Texting

What Does Texting Mean?

Texting is a slang term that refers to the creation and transmission of short electronic text messages between two or more mobile device users over a network. This usually means sending messages with no more than 100 characters, although it has now been extended to include audio, images and video content, known as multimedia message service (MMS). The term texting was originally used as a shorter form of short message service (SMS), which allowed only 144 pure text characters per message.

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Techopedia Explains Texting

Texting essentially started in the 1920s when RCA Communications (known today as Verizon Wireless) in New York City first introduced the telex service. The first text messages were sent from New York to London via RCA’s transatlantic circuits.

Today, text messaging is often used by mobile phone users as an alternate method of communicating when voice communication is difficult, inappropriate or undesirable. In other instances, sending a text message is less expensive. It’s also less intrusive because the receiver can attend to the message at his or her leisure.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…