Richard John's dashboard

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

That's the email confirmation from GetSatisfaction, not a response from BrightKite. Everyone gets that when they sign up here. – Richard John, on September 09, 2008 10:45

greeneyedgirl replied on September 09, 2008 09:46 to the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

even better

this is the answer i got to why can''t i receive a cnfrmation for SMS set up - did you read it?

We’re excited to have you with us, greeneyedgirl!

A default password was set for you: XXXXXX

Can you help us validate your email address? Simply click on the link to confirm. This will also transport you to your Get Satisfaction dashboard. From there you can edit your profile and account details.
Confirm

-- The Get Satisfaction Team

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

Lesley, thanks for responding - you're already ahead of the game in terms of customer satisfaction there! Am enjoying getting to know the service. – jaxb, on August 20, 2008 19:59

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

jaxb, 1) we were not made aware of this when we set up the number, so we are trying to resolve this. 2) We assure you that this number was not set up on the fly as a response to Twitter, we spent weeks setting everything up, the timing was mere coincidence. :) – Lesley, on August 20, 2008 15:48

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

Agreeing with jaxb on reception of sms updates. If removal of that functionality wasn't important to us, neither jaxb nor I would be here right now! – notsheep, on August 20, 2008 12:45

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

think that most ppl I know use the sms to receive updates - don't think that should be underestimated at all. – jaxb, on August 20, 2008 12:21

Guy Rintoul replied on August 20, 2008 11:00 to the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

OK, so maybe the Isle of Mann thing was a bit of an oversight. And yes, good to rectify it at this early stage if possible. However, in your defence, I've been using the Twitter UK number for about a year and a half now, and didn't realise until I read this thread that the texts are only included in my allowance because I'm on O2! So an easy mistake to make for a UK-based person, no matter US-based.

Also, would just echo the sentiments of @jaxb and suggest you make sure that it's feasible and you're not going to have to close down the number in a year or two's time. Having said that, I reckon the Twitter thing was quite a storm in a teacup - most people I've spoken to largely use Twitter's SMS number for updating their status, rather than receiving updates, and I suspect it will be the same for BrightKite. But just a watchout.

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

I am concerned 1) that I'm being charged for this although I'm in the UK - as with twitter this number ranks outside my calling plan and I get charged international rates 2) that this has been introduced so suddenly following twitters UK sms demise that this isn't planned or supported and will disappear just as suddenly. is there a long term plan to support sending SMS - especially given there don't appear to be any limits on how many can be sent? – jaxb, on August 20, 2008 10:45

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

Lesley, you can read more about the Manx telecom issue at http://blog.planetjamie.co.uk/blog/?p... - O2 is the only network which does not charge international rates to text an 07624 number (according to the link O2 own Manx Telecom). Getting a proper UK number will give you a huge advantage over the stalling and stumbling Twitter. – CaptainJamie, on August 16, 2008 20:29

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

I'm not surprised if this confused you - it confuses many people here in the UK!

The Isle of Man comes under the UK telephone code, so the numbers are prefixed with +44. But it has a separate government and is not covered by the regulatory body for mobile telephones for the UK, and has separate telecoms providers. Most UK networks do not take calls and messages to Isle of Man numbers out of the monthly contract allowance, but rather charge for them separately. And I think (though am not certain) that those on pay-as-you-go are also charged more for a text message to these numbers than to numbers which are based in the UK. Currently, I think O2 is the only UK network which does not charge extra for 07624 calls/texts.

I hope this information is helpful to you. – notsheep, on August 16, 2008 09:03

A comment on the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

Notsheep, we are going to look into this. We wanted a number that all of our international users would be able to send updates to, but we were not made aware that this would incur additional costs for people in the UK. We are going to see if we can possibly change this number, but for now this is the number that is available internationally. – Lesley, on August 15, 2008 23:49

notsheep replied on August 15, 2008 12:25 to the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

The number listed for the UK on the Brightkite website begins with 07624. I believe this is an Isle of Man number - if so, those on some (most?) UK networks will be charged separately for sending SMS to it. One of the criticisms regularly directed at Twitter (who use an 07624 number) was that it was misleading when it described the number as "UK" - which resulted in a lot of people having unexpectedly large bills. If this is also the case for BrightKite, it would be best (IMO) to be clear about that from the start.

Lesley replied on August 13, 2008 18:23 to the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

We have international SMS set up now. :) But first we need some testers. If anyone would like to help us us out, send me a message on Brightkite, username "sprouticus" and I can tell you what you need to do.

Lesley replied on June 09, 2008 01:50 to the question "How can I check-in to a location that doesn't have an address?" in Brightkite:

Yes, Richard John is correct, it would be easiest to use coordinates for a location without an address.

Richard John replied on June 07, 2008 12:01 to the question "UK SMS??" in Brightkite:

A UK number would be sweet. Twitter use a UK number for most countries.
If BK are looking for a gateway, I'd recommend txtlocal. Incoming SMS is free on a shared number, or £35 a month on a dedicated number. Outgoing SMS is fairly cheap as well (depending on how many you purchase).
http://www.txtlocal.co.uk/

Richard John replied on June 07, 2008 11:57 to the question "How can I check-in to a location that doesn't have an address?" in Brightkite:

The easiest thing to do I think would be to create placemarks using the co-ordinates.