Texting Types
May 15, 2013. The day Google I/O starts and sadly I did not get tickets. But the keynote was today and they announced plenty of new features/improvements including Google Maps, Google Now, voice search, Google Wallet (sending money through Gmail soon), developer tools, education apps, games, music, and many changes to Google+. While there were major improvements to photo editing to Google+, I was slightly disappointed at the messaging aspect. It is an improvement to have one universal spot to communicate instead of many (Google Talk, Google Hangout, Google Voice, Google Huddle, etc.) but I expected it to include more, that is SMS. I'm sure it is to come. (By the way, props to Microsoft having one universal place for messaging already)
I thought the new "Google Hangouts" would have included SMS and changed the way we communicate by text (i.e. more integrated and flowing conversation throughout all of our devices).
Since the emergence of text messaging over a decade ago, I've seen many types of texters:
The Bored Texter- The person that only texts you when they're bored.
The Immediate Responder- The person that responds as fast as automated machine. Probably my favorite type of texter; I'm one of these.
The Elder- They don't know how to text. They'll call you back or maybe even send you an email (or even older, a handwritten letter).
The Serial Texter- They'll send 5 messages to you before you can even reply to one.
The Drunk Texter- No explanation needed.
The Nonchalant Texter- This person is never in a rush to message back; you may get a response the next week.
The Waiter- Social protocol is that you may seem desperate/needy if you message too quickly. These people "wait" the apportiate period before responding. I really dislike this type. This is our generation's version of "Wait three days before you call"
The Parent- My father has never had formal English lessons; I'm sure my father's texts are quite different from your parent's. "Matt, I win 40000" may or may not have been one.
The Caller- They are eager to get something done so instead of messaging back, they call. I like these people (Once again, I do this).
The Holiday-er - Every holiday, they send you a text wishing you a nice holiday. This type may commonly intersect with the next type.
The Group Texter- These people mass text; it can be used efficiently or thoughtlessly.
The Situation Avoider- They purposely avoid responding to messages to evade a situation or having to decline/accept an offer. Busy people are often mistaken to be Situation Avoiders. A second definition could be that they use texting to avoid situations like awkward silence at dinner/elevator or talking to someone they walk by.
The Forgetful Texter- The description should be enough and I'm sure everyone knows one of these; it may be you. Easily mixed up with Situation Avoiders.
Text And DrIvE- This may be the worst type. Stupid.
Even if Google Hangouts is updated to include SMS in the future, these types are here to stay for any type of text communications.
P.S. I'm not sure how my father knew I was going to get the Android 4.1.2. update for my S3. Or did know that Google I/O was this week?!