Chit chat

I came across an intriguing article here all about trends in cell phone (mobile) use across Africa - where often one phone is shared (and passed around) by a whole family - and usually carried by the person expecting an 'important' call.

Here in SA there is widespread use of a 'please call me' free text system (a bit like reverse charge calls). The caller sends a free SMS request to be called back - I'm sure there's probably an equivalent in the UK or elsewhere..

Apparently in Mozambique, phone customers have been taking full advantage of free 2 second calls (available with one particular cell operator) and developed a way of communicating in 2 second bursts of chat, then hanging up and calling back.

Sounds a bit mad but then again, I bet it cuts out waffle. I'm sure most messages could be conveyed in 2 seconds...

Later