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For some time, there has been speculation that texting, specifically if SMS was going to decline in the face of social media, much as IM has become passé. However, our friend Sybase 365’s Bill Dudley turns out not only to be a prognosticator, but also a source of some interesting factoids.

Below is some information Bill shared with TMCnet about the top texting volume days of 2011. As Sybase (News - Alert) noted in sending this along, in the holiday spirit, this information concerns “the 12 days of texting” (from December 1, 2010 to December 1, 2011). It in international in scope, and the “Reference Day” cited is the closest “normal” day to the particular highlighted day:

In the US, the top 12 messaging days of the last year were:

1.       12/25/2010 – Christmas Day

2.       11/24/2011 – Thanksgiving Day USA

3.       01/01/2011 – New Year’s Day

4.       12/31/2010 – New Year’s Eve

5.       5/8/2011 – Mothers Day

6.       Friday - 6/24/2011

7.       12/30/2010 – Day Before New Year’s Eve

8.       Friday - 6/17/2011

9.       Thursday - 6/23/2011

10.   Friday - 6/10/2011

11.   Friday - 7/8/2011

12.   12/29/2010 – Two Days Before New Year’s Eve

Bill points out that in the top 12 are four separate “Summer Fridays.” He also notes that in the chart below, only the top nine days are shown. The reason is that it is difficult to answer “what is a normal day?” when the “Summer Fridays” on the US top 12 list are pretty “normal” days.

1.       New Year's Day 2011 (01/01/2011)                                                  21.64

2.       Christmas Day 2010 (12/25/2010)                                                    21.47

3.       Thanksgiving Day (11/24/2011)                                                         13.10

4.       Mother's Day (05/08/2011)                                                                 9.91

5.       Valentine's Day (02/14/2011)                                                             4.83

6.       Father's Day (06/19/2011)                                                                 3.20

7.       Halloween (10/31/2011)                                                                     2.41

8.       US East Coast Earthquake (08/23/2011)                                         2.19

9.       New Year's Eve 2010 (12/31/2010)                                                  2.04

While gross numbers are not provided, the lists are interesting. One would have thought that in the U.S. Mothers Day and Fathers Day would top the list, but maybe mom and pop are not as digitally adept or still much prefer hearing a voice. Of course, that is a generalization which tracking calling volumes might easily dispel. The reassuring news here is that no matter where in the world one lives, the urge to stay in touch on life’s watershed communal days is strong. It surpasses for the most part political upheavals and natural disasters. Bad news or calamitous news may travel fast, but so do well wishes.  

However, you wish to send holiday greetings, we at TMCnet would like to extend ours, and hope you and yours have a happy and healthy, a stay in the habit of visiting with us often.

Peter Bernstein is a technology industry veteran, having worked in multiple capacities with several of the industry's biggest brands, including Avaya, Alcatel-Lucent, Telcordia, HP, Siemens, Nortel, France Telecom (News - Alert), and others, and having served on the Advisory Boards of 15 technology startups. To read more of Peter's work, please visit his columnist page.