Smart Mobs

I was surprised to find out that anti-war protesters are beginning to use mobile technology more often to coordinate their movments and plans. A CNN.com article describes how protesters are using text messages and other digital technology to spread their words around the nation and the world.

In Europe, text messaging is being used to coordinate movements to avoid law officials and nearly 2,000 protesters were able to converge upon the U.S. base in Germany shortly after the Iraq war began.....all due to mobile devices use for contact and coordination.

I was also additionally surprised to read that text messaging has not yet been accepted on a grand scale for coordination purposes among protesters in the U.S. One would think that the U.S. would be breeding ground for these new activities, but Europe is well ahead apparently. With a longer history of protesting, perhaps it is befitting that Europe take the lead. The author goes on the state that incompatibility between U.S. cellular networks is to blame for the lack of texting.....Ironically, the very thing that anti-capitalist protesters - like the ones in Seattle - are protesting is hampering their abilities to communicate effectively....capitalism itself.

Competition has provided U.S. consumers with several different choices of cellular networks, which, according to the author, is causing the reduced rate of texting for protesting purposes in the U.S. Capitalism is also the reason such devices are now more affordable than they were several years ago - which the author mentions as well - allowing these protesters to be able to afford and use such technology....it should be noted.