NEWS RELEASE about SolidarityPolice/PrisonsMediaHousingEnvironmentDirect Action posted on April 30, 2011 by dawn
Networking for a long hot summer: Follow the VMC on your mobile phone
bird, no bird
Dear friends,
The last week has been a flurry of activity, as folks set up a protection camp to block the South Fraser Perimeter Road in Delta, held a demo at the Australian Consulate in solidarity with migrant revolts, and occupied two shelters, with yesterday's action resulting in eight arrests (as of Saturday afternoon all were released without charges).
We're sure that this is the beginning of what's going to be a long, hot summer in Vancouver and around occupied BC, and we plan to be there, covering events, posting analysis, and keeping our readers up to date.
To stay on top of the news as it breaks, we'd like to encourage you to follow the Vancouver Media Co-op's twitter feed on your mobile phone. You don't need a smart phone or a twitter account to do this, and it's a great way to stay in the loop for trusted, accurate information about what's happening in the streets. Just text "Follow vanmediacoop" to 21212 and you'll start receiving updates.
On an average day you might receive one or two messages when a new story gets posted to the site, but if there's an action happening in the city, you'll have access to key information as it breaks. Our tweets are pure handcrafted goodness, and we're careful to make sure that the information we put out is triple-checked.
Please take a moment and sign up - it's easy and you can do it from any mobile phone. If it doesn't work for you, it's just as easy to unfollow (instructions below), so please, give it a try!
In solidarity,
Dawn
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Can I get updates from @Twitter without a Twitter account or associated Phone number?
Absolutely! This is what Fast Follow is all about. It's a new way of receiving Twitter updates. Now you don't have to sign up or add your phone in order to receive updates!
To get started, send:
"Follow [username]" to 21212 and you will start receiving tweets from that user on your device.
**Note the number to dial from Canada for this service is 21212**
Example: sending "follow VANMEDIACOOP" to 21212 on my Phone would mean I'd start getting SMS updates whenever VMC posted a Tweet.
Can I view my profile on Twitter.com? Do I have a username?
No. Since you won't have a profile or username until you sign up on Twitter your follow is not included in the followers list. To set up your profile:
visit our homepage, or
send SIGNUP to 21212
More instructions can be found here. Remember, even if you don't have a profile, your use is subjected to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Can I use Mobile Commands?
The commands you can use without an account are listed below. All commands, including those for registered users, can be found here.
Follow [username] - To receive updates from a user send Follow along with the username to 40404
OFF or STOP or LEAVE- You can turn off receiving updates from the user that you are following by sending OFF or STOP
ON - Sending ON will turn on device updates and you will start receiving tweets again.
WHOIS username - Retrieves the profile information of the user.
STATS - This command returns the number of people that you are following.
GET username - This retrieves the latest update that the user has posted.
What do those other commands do?
Commands restricted to registered users are:
d , rt, fav and set.
Registered users use these commands to:
send a direct message (d)
retweet another user's Tweets (rt)
mark updates as favorites (fav)
change their account settings (set)
I want to create an account but want to preserve my 'following' list!
Just follow these steps:
send 'Start' or 'Signup' from your device
follow the instructions sent to you
Voila! Your Twitter account will be created and will have your phone number associated with your account. To view your account on web click on the "Already using Twitter by phone" link found on our home page.
I want to remove my phone and follower list from Twitter permanently; I don't want an account.
Sending STOP twice will delete your follower list and your phone. You will no longer receive updates from us. You can send Follow username anytime and start receiving updates again!
I already have a Twitter account, can i know how many of these "Fast Follow" users are following me?
No, we currently do not disclose this information to users. Also, if a "Fast Follow" user follows you, your follower count on your profile page will not change.
The site for the Vancouver local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.