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Teen Texting Expert Insists on Being Letter-Perfect
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But Glass's mother also points out to any critics, such as those who sarcastically blog about the competition, that her son has a life outside of text messaging and has stellar grades at Leonardtown High School, where he will be a sophomore.
"I like to show these to as many people as I can," she said, holding up two honor roll certificates in protective plastic sleeves. "William is an honors student. He does other stuff, like studying and getting good grades."
Glass kept practicing up to the last minute in New York, sending texts as he and his mother explored the city and lounged in plush robes in their Times Square hotel. But during the semifinal round for seven online winners, Glass slowed down, messed up and lost.
Just when he thought he was out of the competition, contest organizers told Glass he had one more shot at the $50,000 grand prize, albeit a long shot. He could go up against 200 New Yorkers, possibly the toughest crowd of texters out there, who had gathered to fight for a final spot in the competition. The contest was open only to owners of LG phones.
The texters were assigned to tables of five, where they stood with hands behind their backs and counted down from 10. As soon as a message appeared on the monitors, they grabbed their mobile devices, typed with a flurry of thumbs and hit "send" on messages such as, "They gave a monkey a typewriter, and he typed only 2 words: Chuck Norris." and "I am sooo ready 4 this down n dirty battle on the QWERTY!"
"The entries couldn't have any mistakes, at all," Glass texted. "What we typed had to be copied exactly from the screen, even down to the spaces and punctuation."
The first person to send a perfect text won the round and the other four texters were out, until only one remained: Glass. Suddenly, the teen found himself standing at a game show-style podium as one of eight regional finalists. And with his shy smile and popped polo shirt collar, he was a crowd favorite.
"He was adorable," said Demetra Kavadeles, an LG spokeswoman. "He had the crowd cheering for him. They just loved him."
But with all of the lights and cheering and cameras and the "Austin Powers" theme song blaring from the speakers, Glass got nervous and lost his focus. He made a mistake quickly and was out.
Still, Glass walked away with lunchroom bragging rights and $800, which he plans to spend on a new iPod and back-to-school clothes.
"I was a little disappointed that I didn't win, but I had already known because I made a mistake in my message," Glass texted. "I did win some money though, and I'm going to try again next year for the grand prize."
The $50,000 check went to Nathan Schwartz, 20, of Ohio, who said he sends at least 5,000 texts a month. The winning text: "Does everybody here know the alphabet? Let's text. Here it goes . . . AbcDeFghiJKlmNoPQrStuvWXy &Z! Now I know my A-B-C's, next time won't you text with me?"
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