Just when we think the phone number (via direct inward dialing) is dead, gone, out of here, in comes really cool uses such as the wall concerts at Bloc Jam (which my friend Michel Vaillancourt at JKL 5 Group told me about) and mobile payments over DID via Paytoo mobile wallet beginning November 2010 with millions of users around the world. In this case, BlocJam is a musical improvisation game played via direct inward dialing, live from the street. When you call, you are given a sequence to compose your beats.
Once you have played around and created your composition, press the pound sign on your cell phone and there you go. Your musical piece is added to the crowd-sourced orchestra or hip hop jam on the wall. You have participated in this collective crowd-sourced fun, fun music-making.
Bloc Jam takes the magic of musical improvisation to the streets, transforming building façades for anyone to take part in a session of collective musical making via one’s mobile phone keypad, direct inward dialing and other technologies.
”Where were you? Where were you? No, 9 4 5 6, up there. Look,” says one of the cellular DID music makers in the crowd in Montreal at the collaborative concert on the wall of UQAM.
“You can follow your beats afterward. It’s easy to follow. We can hear everyone’s beats,” they continue in awe. “But isn’t your own beat your favorite?”
“Oh yes, and you do keep your eye on it. That one’s the best,” says another in delight.
It’s a Bloc Jam video on Youtube by Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat in collaboration with Rob Seward and Kelsey Snook and presented at MUTEK Extra_Muros 2010. More at http://www.blocjamradio.com. Find out how you can arrange for this kind of cool activity in your area of the world. Sige! (That's Tagalog for "go for it.")
This was brought to you buy DIDX, Astraqom, Michel Vaillancourt, and PinoyKubo. DIDX.net offers a wholesale location online where telecoms, social networking providers, DID mash-ups, mobile operators, and MVNOs to buy and/or sell DID virtual phone numbers in voice, music, transactions, and other exciting and unbelievably unique uses. AstraQom is a member of DIDX and runs the new PinoyKubo social network for Filipinos and Filipinas all over planet Earth. Meet most of at http://www.itexpo.com West in Austin, Texas September 13-15, 2011 and other TMC events each year.
