SM+1

__Smart Mobs Chapter__ **1**

media type="youtube" key="QXtOdSgf6Ic" height="344" width="425" Cell phones and text messaging have changed the way people think, act, and communicate. In this chapter Rheingold details how the use of cell phones began and evolved, especailly in Japan. He first noticed this at Shibuya Crossing, an extremely busy street crossing in japan, yet nearly everyone deftly navigates the crossing while staring at their phones. It has the highest cell phone density in the world. He notes that the use of cell phones, especially texting, has afforded Japanese teens the social privacy that they can't get by using the closely monitored land lines in their homes. They use texting to stay in contact, to tell each other that they are thinking of each other, and to coordinate meetings. It has changed the way romantic relationships are formed and maintained as well. In Finland, he found that some teens play a game involving geographic location and text messaging. One can go to the website and set up their account, create a bot and arm it, then the service sends a message whenever another player is within range. Whichever player has stronger guns and shoots first, wins. This is the first example that Rheingold gives of a smart mob. They have teams and coordinate, and their personal identities and their bots merge.


 * How SMS Works**
 * Phone normally sends packets of info to the cell towers to tell it its location and to recieve info about calls and time
 * The extra space in this packet can be used to send short messages up to 160 characters
 * Was once an afterthought, now is an entire market

Turks & Caicos Islands: 161.8% Aruba: 150.8 Luxembourg: 140.7 Lithuania: 139.9 Cayman Islands: 136.4 Netherlands Antilles: 134.0 Grenada: 133.3 Israel: 125.9 Italy: 122.4 Cyprus: 121.5 Macau: 121.3 Bahrain: 117.8 Greece: 114.7 Czech Republic: 114.0 UAE: 113.9 Jersey: 113.6 Sweden: 112.5 Hong Kong: 110.8 UK: 110.1 Estonia: 108.6 Spain: 108.0 Austria: 107.3 Ireland: 107.0 Norway: 106.1 Antigua & Barbuda: 104.6 Iceland: 103.3 Finland: 103.1 Portugal: 101.3 Kuwait: 101.1 Singapore: 101.0 USA: 72
 * Percentage of People Who Have a Cell Phone (2006)**

• More discreet than a phone conversation. • Often less time-consuming to send a text message than to make a phone call or send an e-mail. • Doesn't require to be at computer like email & IM do -- although some phones are equipped for mobile email & IM services. • Convenient way for deaf & hearing-impaired people to communicate. • Store-and-forward service – when send text message to friend, message does not go directly to your friend's cell phone. – Friend's cell phone doesn't have to be active or in range. – Message stored in SMSC (for days if necessary) until friend turns cell on or moves into range, at which point message is delivered. – Message stored on your friend's SIM card until she deletes it. • In addition to person-to-person messages, SMS can be used to send a message to a large number of people at a time, either from a list of contacts or to all users within a particular area -- **broadcasting**
 * Advantages of Texting**