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In the past few years, it has become easy to stay connected to multiple sources of information at all times. With a cell phone, a laptop, a PDA and access to cellular and WiFi networks, you can find virtually all the information you need, when you need it. But sometimes people need to deliver information straight to you. If the message also needs to reach lots of other people, the process isn't as simple as dialing a number or typing in an e-mail address. This is where broadcast messaging comes in. Broadcast messaging is a collection of techniques that people can use to deliver information to lots of recipients at once. For example, during a weather emergency, law enforcement officials can notify people of life-threatening conditions. Doctors can let patients know when the season's flu shots have arrived. Staff at an electronics store can inform customers that a highly anticipated game is available for pre-order.
Sometimes, this information is convenient; other times, it's critical. To do this, it has to take advantage of lots of different communication methods. Information can be in the form of recorded messages, e-mail, text messages or fax. It can travel over traditional or cellular phone networks or the Internet. Delivering the messages also requires a database full of contact information and hardware that can handle lots of data moving simultaneously. In some cases, people may need to receive responses to their messages. For example, a dentist may send phone messages to patients with upcoming appointments. The patients may then need to press one button to confirm the appointment and another to cancel it. People who send urgent information may also need to know whether their messages arrived safely. Because of all these requirements and complexities, broadcast messaging generally starts with a service provider. The provider has the equipment and staff needed to take care of all the details.
A person or organization that wants to send messages -- we'll call this the sender -- works with the service provider to deliver information as efficiently as possible. Service plans can also differ substantially, much the way cell phone plans can have vastly different minute allotments and features. Once the sender selects a provider and a service plan, he uploads his contacts to the provider's database. Some providers can use existing contact lists, such as e-mail address books. Otherwise, senders may have to perform a data entry step to create the database before broadcasting can begin. If the sender represents a business that is trying to sell or market its products, he must also make sure his list does not conflict with national or local do-not-call lists. People change their contact information relatively frequently, and not everyone wants to receive lots of broadcast alerts. To accommodate this, many providers allow recipients to change their information and preferences. Providers can include information on how to do this in their broadcasts.
Senders can also create filters or multiple recipient lists to make sure people receive only the messages they're interested in. We'll look at exactly what happens when the sender creates a message next. The sender visits the provider's Web page or another URL, logs in to his account and creates a new message. He specifies when and to whom the message will be delivered. The service stores this information until it's time to send the message. When it's time to deliver the messages, computers take care of dialing, addressing and sending them. Most services can deliver messages via phone, text message, e-mail or fax. The sender can specify which method to use, or the service can automatically decide based on the recipients' preferences. Some services can also escalate messages when delivery attempts fail. For example, if the service tries to send a phone message but gets no answer, it then may try to send the same information using a text message.
If that fails as well, the service can try other methods until it reaches the recipient or runs out of options. Senders generally have two options when sending phone messages. They can either record a message using their own voice, or they can type a message that the service transforms into a recording using text-to-speech software. Text-to-speech applications use sets of rules and algorithms to translate typed words into language phonemes. Phonemes are essentially the building blocks of language -- they're the smallest possible sound elements of spoken words. Text-to-speech applications break typed words down into their phonemes, and a computerized voice reads those phonemes aloud. The provider usually sends the recording using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Sending messages using VoIP is less expensive and more efficient than sending the messages using the traditional telephone network. To send the message using VoIP, the provider has to digitize it by measuring the sound wave at frequent intervals. It translates these measurements into ones and zeros, which travel over the Internet as packets of data.
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