Nancy Lublin on Tackling That Toughest of Emerging Markets: Teenagers (Video)

Try texting, not email. That’s just one of many things the “chief old person” at DoSomething.org has learned about how to reach the next generation.
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No Account, No Problem: Facebook Messenger Continues War on SMS With Android Update

A new Facebook update for its Messenger app brings texting to Android users without Facebook accounts.

News Byte

M-Via Closes $17 Million Round to Serve the “Unbanked”

Palo Alto-based m-Via has raised $17 million to fund the development of its mobile money services, which allow the “unbanked” to send money using text messages instead of expensive wire transfers. The company, which is also changing its name to Boom Financial, will use the funds to expand in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. Digicel Group led the round, with RRE Ventures and MATT.org also participating. The company has raised more than $30 million to date.

Voices

Explosion of Text-Message Spam Creates Space for Cloudmark

Spam is still a nuisance, but controlling unwanted email messages represents one of the few success stories in the security industry these days. A more sophisticated form of that threat has been gaining ground on mobile phones, however.

Samsung’s ChatON Service Due by September, with iOS and BlackBerry Versions by Year’s End

The first version Samsung’s IM service will support Android and Bada; by year’s end it should work on all major devices.

Samsung Getting Its Chat On With Siloed IM Service

Following Apple and Research In Motion, Samsung says that it, too, will offer a dedicated messaging service available for Samsung device owners to easily message one another.

Txteagle Has 2.1 Billion Phone Numbers and $8.5 Million Dollars

Txteagle, which conducts surveys via text message in emerging markets, has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding from Spark Capital and seed investors RBC Venture Partners, Flywheel Ventures, and Qualcomm Ventures.

Ex-Palm Team Finds Success Offering Free Calling and Texting for iPhone and Android

Pinger struck out with its first idea–a way to make voicemail more like email–but the team appears to have found its niche with its TextFree line of apps which offer free texting and even calling from the iPhone and Android phones. The service also works on devices such as the iPod Touch that don’t normally support calling.

Vodafone: Texting Still Down in Egypt, Except for Government Propaganda

The U.K.-based wireless carrier says the government hasn’t allowed text messaging to be turned back on, and that it has been forced to send pro-government messages to customers. Plus, more updates from Abdulla in Cairo.

Verizon Beats AT&T in Voice Calls for iPhones

Some major benefits of the new Verizon iPhone service include crisp, clear calls with relatively few drops. But AT&T offers faster data downloads.

Text Offenders