Assignment
Invent your own spoken, typed or visual image code, along with a reason for its use, that could be communicated through a mobile device using texting, image sharing, bluetooth or any other aspect of the mobile device.

Introduction
I really like the idea of masking a conversation within a larger communications platform. Specifically, I think Twitter (at least right now) is an easy place for activists to exchange coded information because of its inherent qualities:

• It can be accessed on multiple platforms, including mobile;
• There is already a set of universal “codes,” such as “@,” “RT,” and “#” that can be exploited or re-purposed;
• It’s easier to hide communications in plain sight when there is already a large volume of messages being exchanged;

Context
I’ve named my code StegaTweet, which is based on the science of steganography, or hiding one message inside another message. Obviously I’ve co-opted the term for my own use here, which differs from the more traditional use of steganography where messages are disguised inside the code of audio or image files.

User Scenario
I imagine StegaTweet as a useful code for a small group of people (maybe 10) who are mobile and need to communicate privately among themselves where email or SMS communication might compromise the team’s security. Mind you, Twitter is already in use by activists as a means of communications. What’s unique here is the code that I developed, not Twitter as the networking platform. For this particular set of codes, let’s imagine that it’s for a team of leaders at a large political rally in New York.

Preparation
For this to work, each person involved needs to have a Twitter account with a code name, a complete bio w/fake picture so as not to arouse suspicion. Everyone should then share their handle with the group. You should also actively use the account before you need it incorporating some of the code words to make it harder to break when it’s time to use it for real. It also makes sense to follow more people than just your team members to help preserve your anonymity. This is where adding spambots might actually prove useful!

Another thing you’ll need is a Twitter app on your phone, such as Tweetdeck or any of the other Twitter applications available for your mobile device. That way, you can follow hundreds of people and still be able to filter the Tweets coming from the small group of people on your team with little effort. To everyone else, it will look like a normal Twitter account. Only the people who are part of your team will know what your Tweets mean. What’s also useful about Tweetdeck is that you can have multiple accounts running at once (one for private communication with the leaders and another, say, to communicate with the larger group).

As an experiment, watch the Twitter stream of a random person for one day and see how random the messages are. Another advantage of this method is you will never have to actually send a Tweet directly to another team member to get his/her attention, maintaining everyone’s anonymity. This type of planning will pay off in the long run.

Code
I’ve tried to incorporate as many of the short codes already used by people on Twitter to help messages sound innocuous in case your Twitter stream is discovered or monitored. As a reference for what code phrases might be useful to activists, I referenced “Messaging Through Distortion: Texting at the RNC” by The Ruckus Society.

The basic idea is that only a few words in each Tweet have a meaning, the rest is just filler.

Check in/Check Out: [time of day] + tweeple. Tweeple is a Twitter short code for your Twitter followers. Nothing else matters. The use of ‘tweeple’ indicates you have checked in and you are able to send/receive messages.

Example: “good evening, tweeple.” or “just got my morning coffee, tweeple. go java!”

Security Warnings: [Crime TV show] + location. This would indicate that there is a problem in that area. If you need assistance, include @aplusk (Ashton Kutcher’s Twitter handle).

Example: Film trucks on 4th and Avenue A. Probably Law & Order or something. @aplusk guest star?

Security Response: @aplusk + [positive/negative comment]. Positive indicates you are coming, negative you are not.

Example: @aplusk sighting? Gotta check it out!

Everything okay and on the move: RT. RT is Retweet on Twitter and is used to amplify someone else’s message by sharing it with your followers. In this case, it’s just a red herring.

Example: RT @zelda – today is the anniversary of Nintendo’s GameBoy. Huzzah!

Meetings: “#” + location. A “#” is called a hashtag and it’s used so people can do a search and find all the threads to a certain conversation. Since you all know you’re in the same city, you can use yours to identify the time and location of a meeting. The meeting time should be agreed upon beforehand (i.e. 30 minutes after the message is sent).

Example: Starbucks on Astor Place is too crowded #avoid.

Conclusion

StegaTweet is an exercise in creating a secret code. Since it’s published here, (obviously) I’d recommend not using it in a real world scenario without changing the code to meet your needs. I also recognize that it might not include enough detail or might omit some codes that would be useful for small group communication.

In either case, feedback is welcome via the comments section below.