Have you been paying attention to what’s going on in the world of messaging? Recent rulings by the FCC, significant security breaches and a host of other issues have been in the news lately.
The messaging channel is still in its “Wild, Wild West” phase, where text ‘slingers’ can conduct business with very few laws and no designated deputies.
The FCC’s recent ruling declaring messaging to be an ‘informational service’ means there’s very little recourse if your messaging channel is hijacked or ‘slammed.’ (And unfortunately, some have found out how easy it is for bad actors to hijack another company’s messaging channel.)
So if you’re not able to pay attention, you can rest assured that someone is. That’s exactly why we created a new trade association called MessageComm. MessageComm is the only trade association exclusively devoted to the messaging industry.
On a Mission to Make Messaging a Trusted Channel
MessageComm’s mission is to make messaging the most trusted and reliable form of communication by creating industry best practices and standards, privacy rules and educational content.
“The time has come to lay down some laws to help mitigate the risks and resolve the critical issues in this new and rapidly expanding channel,” said Midori CEO Noah Rafalko, who founded MessageComm along with VoIP pioneer Jeff Pulver.
“Our goal is to protect the security and best interests of both businesses and consumers as they navigate the world of text messaging.”
Rafalko said the staggering growth in messaging has created significant security, privacy and fraud-related issues. “We need this industry to evolve in the right direction, but we can only do that by working together with policymakers, regulators, technology and communication providers to demystify and drive positive change in the messaging ecosystem,” he said.
Power by Association
Rafalko said that early on, he, Jeff Pulver and Adis Vila, the other founding members, recruited several industry heavyweights as well as leading telecom companies such as NetNumber and Somos. A key reason why they joined MessageComm is so they can influence and cast a vote in key decisions guiding the association.
“Somos is thrilled to join other industry leaders in guiding the future of messaging,” said Gina Perini, Somos’ president and CEO. “As a company driven by fairness and neutrality, we applaud MessageComm’s mission to make messaging a trusted and reliable form of communication between consumers and organizations, enriching our industry.”
“MessageComm gives the NetNumber team a valuable mechanism for sharing ideas with the messaging ecosystem so that we can continue to play our role as a primary routing infrastructure and registry provider to the industry,” Steve Legge, General Manager of the NetNumber Global Data Service (GDS) business.
MessageComm represents professionals from a wide variety of different industry verticals, from Resp Orgs, wireless carriers, aggregators, governmental entities, enterprises, consumer brands, technology companies, telephone number registries, consumer advocate groups and communication law firms.
Participants include thought-leaders from the “C” suite, regulatory lawyers, product management and marketing representatives and operations personnel who are dedicating their time and energy to help resolve critical issues at the industry level.
“Our colleagues in the messaging industry have repeatedly told us that they desperately needed a forum for voicing their concerns and recommendations,” Rafalko said. “They recognize that their voice is stronger when part of a larger group.” MessageComm members are in constant contact thanks to bi-annual face-to-face meetings, group and member conference calls, he said.
Ready to Join?
Are you passionate about messaging? Do you want your voice to be heard? Are you ready to make a difference in the industry? If so, MessageComm is for you!
For more information, check out the website at www.MessageComm.io.