Tropo Powers CyborgCamp PDX Communications
October 3rd, 2010 by cmatthieu
Aaron Parecki and Amber Case from GeoLoqi wrote a quick Tropo SMS application to communicate via group SMS to manage communications of CyborgCamp PDX this weekend in Portland, Oregon.
Volunteers can SMS the event’s Tropo number and the message is broadcasted to all the other volunteers with the person’s name. If someone else SMSs the number, all volunteers are notified. If someone calls the number, all volunteers are notified, and the caller has the option of hanging up or pressing 1 to actually talk to someone at which point it will ring all the volunteers’ phones.
Volunteers can add the phone numbers of other volunteers and they’ll receive a text - like a mailing list but with SMSs!
What does this application solve? Not all of the volunteers are free at the same time. There is never a time in which a volunteer is free all the time. The free volunteer would be able to go downstairs to get the person needing to get in the secured door.
A Tropo number was used for both the CyborgCamp and the OpenGov hackathon competition. Those needing to get in the door could call Tropo and Tropo notifies all of the volunteers. Those who are free could go downstairs and get the person.
No one was left in the cold! Texting all of the volunteers guaranteed that someone was free to help. Tropo + Your Event = Success!
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