[Part 1] Lemos' paper depicts map-making as a socio-political act, an expression of power. Maps themselves are a visual way of presenting geographic information, and have been traditionally controlled by technicians, governments and private companies, but since the advent of interactive online tools, some of the power inherent in map-making has shifted to ordinary people. Interactive tools such as Google Maps, allow the everyday person to experience a new practice of place, as Lemos writes "mapping our moves on the streets allows us to control the space; it is territorialization. […] The use of GPS and other devices for location and location-based services puts the emphasis on control and domination over a territory" (Lemos 2008, p.15). From the perspective of student protesters in London at the end of 2010, the use of an interactive Google map (see and example at: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/maptivism-in-london), allowed protest organisers to control the flow of digital information between cyberspace and the urban environment. Protesters themselves, those armed with locative media such as smart phones, had access to near real time data superimposed upon street maps relevant to their own position. This allowed protesters to collaborate by providing feedback to organisers or by reacting geographically to reported police location and action.

[Part 2] The act of real time digital mapping and urban annotation by protest movements potentially creates a new dynamic where the distribution of power relative to a location is altered. The ways in which citizens perceive the city and interact with its structure is changed when citizens have access to information about proximity and distance, when they are kept informed of lines of escape from controlled spaces. The act of protesting creates a temporary urban space, changing a location's social meaning. With the use of digital mapping tools a mobile social network is created, one that has the potential to communicate more effectively than the police forces arrayed against them. References: Cullum, B. (2010). Maptivism in London. Retrieved from: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/maptivism-in-london Lemos, A.(2008). Mobile communication and new sense of places: a critique of spatialization in cyberculture.  Retrieved from:  http://www.andrelemos.info/artigos/spatialization.pdf Live Protest Map (2010). Retrieved from: UCL Live Protest Map

[Part 1] This article brings together a number of links to UK student protest sites. Reading this and related articles it becomes clear that the students protesting about the UK government's fee cut policy are willing to use any tools at their disposal. Their primary aim has been to collaborate with, and inform supporters of offline physical protests; predominantly marches and occupations. The article itself is posted on the movements.org website, a non profit organisation whose stated mission is to identify, connect and support grassroots digital activists from around the world. The support offered by movement.org goes beyond the mere publication of articles and offers advice to individuals and groups on how to choose and best use digital tools. It is interesting to see the number of freely available digital tools that student protesters have used to disseminate information: Facebook, Twitter, websites, blogs, Google maps, YoutTube, open calendars and Flickr are all part of the student protesters' arsenal. Fast adoption of new technologies seems to be one of the strengths of the UK students' movement. Recently, for instance, student protesters in London used the new "Sukey" application, a conglomeration of tools like google maps, twitter and SMS, to avoid clashes with police (Kingley 2011). Google Maps too have been a useful tool and have been utilised to show the locations of upcoming protests, the map posted at http://www.feesprotest.com/ gives a good indication of the nationwide spread of student dissatisfaction, while at the same time hyperlinking to fairly detailed information for each locality and directing viewers to facebook protest pages for up to date information and interaction.

[Part 2] References: 30th November Here We Come. (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.feesprotest.com/ Cullum, B. (2010). NETWORKED PROTESTS IN THE UK: hOW OLD AND NEW TACTICS ARE BEING USED TO FIGHT RISING TUITION FEES. Retrieved from: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/networked-protests-in-the-uk-how-old-and-new-tactics-are-being-used-to/ Kingsley, P. (2011). Inside the anti-kettling HQ. Retrieved from:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/02/inside-anti-kettling-hq?INTCMP=SRCH

"Sukey apps help protesters avoid police kettles" Sukey is a recently developed online tool for protesters. It is made up of a suite of applications that allow protesters to either submit or access information about police presence on roads or junctions during protests. Sukey can be accessed and updated online from any connected computer and also via mobile phones, meaning that protesters potentially have access to relevant information no matter where they are. There are two flavours of Sukey for mobiles, smart phones with GPS and Internet browsers can use the "Roar" version of Sukey which includes helpful graphics like a compass and an interactive google map (Doctrow 2011). The "Growl" version of the application is suitable for older mobile phones and is basically an SMS update service. Information is gathered by people on site at protests, from specially tagged Twitter comments, from news broadcast footage and geotagged photos from Flickr. Location information can also be submitted via Google Latitude or by SMS. This crowd-sourced information is intended to allow protesters to make informed decisions and hopefully avoid kettling. Kettling is a practice used by police whereby protesters are surrounded and confined, sometimes for hours on end without access to food, shelter or toilet facilities. At present the platform is only available in London, but the developers have plans to release national and international versions. References: Doctrow, C. (2011). Sukey: an anti-kettling app for student demonstrators in London. Retrieved from: http://boingboing.net/2011/01/28/sukey-an-anti-kettli.html Geere, D. (2011). Sukey apps help protesters avoid police kettles. Retrieved from: http

Project: Carousel! » How to organise a successful student protest using online tools The author of this article is Pontus Westerberg is a member of the Project Carousel! Team, "a student-led online community working under the auspices of the Centre for Media and Film Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London". This brief article advises student protesters which online tools may be useful for organising protests and keeping protesters informed. The recommended tools include Twitter, blogs, video, plus online mapping tools. The article also recommends creating a central node, such as a website to tie all these disparate elements together, and as an example links to the UCL occupation page (http://www.ucloccupation.com/), which shows an example of this being done. Westerberg gives an overview on the use of Twitter hashtags to organise protest conversations, making them easier to keep track of, citing examples of these such as the #demo2010 that was used to organise conversations around the student protest that took place on the 24th October 2010. The 140 character limitation imposed by Twitter, also makes Blogs an attractive online tool for protest, offering a forum where ideas and issues can be disseminated and discussed in a lengthier format. Westerberg also provides examples showing the effectiveness of images and video in getting a message across, and indicates that there are benefits in utilising humour and encouraging user generated content. Overall the article provides basic information, but links to quite a few interesting examples of sites and tools that are being used by the student protest movement in the United Kingdom. References: Westerberg, P. (2010). How to organise a successful student protest using online tools. Retrieved from: http://www.projectcarousel.org/2010/11/how-to-organise-a-successful-s