Texperts

Texperts was a United Kingdom-based mobile question-and-answer service built around the idea that users could send difficult, obscure, or time-sensitive questions by SMS and receive an answer from a team of human researchers. It belonged to the early generation of mobile information services that attempted to turn the mobile phone into an on-demand reference and concierge tool before smartphones, app stores, and general-purpose mobile search became widespread. The service originated with Re5ult Ltd, which first operated a subscription-based service under the name Re5ult using a conventional mobile number. In August 2004, the operation moved to a premium-rate text code and was rebranded as 82ASK. In 2007, it changed both its branding and its short code, relaunching as Texperts on 66000. The repeated changes reflected an effort to make the service easier to market as a consumer-facing SMS utility while retaining premium pricing for the research work performed behind the scenes. Customers could submit questions covering general knowledge, travel, recommendations, and practical information. The service’s value proposition was not simply access to a database: it promised that a person would interpret the question, conduct research, and return a tailored answer. Contemporary testing reported that Texperts could answer some questions quickly. A Guardian test involving a question about the number of people alive compared with the total number who had ever lived reportedly produced a response in five minutes, while a competing service took 22 minutes. In another test, Texperts identified a hotel in Ireland within half an hour of Rosslare on a route toward Westmeath in approximately 15 minutes. A rival service answered slightly faster and included pricing information that Texperts omitted, illustrating both the usefulness and the limitations of the model. Texperts also extended its brand into publishing. In 2006, it released Do Sheep Shrink in the Rain?, a 256-page paperback from Virgin Books containing more than 500 unusual questions submitted to the service and the answers supplied by its researchers. The book positioned Texperts as an entertaining repository of curiosity as well as a practical information provider. In December 2008, Texperts was acquired by the United States-based Knowledge Generation Bureau, the company behind the 118 118 directory-services operation. Knowledge Generation Bureau had also entered the SMS question-and-answer market, making the acquisition a combination of overlapping mobile information businesses. After the transaction, Texperts was renamed Kgb Answers. The service is now defunct, and the Texperts brand no longer operates as a consumer question-and-answer service.

Texperts developed from Re5ult Ltd, an early mobile information venture that initially offered a subscription-based question-and-answer service through a standard mobile telephone number. The concept was to allow customers to submit questions by text and obtain researched responses from a human answering team. This approach predated the widespread availability of smartphones and mobile search, when a premium SMS service could function as a practical alternative to browsing the web independently. In August 2004, the service moved to a premium text code and adopted the name 82ASK. The change placed the operation more clearly within the premium-rate mobile-services sector and gave it a concise consumer brand associated with asking questions. The service later changed its number and identity again. In 2007, it relaunched as Texperts using the short code 66000. Under this name, it presented itself as a broader mobile answer and research service rather than merely a novelty question line. Texperts handled a wide range of queries, including factual questions, travel planning, and requests for local recommendations. Its operating model depended on researchers interpreting questions and returning answers, which allowed it to respond to questions that might not have had a straightforward database result. Contemporary reporting described the service as capable of producing relatively rapid answers. In one Guardian test, a question about the number of people currently alive compared with everyone who had ever lived reportedly received an answer within five minutes, while a competing service took 22 minutes. A second test asked for a hotel in Ireland located within half an hour of Rosslare while travelling toward Westmeath. Texperts replied in around 15 minutes; a rival service answered a few minutes faster and also supplied prices, which Texperts did not. These comparisons showed that Texperts competed on speed and breadth but that answer completeness varied by query. The brand also made use of the entertainment value of its question archive. In 2006, it published Do Sheep Shrink in the Rain?, subtitled Over 500 of the most outrageous questions ever asked. Issued by Virgin Books, the 256-page paperback compiled unusual questions received by the service and the answers generated by its researchers. The publication gave Texperts visibility beyond the mobile channel and reinforced its identity as both an information utility and a source of human curiosity. In December 2008, Knowledge Generation Bureau acquired Texperts. The buyer was based in the United States and operated the 118 118 directory-services business; it had also entered the SMS question-and-answer market. The transaction brought together businesses addressing a similar demand for information through telephone and text channels. After the acquisition, Texperts was renamed Kgb Answers. The later service is now defunct, ending the commercial life of the Texperts brand.

• 2008

  Acquired by Knowledge Generation Bureau

  [1]Texpertsen.wikipedia.org

  Knowledge Generation Bureau acquired Texperts in December and subsequently renamed the service Kgb Answers.

• 2007

  Relaunched as Texperts

  [1]Texpertsen.wikipedia.org

  The service changed its phone number and brand, relaunching as Texperts on short code 66000.

• 2006

  Do Sheep Shrink in the Rain? published

  [1]Texpertsen.wikipedia.org

  Texperts released a Virgin Books paperback compiling more than 500 unusual questions submitted to the service.

• 2004

  Service rebranded as 82ASK

  [1]Texpertsen.wikipedia.org

  In August, the service moved to a premium text code and adopted the 82ASK name.

• Re5ult launched

  [1]Texpertsen.wikipedia.org

  Re5ult Ltd introduced a subscription-based mobile question-and-answer service using a conventional mobile number.

A human-researched, on-demand SMS information service positioned between a mobile reference desk, search assistant, and concierge. Its differentiation rested on tailored answers supplied by researchers rather than automated search results.

• Mobile information service · 2007

  Texperts SMS question-and-answer service

  The core Texperts offering allowed users to submit factual, travel, recommendation, and other research questions by text message. Researchers prepared tailored replies and returned them to the customer, making the service a human-assisted alternative to early mobile web searching. The brand operated on the premium short code 66000 after its 2007 relaunch.

• Book · 2006

  Do Sheep Shrink in the Rain?

  A 256-page paperback published by Virgin Books in 2006. It collected more than 500 unusual questions asked through the Texperts service and presented the answers in an entertaining reference format.

• 2008

  Acquisition by Knowledge Generation BureauM&A

  Background

  Knowledge Generation Bureau operated 118 118 directory services and had also entered the SMS question-and-answer market.

  Action taken

  The company acquired Texperts in December 2008.

  Aftermath

  Texperts was renamed Kgb Answers and is now defunct.

  Source

• 2007

  Relaunch as TexpertsStrategy

  Background

  The service changed its telephone number and brand after operating as 82ASK.

  Action taken

  The business relaunched as Texperts using short code 66000.

  Aftermath

  Texperts became the service's principal public identity until its acquisition and subsequent renaming.

  Source

• 2004

  Move to premium SMS and adopt the 82ASK brandStrategy

  Background

  Re5ult began as a subscription service using a normal mobile number. In August 2004, the business shifted to a premium text code and changed its consumer-facing name.

  Action taken

  The operator relaunched the service as 82ASK on a premium-rate text channel.

  Aftermath

  The premium-SMS model preceded a further change of brand and number when the service became Texperts in 2007.

  Source

1. 1Texpertsen.wikipedia.org