Back in 2006, at the NewComm Forum in Palo Alto, a vendor displayed a nifty SMS-based service. The idea was simple. You’re driving past a billboard or see a bus drive by with an advertisement on the side. You’re interested, but how do you get more information? Using the service (the name of which I can’t remember or find), the advertiser would include a numeric code to send via text-message to a simple address. In response, you get more information.

By way of demonstration, the vendor had obtained some biographical information on every attendee at the conference and assigned each of us a code. Text-messaging the code returned a summary of that info.

I have no idea whether the service took off—I haven’t seen any of the SMS info on billboards or public transportation—but the idea is similar to one introduced online recently (hat tip to Sallie Goetsch for pointing it out). Instead of billboards for promoting the number, though, the word is spread through t-shirts.

Reactee lets anyone create a shirt with a message and an SMS code. You also create and manage the message people get when they send the message. The shirts are $25, although by the time you add shipping and other costs, it winds up running $35 or more (depending on the shipping method). If you make your shirt public, others can buy it and help spread your message.

I’m testing Reactee out with a shirt promoting For Immediate Release. Send a text message and you’ll get a brief recap of the current show contents. I ordered the shirt in black, which will help me get away with wearing it when I present my session at next week’s IABC conference.

Of course, once the code is set up, there’s no rule that says only people who see it on a shirt can use it. We can tell anyone: Send a text message to 41411 and enter firpodcast and you’ll get the show update.

One drawback: It only works in the U.S., apparently.

In any case, if the rising use of mobile phone technology hasn’t captured your attention yet, it should.