October 20, 2003
UK Government Tries to Make Sense of TXT
Mike Grenville for 160characters.org summarizes a feature article in The Guardian on some of the ways that local and central government is starting to use mobile messaging.
"Some of the examples discussed are:
- The Buzz, a text message soap opera for young people devised by Derbyshire county council designed to cover important issues, such as teenage pregnancy
- Implications of e-voting - will it help voter turnout and what is it trying to fix?
- Reporting problems such as broken street lights to local councils
- Notifying parents when their kids are absent
- Car parking payment
- Promoting adult education courses
The article concludes that the main problem with public services by mobile phone will not be working out how to do it, but avoiding overdoing it, according to one key government policy-maker".
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