<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Dmytri Kleiner</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dk@telekommunisten.net">dk@telekommunisten.net</a>></span><br>
Date: Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 8:49 PM<br>Subject: [fcforum] JessyCom, Draft III<br>To: <a href="mailto:fcforum@list.fcforum.net">fcforum@list.fcforum.net</a><br><br><br>Hey, I'd love to have comments and feedback on this current<br>
Telekommunisten project:<br>
<br>
<br>
JessyCom, a community mobilization platform.<br>
<br>
<br>
Some of us may remember our parents being part of a calling tree or<br>
phone tree while we where in school.<br>
<br>
Each Parent would have a list of a few other parents, when the school<br>
had a message, they would call the parents on top of the tree, who would<br>
then call the other parents on their list and so on, until the entire<br>
community got the message.<br>
<br>
Cory Doctorow, quoted by Becky Hogge in "Barefoot into Cyberspace," notes<br>
that "The main job of activist organizers prior to 1995 or so was stuffing<br>
envelopes and setting up phone trees [...] Mailman and Apache took 95% of<br>
the heavy lifting of the shoulders of activists"<br>
<br>
The JessyCom system is something like Calling Tree 2.0.<br>
<br>
The system was inspired by the fact that many residence of the Jessy Cohen<br>
neighborhood, where the system was launched, have infrequent internet<br>
access and little or no calling credit.<br>
<br>
JessyCom implements a variation on the "Random Phone Call" broadcast<br>
model to efficiently enable a community to share information by having<br>
the system call people and connect them to each other on the phone,<br>
creating an ad-hoc Phone Tree.<br>
<br>
For social movements operating in underprivileged or peripheral<br>
communities participation is made possible by the fact that only<br>
a phone that is able to receive incoming calls is needed,<br>
calling credit is not required in most countries where inbound<br>
calls are free. Internet access is not required.<br>
<br>
The mobile phone is by far the most ubiquitous technology on the planet,<br>
no other platform can hope to reach as many people. Conservative estimate<br>
of mobile phone usage indicate that 1 in 6 people globally have a mobile<br>
phone, while internet access is available to less than half that number.<br>
<br>
And yet, despite it's accessibility, a calling tree is not inefficient.<br>
<br>
Each tier of the tree grows exponentially from the size of the previous<br>
one, it remains a very fast and efficient system for getting<br>
information out to a lot of people. Since people often answer phone<br>
calls right away, but may not read email for some time, a community can<br>
be mobilized a lot faster. People also generally answer the phone far<br>
more often then they read bulk email, even when it comes from a wanted<br>
source.<br>
<br>
One of the applications that military organizations have used calling<br>
trees for is the rapid deployment of reserve troops. �Social movements,<br>
also, could benefit from a system that can quickly deploy engaged<br>
supporters.<br>
<br>
When people of think of Flashmobs or Smart Mobs they generally imagine<br>
people using microblogging or SMS texting to organize, but telephone<br>
conversations facilitate such mobilizations even more efficiently.<br>
<br>
The impersonal nature of the email and web pages delivered by Mailman<br>
and Apache, results in more superficial and weaker links within<br>
movements.<br>
<br>
Supporters become more inclined to simply forward generic texts and<br>
links, and not often actually engage with each other to discuss and<br>
spread statements and calls to action. Participants becoming more<br>
focused on a nucleus of movement leaders, rather than each other.<br>
<br>
While Cory's claim that internet based organization eliminated 95% of the<br>
work of activists may well be correct. It also removed ways in which<br>
people could actually connect and engage with a movement. So movements<br>
have less people actively involved and more people passively involved.<br>
<br>
There is quite a large difference in focus and engagement between passing<br>
on a call to action by actually talking to a real person about it as a<br>
part of phone tree, vs quickly clicking "like" on a Facebook status update<br>
and hoping your friends will notice it.<br>
<br>
The JessyCom network broadcast model is based on conversations between<br>
real people. Feedback allows �the person delivering the message to correct<br>
<br>
misunderstanding, etc, and even receive information from the personal<br>
they are calling. Relationships among people who have talked to each other<br>
are naturally stronger than among those email address is simply included<br>
on the same distribution list.<br>
<br>
Telekommunisten will continue to work with the Digital Art Lab to take the<br>
prototype developed as part of the Jessy Cohen Project and bring the<br>
platform to other communities looking for ways to engage and mobilize.<br>
Such communities are welcome to contact us to get involved.<br>
<br>
Information about the current Jessy Cohen Project based system can be<br>
found here:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.jessycom.co.il/about?lang=en" target="_blank">http://www.jessycom.co.il/about?lang=en</a><br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
--<br>
Dmyri Kleiner<br>
Venture Communist<br>
</font><br>-----<br>
+ info <a href="http://list.fcforum.net/wws/info/fcforum" target="_blank">http://list.fcforum.net/wws/info/fcforum</a><br>
-------<br>
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