Text alerts to encourage blood donations: The Red Cross announced that it will begin offering real-time alerts to critical blood inventories and tips for successful blood donations through text messages. Users opt-in to the program and can then choose to give blood when and where it is needed. The text will even include a click to call feature that allows the user to book an appointment right away. Willing donors can subscribe to Red Cross texting by texting: "redcross" to 42227 or by registering at here.

Simplicity is what we need: In a recent Fast Company column, Gadi Amit, president of NewDealDesign wrote up his takeaways from attending the Body Computing Conference in L.A. last week: "Simplicity is what we need. We need concise clinical ideas that can be effective tomorrow, not in the next decade. And making these ideas come to life is a task any designer would gladly take on." More

Kids mobile company's transformation into healthy phones for seniors: Forbes continues its coverage of the wireless health industry with this piece that follows up on kids phone maker Firefly's new re-purposed life as part of senior-focused wireless health company GenerationOne: "In April 2008, health software maker GenerationOne purchased Firefly with the intention of using its mobile platform to support and expand its own services," Forbes writes. Since then the companies have combined their technology to create what they call an integrated mobile platform for health care. More