Trib readers: Easy sign-up for wireless CTA alerts
If you came here today from Jon Hilkevitch's Tribune column about this blog's SMS wireless CTA alerts to your cell phone or email, here's where you can sign up quick and easy. All you need to provide is your cell phone number and your birthday. Or head straight to the Upoc.com CTA alerts community Web page.
Either way, after sign you'll get a text message to your cell phone to finish off the sign-up process. You'll have to reply with a username, and then you're set.
Check out this post to see an example of some of the alerts sent by our community last Friday about problems on both the Red and Brown Lines.
Please read here and here for some tips and ideas on what constitutes an alert. And please! No spam! Remember, the whole idea is we CTA riders have good, timely info we can share with others.
And when you're done with the signup, entertain yourself by leafing through some of the pages here cataloging the strange stuff I see and here every day on my CTA commute. And other riders have contributed their zany stories here and here.
this is a great resource! thanks for setting it up. I've been reading for about 6 months now and am happy to see it grow. I appreciate the RSS feed so I can read it on my PDA via the Plucker software. the craziness read here helps drown out the crazies on the L.
Posted by: WcityW | August 15, 2005 at 07:14 AM
So how long does everyone think it will be before spam starts showing up on a regular basis? I'm betting a few hours...
Posted by: MC High Life | August 15, 2005 at 08:19 AM
Great job Kevin and Daniel! Heck, even if the upoc thing goes spam-crazy, at least the CTA seems to have taken notice of this incredibly simple resource. Seems like when Hilkevitch mentions something in his column, the CTA takes quick action (i.e. dead rotting pigeons).
Here's my favorite line from the column:
"We have been working on an e-mail subscription service and may ask the board to approve a pilot project that would allow our customers to sign up to receive information about specific rail lines," CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said.
Uh, hello!? There already is a pilot project going!
Posted by: Matt | August 15, 2005 at 08:49 AM
OK, someone just sent a txt about the Blue Line being unreliable! We really need to make it clear that messages should only be sent to report a delay backed up with facts. Rants etc. about the L should be posted on this site, NOT SMS'd to everybody!
Posted by: Zac | August 15, 2005 at 10:15 AM
CTA Tattler even got a mention at the 8:00am NEWS on WGN Radio due to this "pilot project".
Congratulations!
Posted by: Ed Knittel | August 15, 2005 at 10:28 AM
I still can't believe that my name was written in today's Tribune. It made me smile. Just so you all know, I won't send anybody any spam. Keep the line of communication open for real emergencies. Again the Alerts are not for ranting about poor service.
Posted by: Archangelgabe | August 15, 2005 at 10:40 AM
CTA Tattler/alerts got a mention during the 8-9 AM hour (8:30 news??) on WBEZ, too!
Posted by: Dunl | August 15, 2005 at 10:45 AM
i don't like your use of the hormel spam can. i hail from the state which has the highest per-capita consumption of spam and have a taste for the stuff. it's really just shoulder pork and ham (SP + Ham = SPAM), and it's cooked IN THE CAN.
i don't want to sound negative or or anything like that, so i'll offer a huge congrats to Kev-O for piloting the CTA Alerts.
so Kevin, does this mean you're paid by the RedEye (for inspiring K.K.) and the CTA? you should be collecting some loot from them.
Posted by: boris | August 15, 2005 at 10:48 AM
FYI, using the "simple" sign-up method at http://www.internetlifeservices.com/cta_alerts.html doesn't work unless you're already a Upoc subscriber.
Posted by: Adam Fendelman | August 15, 2005 at 12:10 PM
What's to prevent some idiot from posting false information on the alerts?
Posted by: Tom | August 15, 2005 at 12:57 PM
Tom asks: "What's to prevent some idiot from posting false information on the alerts?"
Nothing.
Folks, we're all on the honor system here. These alerts are only as good as the GOOD information we share.
Anything can happen, but I do think if someone takes the trouble to sign up, that person will be responsible enough to only post when the info they have is reliable and pertinent.
Posted by: Kevin | August 15, 2005 at 01:13 PM
Hey Dunl, You from HI? Me too!
Posted by: vinb | August 15, 2005 at 02:04 PM
Does anyone have a Cingular prepaid phone that the alerts work with? Or any prepaid?
I cannot sign up -- I am a former AT&T customer w/ a prepaid phone. I've had some probs since the Cingular buyout, so I don't know if it's because prepaid doesn't work, or because AT&T doesn't work.
BTW, my incoming text messages are free, so that's not the problem.
Thanks!
Posted by: ivy | August 15, 2005 at 02:19 PM
What is up with these people going OK? Ok what, we don't care. This is getting annoying.
Posted by: BrendanBiker | August 15, 2005 at 04:37 PM
Yeah I agree! Stop w/the "OK" replies & the useless texts. I have a feeling that there will always be a problem with people not understanding when and what message. In the end, people who pay for incoming text are going to quit the group.
Posted by: vinb | August 15, 2005 at 05:40 PM
ruh roh, looks like i was the straw that broke elvis12's back! sorry bout that $0.20 there bro
Posted by: underscorebleach | August 15, 2005 at 07:55 PM
In case any of you are interested about this, but CBS gave a short, sentence or two remark regarding the Tattler's wireless alerts, showing a pic of the website, on their 4:00 news bracket as a related note to the CTA's ideas on a e-mail alert service.
Posted by: Brian | August 16, 2005 at 03:22 PM
Linked 8/16/05 from CBS2's website
Posted by: tom sherman | August 16, 2005 at 11:51 PM
I just want to tell you I think this is a wonderful idea...if they would stop sending test messages. I signed up and within 2 minutes, I had 5 test messages. I unsubbed.
Posted by: Wallaby | August 17, 2005 at 09:25 AM
Hey Wallaby, things have definitely settled down on the "test msg" front. There hasn't been another since that flurry you mention. I urge you to give it another shot.
Posted by: Kevin | August 17, 2005 at 09:31 AM