Keywords: SMS, citizen journalism

References: 'SmartMobs' by Howard Rheingold

Date: Spring 2005

Temporarily out of service.

CELLPHONE APPLICATIONS

On The Spot

So this is where the name of this website stemmed from, but it grew to be the domain name of my portfolio...

Description:OnTheSpot is an SMS based application to allow people to report from a cellphone about breaking news happening at a concrete spot in New York, and to query a database about events happened at a particular place in the city.

Aim: This project merges my interests in cellphone applications and new participatory media. OnTheSpot sets the foundations of a platform to turn regular citizens into mobile reporters, to allow them to send out notifications of particular events, to report collectively on one same event, or, in the long term, to document the history of a place. OnTheSpot aims at multiplying the views on what happens in the world, enhancing social networks and empowering grassroots movements.

Target: Motivated and pro-active cellphone users of all ages.

Technology: OnTheSpot relies on the messaging system offered by all carriers. Any cellphone with text messaging capabilities is enabled to participate. The back end has been built using Perl, a MySQL database, PHP and Geocoder.us, a free US address geocoding service for location purposes.

Operation:

The user sends a text message to the following address

news at onthespot.info

following this syntax

Wireframes of how the system works

Stages: In this first stage, the system only takes text, but it could also hold other media as images, video or voice reports.