Anyone who's been to a rock concert lately knows that the old days of holding up lighters during ballads has been replaced by the more modern, high-tech glow of the cell phone. But the Irish band U2 has taken mobile communications to a whole other level--and for a great cause.
Anyone who has seen a show on the Vertigo tour knows what I’m talking about. When the band begins its popular song, "One," lead singer Bono asks everyone in the crowd who wants to help put an end to AIDS and extreme poverty to text message their name to a number listed on a large video screen--86483--which translates to the word "Unite." The names are being collected in an electronic version of a clipboard for the One Campaign. The goal is to collect at least 1 million names of U.S. residents in an effort to convince the federal government to dedicate 1% of the U.S. budget toward "basic needs--education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans." Such a move "would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries," according to the One Campaign Web site. By the end of the song, many of the names of fans in the audience are displayed on the screen. By the next business day, everyone who sends a text message gets a response from Bono inviting them to learn more about the One Campaign. Already, more than 650,000 fans have participated.
