Is that a political ringtone you have?

I don't normally post recent news on this blog, but it is germane to remember practical applications, emergent effects, and flexible usage by design.

There's (another) political storm brewing in the Philippines and consequently an opportunity to use smart phones to bring down (another) president. I'm not sure about the credibility of the source, but the ideas for spreading rumors and making having a political opinion stylish among students is very thought provoking.

Some of the early smart phones viewed ringtones as part of the revenue stream. They could only be purchased online and users weren't allowed to create their own. Likewise some current telcos in the US are disabling bluetooth p2p services on their devices and forcing users to use paid, cellular or gprs based services instead. If allowed to proliferate, these types of p2p or locally customizable features become the tools of political activists.

Filipino Activists Mobilize to Expose Arroyo’s Corruption