Contxts is innovative not in concept (SMS autoresponders have been around for some time), but in the ease of implementation and current no-fee status due to a shared number.

That said, I’m not sure I’d want to rely on an unknown and untested third party solution due to potential longevity and uptime issues. There’s cutting edge, then there is bleeding edge. If a prospective student sends a text and receives none, that reflects poorly on the school promoting the option.

Re: the viewbook idea, college viewbooks can persist in school guidance offices for years, and during that time this free service could easily shut down. Etc. This past year has seen a number of Web-based services shutter, including some owned by big names such as Google.

For some of the more short-term ideas (visit confirmation letter), perhaps this free solution would be adequate. Still, I’d worry about uptime issues. (Even AT&T fell prey to iPhone usage at SXSW, crippling their data service. And they are hardly a startup.)

There are more trustworthy ways of implementing something like this. As I mentioned, fee-based SMS autoresponders, even available with dedicated virtual numbers, have been around for quite a while.

Regardless of the ease of implementation and no fees, there is still time and effort involved in implementing this. Call me a naysayer, but the same amount of effort could likely yield better returns elsewhere.