Next up is 3Jam. Since I reviewed Pinger previously, and the two services share similar ambitions and grapple the similar issues, each exploiting server side processing to foster group communication over the existing crude infrastructure, I'll bring up points of comparison as I go along.

3Jam, like Pinger, threads conversations and distributes messages to all parties in a group chat. Unlike Pinger, 3Jam traffics in SMS only, not voice. 3Jam's mobile interface to the service is an intuitive command set. Contacts can be added either through the web interface or from the phone. Unlike Pinger or Jyngle, 3Jam's web UI is only good for contact management and contains no messaging functionality, demonstrating focus on mobile to mobile communication.

3Jam Convos are Virtual Chatrooms

If you wanna think in OOP terms, a 3Jam (group chat) is like a server side object that gets instantiated when a registered user texts 3Jam (43526) with a list of contacts. The contacts are individual entries like "Mark Cuban" or "Michael Arrington" or a group like "HotOrNotGuys." Contacts are entered through the web interface or the phone. So an SMS sent to 43526 with "Text Mark Michael HotorNotGuys" will create a chat object with those guys (and myself) as participants. 3Jam will reply with an SMS informing that a "3Jam started with MarkC MichaelA JamesH and JimY." (The object would also have me in the chat_starter attribute.)

In a clever bit of engineering, that chat opening SMS message is sent from a five digit SMS shortcode distinct from 43526. Replying to that distinct short code broadcasts the SMS to everyone else in the convo. This system allows a 3Jammer to be in more than one chat group! The 3Jam convo is the primary object, not the message as it would be in email or Pinger; it is essentially a virtual private chatroom (think IRC or AIM).

Anyone can expand the chat by inviting others. Anyone can "quit" themselves out of a 3Jam; the 3Jam starter can "drop" anyone. The 3Jam conversation stays alive until the starter "ends" the 3Jam, everyone quits or there's no activity for 24 hours. (Then the chat object gets garbage collected. Gobble, gobble.)

As in virtual chatroom, the list of 3Jam convo participants is obviously common knowledge. This represents a mental shift from SMS where bcc: shotgunning is the prevailing "group" mode. As with Pinger, the 3Jammer has to think carefully about his participants. Only tight groups, teams, particularly in travel or coordination contexts, and teenage posses, where group identity is strong, would find 3Jam more compelling than annoying; push2talk aliens are a prime species. I tried 3Jam experiments with two groups of adult friends and it was either met with total apathy or kind bemusement. It's the kids or other niche groups who will have to turn the tide for the rest of us. Perhaps it's illustrative that I first learned of 3Jam from their MySpace profile and not until a TechCrunch mention that I developed interest in kicking their tires.

3Jam does many small things just right

Pinger reveals not only the participants but their email addresses through the web UI; 3Jam thoughtfully hides the cellphone number in the web UI for a given name unless that person has added you to their contact list, ie not unless the relationship is mutual.

Pinger's unregistered recipients receive their voice messages as emails until they register; 3Jam's unregistered recipients are for the life of the 3jam convo full participants. Dodgeball flunks the matter by making their system closed to anyone not already registered. They merely extended the idea of social networking on the web by enabling mobile communication. Unfortunately the tiny Dodgeball population never developed critical mass, and the closed system only encouraged communication between strangers, which rarely ever happens. With 3Jam, initiative or exploration by one subscriber ropes in all her friends because name and phone number is the atomic identity. If anything gives 3Jam a viral chance at the big boom, this open mechanism is it.

Small Complaints

I do wish they would SSL protect their contact management web pages. Until they do, I'm gonna have to enter their domain into my GreaseMonkey Secure-em-all script. Messages to a 3Jam sometimes seem to disappear into the void. Could be a sporadic issue with SMS itself. There's a reason why doctors still carry pagers.

Conclusion

Rich smart phone apps like Microsoft's Slam and Boost's Loopt are the future for group mobile communication. Until then, we make do with dumb clients on the current infrastructure. For SMS, 3Jam is right for right now. And right now, it's free. How will they make money? Perhaps either ad insertion or a buyout by a carrier?