On Saturday I started sending SMSs to the number supplied for the SA Music Awards, trying to vote for my favourite artist in the Record of the Year category. I know, started a little late for true, but I figured since my man hadn’t done much to promote himself either, he probably wasn’t counting on my vote anyway. Anyway, I didn’t end up sending any of those SMSs. What ended up happening was that because I use a company I’ll call VotaCon and not one called EmptyN, the network wouldn’t let me cast my vote for my artist to win. I don’t know how many times I tried to send it and it would not go. Several times even wondered if I hadn’t run out of airtime, but I had plenty of that stored up.
Eventually it dawned on my dumb arse that EmptyN was punishing me for not using their network in my everyday life, that the SMS line was only open to EmptyN customers. Bye bye consumer choice, Y’ello giant corporate squid. Everywhere you go. What a lost opportunity! By denying me and millions of other cell phone users outside their control the right to vote they surely lost major revenue, didn’t they? How shortsighted! It’s no wonder EmptyN has been running second to VotaCon ever since the race began in 1994. Yes they’ll tell you they are bigger than Vota outside of SA and that Vota had a whole year’s headstart blah blah blah, excuses excuses. Truth is, it’s myopia of this nature that has left EmptyN licking their wounds each year subscriber results are announced.
Funny enough, I’ve always had a soft spot for EmptyN, even on Saturday I still wished they could catch up and overtake VotaCon in the SA subscriber game. Today I don’t wish that anymore. Today I wish someone like Cell C or Virgin Mobile can rise up and take out both these cell phone giants and realise my dream of experiencing low cell phone costs and free SMSs. I wish.
Eventually it dawned on my dumb arse that EmptyN was punishing me for not using their network in my everyday life, that the SMS line was only open to EmptyN customers. Bye bye consumer choice, Y’ello giant corporate squid. Everywhere you go. What a lost opportunity! By denying me and millions of other cell phone users outside their control the right to vote they surely lost major revenue, didn’t they? How shortsighted! It’s no wonder EmptyN has been running second to VotaCon ever since the race began in 1994. Yes they’ll tell you they are bigger than Vota outside of SA and that Vota had a whole year’s headstart blah blah blah, excuses excuses. Truth is, it’s myopia of this nature that has left EmptyN licking their wounds each year subscriber results are announced.
Funny enough, I’ve always had a soft spot for EmptyN, even on Saturday I still wished they could catch up and overtake VotaCon in the SA subscriber game. Today I don’t wish that anymore. Today I wish someone like Cell C or Virgin Mobile can rise up and take out both these cell phone giants and realise my dream of experiencing low cell phone costs and free SMSs. I wish.
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