[P2P-F] Fwd: [fcforum] JessyCom, Draft III

Mon Aug 15 17:04:28 CEST 2011

Hi Michael,

I am trying to join it now :-)

marc

http://www.furtherfield.org
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: *Dmytri Kleiner* <dk at telekommunisten.net 
> <mailto:dk at telekommunisten.net>>
> Date: Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 8:49 PM
> Subject: [fcforum] JessyCom, Draft III
> To: fcforum at list.fcforum.net <mailto:fcforum at list.fcforum.net>
>
>
> Hey, I'd love to have comments and feedback on this current
> Telekommunisten project:
>
>
> JessyCom, a community mobilization platform.
>
>
> Some of us may remember our parents being part of a calling tree or
> phone tree while we where in school.
>
> Each Parent would have a list of a few other parents, when the school
> had a message, they would call the parents on top of the tree, who would
> then call the other parents on their list and so on, until the entire
> community got the message.
>
> Cory Doctorow, quoted by Becky Hogge in "Barefoot into Cyberspace," notes
> that "The main job of activist organizers prior to 1995 or so was stuffing
> envelopes and setting up phone trees [...] Mailman and Apache took 95% of
> the heavy lifting of the shoulders of activists"
>
> The JessyCom system is something like Calling Tree 2.0.
>
> The system was inspired by the fact that many residence of the Jessy Cohen
> neighborhood, where the system was launched, have infrequent internet
> access and little or no calling credit.
>
> JessyCom implements a variation on the "Random Phone Call" broadcast
> model to efficiently enable a community to share information by having
> the system call people and connect them to each other on the phone,
> creating an ad-hoc Phone Tree.
>
> For social movements operating in underprivileged or peripheral
> communities participation is made possible by the fact that only
> a phone that is able to receive incoming calls is needed,
> calling credit is not required in most countries where inbound
> calls are free. Internet access is not required.
>
> The mobile phone is by far the most ubiquitous technology on the planet,
> no other platform can hope to reach as many people. Conservative estimate
> of mobile phone usage indicate that 1 in 6 people globally have a mobile
> phone, while internet access is available to less than half that number.
>
> And yet, despite it's accessibility, a calling tree is not inefficient.
>
> Each tier of the tree grows exponentially from the size of the previous
> one, it remains a very fast and efficient system for getting
> information out to a lot of people. Since people often answer phone
> calls right away, but may not read email for some time, a community can
> be mobilized a lot faster. People also generally answer the phone far
> more often then they read bulk email, even when it comes from a wanted
> source.
>
> One of the applications that military organizations have used calling
> trees for is the rapid deployment of reserve troops.  Social movements,
> also, could benefit from a system that can quickly deploy engaged
> supporters.
>
> When people of think of Flashmobs or Smart Mobs they generally imagine
> people using microblogging or SMS texting to organize, but telephone
> conversations facilitate such mobilizations even more efficiently.
>
> The impersonal nature of the email and web pages delivered by Mailman
> and Apache, results in more superficial and weaker links within
> movements.
>
> Supporters become more inclined to simply forward generic texts and
> links, and not often actually engage with each other to discuss and
> spread statements and calls to action. Participants becoming more
> focused on a nucleus of movement leaders, rather than each other.
>
> While Cory's claim that internet based organization eliminated 95% of the
> work of activists may well be correct. It also removed ways in which
> people could actually connect and engage with a movement. So movements
> have less people actively involved and more people passively involved.
>
> There is quite a large difference in focus and engagement between passing
> on a call to action by actually talking to a real person about it as a
> part of phone tree, vs quickly clicking "like" on a Facebook status update
> and hoping your friends will notice it.
>
> The JessyCom network broadcast model is based on conversations between
> real people. Feedback allows  the person delivering the message to correct
>
> misunderstanding, etc, and even receive information from the personal
> they are calling. Relationships among people who have talked to each other
> are naturally stronger than among those email address is simply included
> on the same distribution list.
>
> Telekommunisten will continue to work with the Digital Art Lab to take the
> prototype developed as part of the Jessy Cohen Project and bring the
> platform to other communities looking for ways to engage and mobilize.
> Such communities are welcome to contact us to get involved.
>
> Information about the current Jessy Cohen Project based system can be
> found here:
>
> http://www.jessycom.co.il/about?lang=en
>
> --
> Dmyri Kleiner
> Venture Communist
>
> -----
> + info http://list.fcforum.net/wws/info/fcforum
> -------
>
>
>
>
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