<s>
Alert	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
(	O
or	O
alert	O
notification	O
)	O
is	O
machine-to-person	O
communication	O
that	O
is	O
important	O
or	O
time-sensitive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alert	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
emerged	O
from	O
the	O
study	O
of	O
personal	B-Application
information	I-Application
management	I-Application
(	O
PIM	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
science	O
of	O
discovering	O
how	O
people	O
perform	O
certain	O
tasks	O
to	O
acquire	O
,	O
organize	O
,	O
maintain	O
,	O
retrieve	O
and	O
use	O
information	O
relevant	O
to	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alerts	B-Application
are	O
typically	O
delivered	O
through	O
a	O
notification	B-Application
system	I-Application
and	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
application	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
is	O
machine-to-person	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Very	O
basic	O
services	O
provide	O
notification	O
services	O
via	O
email	O
or	O
SMS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
advanced	O
systems	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
AOL	O
)	O
provides	O
users	O
with	O
the	O
choice	O
of	O
selecting	O
a	O
preferred	O
delivery	O
channel	O
such	O
as	O
e-mail	O
,	O
Short	O
Message	O
Service	O
(	O
SMS	B-Device
)	O
,	O
instant	O
messaging	O
(	O
IM	O
)	O
,	O
via	O
voice	O
through	O
voice	O
portals	O
,	O
desktop	O
alerts	B-Application
and	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Novel	O
approaches	O
provide	O
users	O
with	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
schedule	O
their	O
own	O
alerts	B-Application
(	O
for	O
example	O
Outlook	O
Calendar	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Federal	O
Communications	O
Commission	O
is	O
continually	O
working	O
to	O
improve	O
their	O
ability	O
to	O
put	O
in	O
place	O
a	O
notification	B-Application
system	I-Application
in	O
case	O
of	O
emergency	O
,	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
help	O
protect	O
citizens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
9	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
FCC	O
approved	O
an	O
emergency	O
alert	O
text-messaging	O
system	O
so	O
that	O
cellular	O
telephone	O
users	O
can	O
get	O
text	O
message	O
alerts	B-Application
in	O
case	O
of	O
emergencies	O
.	O
</s>
