Having focused on the impact that online political collaboration had in deciding the 2008 Presidential election, the gulf in class between the methods employed in protests regarding the conventions of both political parties in the preceding election is evident from this paper. While presumably Txt-mob failed to orchestrate political collaboration on the scale envisioned, for many activists it proved invaluable in sharing information and co-coordinating actions during the conventions. This was prominent with the Nyccc's deployment of Txt-mob to maintain effective top-sight and a "big picture" view to attempt to counter aggressive policing during ground protests.
The deployment of Txt Mob in political collaboration facilitated new and innovative ways to empower the individual, as well as offering new forms of participation. What's evident when analyzing this article is the organized strategy employed. As Hirsh (2005) notes the A31 flash-mob style gathering while only releasing details of the gathering a few minutes before the demonstration began, was able to communicate and contact every participant of the protest instantly. While police presence was high for both the convention and in an attempt to deter this kind of political protest, the use of Txt-mob through cell phones to orchestrate these rallies was crucial in maintaining the anonymity and organized presence of participants and it was this factor that led to the success of these Text-messaged inspired protests.
Although the use of Txt mob is left somewhat open-ended in this paper, the selection of various protest locations in order to intensify the message of the participants in my opinion separates it from being a standard flash-mob and elevates it to being an organized and strategically planned political collaboration. The use of such a service to inspire and empower ordinary voters was unquestionably revolutionary and would no doubt lay the foundations for not only an advanced from of online social organization but arguably the political revolution that was to come.
References: Hirsch & Henry, (2005) TXTmob: Text Messaging For Protest Swarms, CHI 2005, Late Breaking Results: Posters. Portland Oregon, Retrieved from: http://web.media.mit.edu
The deployment of Txt Mob in political collaboration facilitated new and innovative ways to empower the individual, as well as offering new forms of participation. What's evident when analyzing this article is the organized strategy employed. As Hirsh (2005) notes the A31 flash-mob style gathering while only releasing details of the gathering a few minutes before the demonstration began, was able to communicate and contact every participant of the protest instantly. While police presence was high for both the convention and in an attempt to deter this kind of political protest, the use of Txt-mob through cell phones to orchestrate these rallies was crucial in maintaining the anonymity and organized presence of participants and it was this factor that led to the success of these Text-messaged inspired protests.
Although the use of Txt mob is left somewhat open-ended in this paper, the selection of various protest locations in order to intensify the message of the participants in my opinion separates it from being a standard flash-mob and elevates it to being an organized and strategically planned political collaboration. The use of such a service to inspire and empower ordinary voters was unquestionably revolutionary and would no doubt lay the foundations for not only an advanced from of online social organization but arguably the political revolution that was to come.
References:
Hirsch & Henry, (2005) TXTmob: Text Messaging For Protest Swarms, CHI 2005, Late Breaking Results: Posters. Portland Oregon, Retrieved from: http://web.media.mit.edu