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Bluetooth spam from the thin Blue line

  • Posted by Mike Butcher
  • 19 July 2007


I never thought I'd see the day, but the Police are getting into spamming videos onto mobiles.

West Yorkshire Police has launched 999tv.org showcasing video featuring advice from a number of the region's police officers, as well as the Fire and Rescue Service.

Force website communications manager Patrick Brooke said: "With the proliferation of video based websites and the movement towards an increasingly technology based workplace, this latest idea provides us with a new way of presenting policing agendas."

But the first video shows how Police are using mobile phones to literally spam any Bluetooth device in the vicinity of a recent crime with a "Crime Prevention Advice" video.

Stop me if I'm wrong but the average person is going to think "Hell, I'm being spammed with a virus onto my mobile!" and immediately delete the thing, thus negating any positive effect of this initiative.

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3 comments from readers

  • Why would you think you were being spammed by a virus? As far as I can see they send out a message and you choose yes or no to receive it? If its safety advice about crime then I'd be up for it. I think its a great idea.

    Submitted by Gary Smith, 26 November 2007

  • Nice innovative idea, Bluetooth's short range being exploited to it's best.

    However, as far as our research on Happy Packages (http://www.happypackages.com) Bluetooth Spamming (or gopping) is never very successful without some physical visual/audio representation to back-up the fact, someone's sending you something. So as long as you could hear sirens, you're more likely to accept it.

    See the post on, Pervasive Relations (http://www.thoughtden.co.uk/blog/2008/01/28/pr-pervasive-rel...).

    Submitted by Dan Course, 21 April 2008

  • Here's the post on the subject

    http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/2008/04/21/is-it-bluetooth-mar...

    Is it spamming or can we all carry on?

    DanC - Thought Den

    Submitted by Dan Course, 21 April 2008

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