September 2, 2004
Upoc's Ruckus RNC 2004 and TxtMob
Texting was the most prevalent technology at the Republican National Convention, and some protesters who lacked it felt uncool, reports the Associated Press.
"The text messages have ranged from an offer of a sewing machine for a women's anti-war group called Code Pink, to an alert that protesters in row boats on a lake in Central Park might be arrested, to an update that protesters were allegedly beaten while handcuffed.
Ruckus RNC 2004 was among the text-messaging groups available on the commercial Upoc.com service with 484 members.
More popular with protesters was the TxtMob.com site, developed expressly for activists by techies with the Institute for Applied Autonomy.
TxtMob has 4,400 registered users, the site's administrator, who goes by the pseudonym John Henry, said in a phone interview. Users with several cell phone companies reported trouble receiving messages Tuesday and Wednesday. Henry wouldn't say what he thought caused the problem.
Reporters covering the protests were among TxtMob's more avid users, and Henry said he assumed police were also keeping up with its missives".
Related articles:
-- Political protesters hear call with text messaging
-- Text Messages for Critical Masses
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2004/09/005156.htm
