection, arrest, etc.)
       * Staff member(s) who responded to the incident (Joe Smith, John Doe, etc.)
       * Date and time stamps to know exactly when the messages came in and went out
•   Fast, Easy Campaign Creation
•   Long Messages (up to 459 characters)
•   Message Templates (canned messages) so you don't have to manually type in common 
    responses that you would typically use over and over again.
•   Advanced User Group Management (sub-groups) -  Any number of designated groups
    can be sent an alert or emergency notification.  You should be able to set up as many
    groups as you like and decide the people in each group.  For example, you may want to
    set up a group consisting of all of your Security Supervisors or one with Medical
    Personnel.  Now if an emergency arises, quickly compose your text message, pick the
    group or groups to send it to, and click "send"... all the members of the group will receive
    the message to their cell phones within seconds.
•   Cell Phone Originated Group Messaging - Staff can text right from their cell phone to a
    designated group if they see an emergency situation while patrolling the venue. This will
    allow you to alert staff members at a moment's notice from wherever you or your Security
    Supervisors are located.
•   Advanced Calendar Based Message Scheduling (appointment reminders)
•   Email Forwarding to Multiple Email Addresses -  We added this Email functionality in the
    ISS platform for those of your staff that prefer to receive Email messages to their
    Blackberrys instead of a SMS text message.
•   Voting and Polling with Real Time stats & charts
•   SMS Forwarding - Incoming texts can be instantly forwarded to individual staff cell
    phones or radios with text screens, such as MotoTRBO, who are patrolling the location
    where the text is coming from.  The benefit of this feature is that it allows you to
    immediately get in contact with the person in the area who can take care of the situation. 
    The usher will know exactly the issue that was reported from the fan's perspective along
    with the handling instructions added from the operator of your system.
•   "Blocking" feature allows you to prevent "pranksters" from texting into system
•   API/Http Forwarding (create your own applications)
•   Mobile Site Tool (auto create hosted mobile sites)
•   Dedicated Email Support System
•   Low Messaging Fees
•   All Major Carriers Accepted - Make sure your application provider is using a Tier 1
    Aggregator which indicates that they have the best relationships with the major carriers.

The above are just but a few of the many features that you should look for to help easily manage your stadium and venue events.  They are all designed to make your life and job easier.  The system should help you find out about issues from fans before they escalate.  Your fans now will become participants in helping maintain safety. 

You will also be able to handle problems at the time they are occurring as opposed to receiving complaints the next day from fans or patrons who had a bad experience during the event. Ultimately it comes down to ensuring your patrons have a great experience which inevitably helps your bottom line.