[Gocamino] "Mobile" (cell) phone Bulletin Board

[Rosina]

Hello you all,

The Grupo de Sistemas Inteligentes (Intelligent Systems Group) of the USC (University of Santiago de Compostela) has devised a “beta prototype” (?) of a sort-of  Camino bulletin board accessible to those pilgrims who carry cell phones and who wish to interchange personal Camino experiences and information related to albergues, emergency services, car rentals, transportation services and so on.

This project was presented at the “Tourism and New Technologies Congress” held yesterday in Santiago. 

The system is being developed by the USC in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Madrid.  Pilgrims will be able to post photos and information  about points of interest in the Camino, on a daily basis, for other interested pilgrims to see, and they will be able to relate and correlate their pilgrim experiences in a combined whole.  Apparently there has been a large demand for this type of electronic get-together. There will also be a means of leaving personal messages for designated recipients. There is a great deal of interest in the project, and it might be a good idea.

When I have gone to the Camino with friends and have parted from them, I have had to call New York to leave, and receive, messages for and from them. 

On the other hand, I do not know how many pilgrims do carry cell phones, and whether doing so is a good idea or not.  You will remember that a couple of years ago three pilgrims died crossing the Pyrenees in January
….. one fell to his death (and it took almost a week to find him), another got lost and froze to death, and another suffered a  seizure and died because of the lack of help.  All three were carrying cell phones, which didn’t do them any good.

Also, isn’t the idea of a pilgrimage to kind of get-away-from-it-all?
I myself do not own a cell phone and have no intention of ever getting one (because people call you and interrupt you wherever you are), but I do know that many pilgrims carry them, as evidenced by the large number of cell phones forgotten at albergues and such.
By the way, the Phone Bulletin Board project is being financed by TIC (Technologies of Information and Communication) of Galicia which is composed of thirteen business enterprises, a technological center and three groups of investigation and experimentation.
Hugs!
Rosina