The bMighty Blog -- Technology/Telecom

The pro-Tibet demonstrators attempting to disrupt the Olympic torch's international publicity tour are impressive not only in their ability to garner attention for their cause but also in their effective use of tech tools to do that. Smaller businesses could learn something from these guys.

China is the location of this year's Olympic Games and the recent crackdown in Tibet as well as the "alleged lack of general human rights in Mainland China" are generating protests around the world, pretty much wherever the Olympic torch makes its presence known.

What's impressive about these protests is the savvy way in which its participants are using tech tools to get the message out, create a buzz, and generate lots of interest -- and recruit -- for their cause.

Wired describes the "revolution" and it is quite tech-savvy: "Even before the Olympic torch began its journey, video and text reports began filtering into sites like YouTube, Flickr and mobile-streaming service Qik. Amidst bull-horned demonstrators, agitated protesters and throngs of motorcycle cops, bloggers posted messages, videos and photos with handheld cameras and phones, while indie-media correspondents streamed live interviews with dissidents and images of the unfolding scene."

CNET describes the protests held in San Francisco, where the torch came this week: "Organizers of Tuesday's protests, which are expected to continue full force Wednesday, are, not surprisingly, using the Web as a tool at the site SFTorch2008.org. Not only is the site being used as a rallying point for information and photos, the organizers are signing up people to receive e-mails on events in the area and asking for donations."

According to Wired, The San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, also got into the act to raise awareness about China's ties to Sudan. The group worked with video-platform company RapOuts to create a two-minute viral video. The group used the video as a more effective way to engage visitors to its site.

Nikki Serapio, an organizer with the Coalition is quoted in Wired: "The problem with [online] recruitment is there's no clear way to engage people. But this viral video application has a clear call to action."

Smaller businesses are you listening?

The New York Times tech blogger Matt Richtel posted about how the pro-Tibet protestors even used tech tools to track the torch in San Francisco -- its route had been changed at the last minute by the city to prevent any confrontation with demonstrators. He writes: "The protesters had deployed people across San Francisco who were tracking the torch’s whereabouts -- from the waterfront warehouse where it first appeared, to the diverted path it took away from the biggest protest gatherings. Every few minutes, the pro-Tibet sympathizers were sending updates on where they believed the torch and a busload of its bearers were being redirected. Most text-enabled demonstrators were apparently subscribed to a distribution list set up by Students for a Free Tibet, using the commercial service TextMarks. The text messengers, and their followers, seemed to know well ahead of the rest of us on the ground where the torch was going."

Richtel acknowledges that, at the end of the day, it's unclear whether the text messaging was that necessary. The television was tracking the route live. But for smaller businesses, the point is it helped the protestors make decisions, move quickly, and kept their competitors on their toes.

As he writes: "But the cellphones and text messages did give the protesters a tool on the ground, allowing quick adjustments on their part. All afternoon, as city officials sought to move the torch through the city without confrontation, they were racing too against the speed of mobile messaging."

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