April 14, 2006
Activists and Politicos Go Mobile in India
India has more than 139.6 million mobile phone users, and they are putting their phones to good use in politics and activism.
Soon after Indian Minister, Arjun Singh announced plans to reserve a larger percentage of seats in elite higher education institutions for the “backward classes,” opposition sprang into action. A blog was created to gather opinions, and SMS and email campaigns were launched to inform and rally activists.
SMS isn’t only being used as a tool by the grassroots in India. Politicians trying to campaign amid an Election Commission crack down on written campaign material, are using SMS and email as alternatives to communicate with voters and ask them to, “vte 4 me.” With India’s fast-growing mobile market, expect more SMS campaigns to follow.
Posted by Buzz Webster at April 14, 2006 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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