Sorry, but once bitten, twice shy for me, so I abandoned my efforts. They just lost a possible customer because they had to do this backdoor crap.

Lesson learned there – I’ll be avoiding all SMS to 5-digit numbers from now on.

Given all the talk of new media models, perhaps the time to right to vote on shows you see on YouTube, and MySpace through Text, IM, or Voice?

I think the genius of text is that teens treat it like a conversation with a real person, its akin to gossip, or a popularity contests, and their is no perceived “barrier” to entry (no club membership, no sign up, etc. etc.)

Companies in Europe are now seeing that it is more difficult to get more meaningful interaction using text, so they are turning to voice based interactive services.

But as you say, certain people the idea of being put in a lottery in exchange for a vote. I wouldn’t bother with that either.

“Idol” and shows like it though sometimes is watched in groups of people. And we know when that happens everybody will push each other to vote and spend.

Short-term it may do ok, but like you, I’m not sure there is really a future of in reality TV, when TV itself is losing eyeballs continuously.

Then, as you say, where will providers of these services be then? I don’t see much of an upside either.