Thursday, October 01, 2009
Smart Mobs and Political Movements
"If television helped bring down the Berlin Wall and the fax machine helped protesters organize during the Tiananmen Square protests, cellphone text messaging, also known as SMS (short message services), may be the new political tool for activists". Cathy Hong “New political tool: text messaging,”
Text messaging, has really evolved into something other than what it was intended for. Utimately texting is a better and convienent way to get what you want to say out of the way. As for text messaging starting modern day protest like, Smart Mobs is genius! I have never heard of term Smart Mobs, before last class however, I have seen them in action. Its very innovative and inspiring all other the world. I believe that people in other countries utilize Smart Mobs more than the U.S. In Cathy Hong's article she explained how different protests were brought about through SMS and the amount of people it reached simultaneously.
Text messaging, has really evolved into something other than what it was intended for. Utimately texting is a better and convienent way to get what you want to say out of the way. As for text messaging starting modern day protest like, Smart Mobs is genius! I have never heard of term Smart Mobs, before last class however, I have seen them in action. Its very innovative and inspiring all other the world. I believe that people in other countries utilize Smart Mobs more than the U.S. In Cathy Hong's article she explained how different protests were brought about through SMS and the amount of people it reached simultaneously.
"China was in the grips of mass anti-Japanese protests. Chinese youths had been sending chain-letter e-mails and text messages exhorting citizens to boycott Japanese merchandise and take to the streets, giving logistical information on protest routes and even what slogans to chant. Although the messages had no clear organizational identity, they helped draw 20,000 people together for a public march on April 16". Cathy Hong
