Experimenting with TXT2 on the BBC Big Screen during a Italy verses Wales Cardiff rugby event. The busy town centre provided thousands of light hearted revellers to try out the TXT2 system.

Text handling and filtering were developed and we began learning about crowd behaviour. It was interesting to see the broad demographic who were engaged by the system. We found TXT2 worked well for most ages and gender.

We also developed the postcard method used later to advertise times and what the event was seeking to achieve.

Critical interest in this work began to grow.

TXT2Crowd is a new social media initiative, an exciting collaboration between Dr Ian Grimstead from Cardiff University's School of Computer Science, artist Glenn Davidson of Artstation, the internationally acclaimed art, media and research practice based at Chapter Art Centre in Cardiff, creative writer Briony Goffin of Cardiff University and anthropologist Kath Williams of the University of Glamorgan.

Dr Grimstead said: “It’s a great opportunity to interact with people and to see and read any thoughts they’d like to share – a chance to facilitate the use of the TXT messages for a public arena…It’s quite a challenge to express yourself within 160 characters”!

Glenn Davidson the architect of this event explained, “We’d like to get people thinking and playing more with the way they use TXT messages as a creative medium, everyone becoming a creative txter”.