Texperts

File:Do Sheep Shrink In The Rain Book Cover.jpg

Do Sheep Shrink in the Rain?

Texperts was a UK-based SMS question-and-answer service. In December 2008, Texperts was bought by the United States–based Knowledge Generation Bureau, operator of the 118 118 services, a directory services company which had also entered the SMS question-and-answer market. The service was later renamed Kgb Answers and is now defunct.

History

Re5ult Ltd was launched initially with a subscription-based service called 'Re5ult' on a normal mobile number. However, in August 2004 the service was launched on a premium text code and rebranded as 82ASK. In 2007, Re5ult switched phone numbers and brands again, relaunching the service as Texperts on short code 66000.

Performance

Posing the question "How many people [are] alive compared with all who had ever lived?", a Guardian journalist testing the service received an answer within five minutes, with the closest rival answering it in 22 minutes. A similar question asked for "a hotel in Ireland within half an hour of Rosslare en route to Westmeath" which received an answer within 15 minutes; a rival service answered a few minutes sooner and also provided prices which Texperts's response lacked.

Publications

In 2006, Texperts released the book Do Sheep Shrink in the Rain?, subtitled "Over 500 of the most outrageous questions ever asked", published by Virgin Books. The 256-page paperback is a compilation of questions received and answered by the service.

See also

• AskMeNow