Is Email The Best Method For Real-Time Alerts?
from the just-wondering... dept
It's been pretty common for a while now to see airlines offering email alerts for last minute changes (e.g. "your flight is late"). In my experience, though, those emails almost always arrive too late to matter: I end up getting them after I've landed. Still, it seemed like an interesting idea to hear that Chicago's airports will now be offering last minute emailed information about which lots are full, so that travelers looking to park at the airport can avoid full lots after getting messages sent to their mobile devices. But is it really that efficient? As the article notes, many other airports just offer that info up in response to a phone call, or broadcast it over AM airwaves -- both of which are much more real time. Given the delays that email (and, similarly, text messages) often face, is email really the best solution for real-time communication?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Email = snail mail
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Actually, not too bad
etc.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Seems to work well for me
I distinctly remember sitting at the gate and getting a text message. It had a new gate number. I commented to my wife and a stranger we had been talking to. About a minute later the change was anounced.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
call me on my cell phone.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
DFW Terminal D
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72921127@N00/21893455/ Bad picture but you'll get the idea.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
I want the email to "tap" me; I won't always pull the update via a call or radio.
Of course, the provider should offer ALL these channels and let each consumer choose.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]