Open Mobile Broadcasting Channel

So, what is an Open Mobile Broadcasting Channel?
This is a term I identified to help me describe and contextualise emergent new media projects that employ Bluetooth technology via mobile telephony. The open bandwidth established between Bluetooth-enabled handsets can be freely adopted for digital publishing between individuals using their mobile phone as a giant urban screen – sharing content to other Bluetooth users inside an active zone. Users subscribe to the Bluetooth broadcasting service (such as the blu_box system) signing an agreement not to offend, send porn or any other socially unacceptable material via this channel. This potential open mobile broadcasting channel can be then linked to a large urban screen or a server streaming media directly to the Internet thus creating a free audio/visual platform for local reportage and public authorship. This type of system moves away from previous payment-based SMS or WAP interfaces.

Extending the mobile phone as an urban screen is a concept that does not come without its civic anxiety!! Without porn or language filters many city councils or broadcasting agencies would never permit the facilitation of an “open” channel in the city sphere. And, although the reception and exchange of content between individual has to be agreed by the users - content received can be both negative, positive, creative and informative, personal or general. Any complaints can be traced back to the registered MAC address and thus excluded from future use of the blu_box system.

foto_box was an interesting case study. This interactive mobile broadcasting project used a Bluetooth-enabled technology providing a free and direct projection interface between mobile phones and a LED screen. During the opening night of 3rd Salford Film Festival 2005 over 500 personalised images and animations stored on audiences mobiles were beamed onto the LED screen for everyone to view. Amongst the most popular projections were people trying to match or out-do each other’s images of cats and dogs, friends in funny positions and holiday landscape shots. Some images (mostly porn pics) had to be swiftly replaced and overridden on the fly by several ”editors” placed within the crowd. But as this was an over 18’s venue such imagery did not cause any complaint or made an impression on the viewing crowds.

We are certainly investigating interesting software possibilities that can help reject images (such as the recognition of large areas of flesh tones) or bad SMS language before its published and deemed unsuitable for public display. Anyone else used such a system before?