fisharepeopletoo

Only One Place Behind The Harpole Report by J.L. Carr

Text Messages belts up the charts to 33 in Amazon's list of 20th Century poetry.

Still available from all reputable long tail retail emporiums for the recession busting price of 88 new pence.

Attack of the Social Media Savvy Customer Relationship Managers!!!

No sooner had I posted this on twitter:

"Text your reports of good and bad service on Virgin trains between London and Mancheste." [using Thumbprint]

than I got this:

"richard_baker Or you could just tell Virgin Trains direct, on Twitter, for free! @fishRpeople2"

I wonder what "for free" is meant to imply?

But the comparison is a good way to ask how "redress" can become a part of active citizenship?

And if that changes when the public service is provided by a private company?

The 9 Things You'll Need for Civic Engagement Using Mobile Phones

I started writing a discussion of "What Makes a Good Tool for 'Mobile Civic and Social Innovation' " but it just kept getting longer and longer to the point that even I'd had enough, let alone anyone else reading it.

So here is the short version (which has turned out to be useful and surprising to put down like this):

1: works on any mobile phone, straight away
2: no registration
3: post but not pre moderation (you mostly won't need either)
4: partnerships (a way to get your call to action out to people)
5: a well worded call to action
6: examples for participants to follow
7: an awareness of the context: who is here? what do they want?
8: an archive that values the responses and keeps them in context
9: access to the archive from any mobile phone, straight away

The problem with putting these 9 points down like this though, is that they are based on nearly 10 years of experimenting, succeeding and failing to create civic engagement through mobile phones, and so even if (when) I've got them wrong, I know inside-out what all my reasons for, and discussions about, each of the points would be.

But it might not be so clear to anyone else what they mean or why?

So, questions, comments and doubts are very welcome.

The Mk 2 Machine in Action

The Mk 2 Magical Monstervision Machine in action capturing monsters in Lancaster.

Big thank yous to Paul Coulton and the cell of inventors in Lancaster.

Magical Monstervision Machine

I've been in communication with a cell of eccentric inventors based in a ramshackle unmarked building deep in the grounds of Lancaster University.

These inventors have built a Magical Monstervision Machine, which can be used to reveal the presence of the ancient monsters that lurk on our city streets, invisible to human eyes.

Trials are still at their earliest stages, but last week I successfully used a Magical Monstervision Machine Mark 1 to discover for the first time several monsters in their lairs.

Here are the secret blueprints of the Mark 2 Machine.

Your computer will now self-destruct in 10, 9, 8...

Obama's Cairo Speech by SMS

Highlights of Obama's Cairo speech tomorrow (June 4th) are being "broadcast" by SMS, and comments can be sent back by SMS.

The only snag I can see with this is that you still need web access to sign up, which might cut down the number of people who can and do sign up from the developing world - I wonder if they have also used regional radio stations to broadcast a way of signing up by SMS?

That would be easily done, so if not, maybe their SMS gateway (Clickatell) are worried about it being so popular it actually costs them a bit of money - which it bloody well should do considering they have got their logo right underneath Obama's picture in connection with what might be a historic moment.

Here is where you go to submit your phone number, but no registration process.

Three words that can get you damned

I've been a bit unsure about using the phrase "call to action" as a quick way of describing things like a poster at a bus stop asking "Where were you happiest to arrive and why?"

Partly because it feels like one of those phrases it's easy to repeat so often it becomes meaningless, and partly because it makes me think of marketing.

But then I had look on wikipedia and found that Call to Action is also a left wing Catholic group in the US, which if you join you automatically get excommunicated by the Bishop of Nebraska - no trial, no right of appeal, straight to Hell.

Three words that can get you damned can't be all bad.

"Would you buy a mixed reality narrative from these men?"

Des and Tony at the Mid Yorkshire Region Used Car Dealers Association Annual Black Tie Gala Dinner Dance and Awards Evening with the coveted Best Reconditioned Family Touring Saloon Award.

Thumbprint featured in today's Guardian @guardiantech #Guardian @mobileactive

Thumbprint is featured in Victor Keegan's column in today's Technology Guardian in an article about hyperlocal.

The column emphasises the way Thumbprint is designed for quick and easy development of new models of use in any number of contexts, from historical tours to neighbourliness and helping to reduce the fear of crime, and highlights how easily Thumbprint integrates mobile with web based tools and services such as Flickr and Audioboo.

It's nice that the history element is mentioned because one of the things I'm working on at the moment is about how everyday-mobile technology can be part of the ongoing process of contest to make, and remake, the history of very diverse public places like London's Brick Lane.

It's something I'm working on with academics in museum and heritage studies, and unlikely as it might sound, they have very sophisticated ideas about mobile technology for civic and social innovation.

Thumbprint is the perfect tool for the contest about history of public places, especially in places where the communities are diverse, changing and mobile, and I might get chance to talk about it at the first UK Mobile Active meeting next week.

But maybe I'll just mention monsters and Foldups instead ;-)

A Box of Foldups #futr09

If you are at Futuresonic ask me for a copy. I'll have a pocketful.