JOHN FENZEL

How to Start a Revolution...

I am reading Ian Bremmer's excellent book, The J Curve: A New Way to Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall, and I came upon this passage:

In February 2005, Chinese citizens celebrated the Lunar New Year by sending and receiving a total of 11 billion text messages. If text-messaging had been as readily available in the spring of 1989, the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square might will have ended differently. What happens the next time a spontaneous large-scale demonstration in China takes on a life of its own? That question may have already have been answered in the Philippines. Text-messaging there helped topple a government in 2001. Opposition organizers used text messages to direct 700,000 demonstrators to Manila's People Power shrine to demand the removal of then President Joseph Estrada.

Reading this, I was reminded of the "Flash Mob" phenomenon that started back in May 2003 in Manhattan, by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine, derived perhaps by the 1999 remake of the movie The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. The Flash Mob rage seems to have tapered off a bit over the past few years, but the power of text messaging and the internet in attracting or inspiring a large crowd in short order endures. Russia's flash mob community (not to be confused with the other--organized crime--mob) is said to be one of the largest with more than 18,000 active members in more than 30 cities. The largest flash mob cities in Russia are reported to be St. Petersburg and Moscow. At their peak, from 2003-2005, flashmob events took place in Russia's major cities on weekly basis. In China's capital of Beijing, Flash Mobs seem to be tolerated by state authorities if there is no clear breach of the law.

Bloggers like Halleycom have aptly dubbed this unique communications capability "Weapons of Mass Instruction," describing it as an "army"

...the size of which the world has never seen...amassing across the globe. These are warriors of a new age. They don’t wear uniforms, march in cadence, or take orders from any commander. Their weapon of choice fires no bullets, but yet has the power to take down a U.S. presidential candidate or make the leaders of a nation of 1.3 billion people tremble at their advance.

Their chosen weapon of mass instruction is the keyboard....

So, with this army of text messagers, bloggers, podcasters, skypers and webchatters already established, here's a good question to consider: what will be the result when all of these forms of instant communication are used for the next mass demonstration in Moscow? Or Beijing? I'll bet dissidents such as Gary Kasparov (founder of Russia's United Civil Front) and Ma Shaofang (+ others in and out of China have already considered these technologies as potentially "revolutionary" tools for the future, in the truest sense of the word....

Post Script: See the music videos of The Thomas Crown Affair below...

The Truth about Cell Phones and the National Do Not Call Registry...

Here is some good information from the FCC clarifying the current situation regarding the Do Not Call Registry and telemarketers.

If you’ve received an e-mail telling you that your cell phone is about to be assaulted by telemarketing calls as a result of a new cell phone number database, rest assured that this is not the case. Telemarketing to cell phone numbers has always been illegal in most cases and will continue to be so. In response to recent e-mail campaigns urging consumers to place their cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission issue this advisory to give consumers the facts.

One e-mail making the rounds says:

“JUST A REMINDER...In a few weeks, cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS... To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888/382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS...”

Another version claims:

“The Federal Trade Commission has set up a "do not call" list. It is called a cell phone registry. To be included on the "do not call" list, you must call from the number you wish to register.”

Here’s what you need to know about the National Do Not Call Registry program:
FCC regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers. Automated dialers are standard in the industry, so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers on their cell phones without their consent.

The federal government does not maintain a national cell phone registry. Personal cell phone users have always been able to add their numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry — the same Registry consumers use to register their land lines — either online at www.donotcall.gov or by calling toll-free 1-888-382-1222 from the telephone number they wish to register. Registrations become effective within 31 days of signing up and are active for five years. There is no cut-off date or deadline for registrations.

Business-to-business calls are not covered under the Registry.

For More Information
To learn more about the National Do Not Call Registry and the rules that enforce it, visit the FTC at www.ftc.gov or the FCC at www.fcc.gov.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov . The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

FTC MEDIA CONTACT:

Jen Schwartzman
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2674