nrdc
Posted by justinoberman on Aug 02, 2006
This summer while thousands of music lovers converge onto Lollapalooza this week in Chicago to listen to their favorite artists sing their favorite tunes they will also get to lend a helping hand to the National Reseource Defence Council's mission to Move America Beyond Oil. And the technology to do so is all in the palm of their hand.
The NRDC Action fund will be there among the crowds, getting out the word to young music fans that they can use their cell phones to the send the text message "MABO" (Move America Beyond Oil) to a designated short code. The SMS drive will help the NRDC compile voluntary phone numbers for eventual follow up's and mobilization efforts with those actvists wanting to get involved with the cause and enlist their support for an eventual MABO petition which aims to lobby for specific policies aimed at reducing US oil dependence.
Posted by justinoberman on Aug 02, 2006
As the power of the teenager and the text message is becoming more and more evident, some political campaigns and non-profits are betting that this new hip mobile technology can change American politics as well, as it has already proven to do so throughout the world. This, at least, is the gist of a Newsweek article published titled "Vote 4 Me."
The major point of the article is asking whether a teen trend can be "turned into a weapon of choice for politicos hoping to energize their constituents? Some strategists are betting it can: Where 2004 saw the great blog campaign, we are likely to be talking about the great text-messaging campaign of 2008, says Joe Trippi, who, as Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign manager, was a pioneer in the use of the Internet as a fundraising and organizing tool. The technology is right on the cusp of becoming very big.
