160 Characters has an excellent article describing some of the different ways that SMS messages are being used in the current crisis in the Middle East. For example the article explains how Sweden facilitated the evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon by sending them instructions via text message, and that Israel has a text message alert system in place to give residents a heads up that a bomb might soon strike in their area. Mobile phones are playing a role in the conflict in other ways too. Not surprisingly people in Lebanon are using their cell phones to shoot videos of the destruction and how it’s affecting people. One Lebanese blogger saw his traffic jump to 400,000 hits a day after he started posting videos that he took with his mobile phone. And of course this is in addition to MobileActive Erik Sundelof’s new blog that allows anybody to post to it from their cell phone. Justin Oberman wrote more about this project here.
Several Lebanese television stations are using mobile phones to reach out to people stuck in conflict zones. These stations are broadcasting the cell phone numbers of people who need help with the idea that their viewers will call them to provide medical advice, news and other information, and just words of encouragement.
