cellit

Cellit isn’t in the business of collecting charitable contributions from mobile customers. It’s a specialized business, and there are some very good companies that have focused on it. None-the-less, I’m very intrigued at the use of mobile to support the relief efforts in Haiti.

The numbers are staggering: as of Friday morning, the latest estimate had over $30 million in donations as having come in via text message. At an average donation of $10, it means that 3 million phone users have heeded the various calls to action and texted in. Looking at it another way, Mobile Commons has published a list with 31 domestic and international aid organizations collecting donations via mobile. 31 organizations, 3 million people!

The mobile total represents roughly 10% of total donations to date, as the Chronicle for Philanthrophy reported an updated grand total of over $355 million. Not to be scouffed at, 10% is still 10%, and a significant increase over any mobile campaign to date. Of more interest to me are the thousands of news articles that have focused on the mobile aspect, even to the exclusion of more traditional phone, email, web or mail methods of donation. Even major relief organizations have jumped on the bandwagon, with The Red Cross having splashed their homepage with the headline “Cellphones save lives in Haiti” and an appropriate mobile call to action.

Why the interest by me? There seem to be inflection points in the adoption of a technology platform. Malcolm Gladwell would suggest we call them tipping points; times when something gains critical mass. Mobile so far has had two major milestones that elevated various aspects of the technology into the collective conscious. The first was the use of text-voting in American Idol, as ordinary Americans rushed out to buy an AT&T phone so they could text “IDOLS01” and propel their favorite candidate forward another week. The second was the widely written about use of mobile during the Obama Presidential campaign – and most notably when he announced his choice of Vice President via a text message.

I’ll argue that today, we sit in day 5-6-7 of another inflection point: the real dawn of mobile commerce. It is fundamentally huge that 3 million people have donated to such a worthwhile cause; it’s even bigger that so many of the media outlets have popularized the idea of mobile donations/mobile commerce to a much larger audience. The implication for businesses is that their consumers are now ready to engage in real, monetary transactions via SMS or mobile web site. Cellit is pioneering this field, launching several client projects in early 2010 that will significantly expand the number of large retailers and food service industry players with a mobile commerce presence.

Most importantly, please donate to a charity of your choice. The devastation in Haiti is unbelievable. If you’re compelled to donate to a cause related to the relief effort, or another equally worthy cause closer to home, the key is to donate. And if it’s over mobile, even better.