Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
A text conversation between friends. And then...
No More; YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNETOn Sunday, America celebrates a violent game.
People come together in groups to cheer on the excess and participate in it.
Before the third quarter starts, I hope that everyone puts down the beer, stops and watches an ad. Just for 50 seconds.
The ad is from a nonprofit called No More.
This organization exists to end domestic violence and sexual assault. Those are things with which the NFL has been associated with painful regularity. So much so that football's governing body has contributed financially to the making and airing of this ad.
No More says one in three women and one in four men experiences some form of violence at the hands of a partner. One in five women is a survivor of rape.
The whole ad is just a series of texts being sent between friends on Super Bowl Sunday.
All seems well at first. The texts begin to reveal a little more information. Then the conversation suddenly stops. The troubling truth hangs in the air.
Texts have become such a familiar method of communicating. We fancy we can interpret nuances from the words our friends type, from the speed with which they type them, even from the things they don't say.
In a press release, No More said, "The recognizable iOS typing indicator thought bubble icon is used, symbolically, to point out one of the many signs of domestic violence: her inability to talk about an abusive relationship."
In a simple, evocative way, the ad asks for awareness and action.
It shows that sometimes we have to use our interpretive skills to help those who are truly in need. It encourages viewers to text "NO MORE" to 94543 to find out how to help.
On its Web site, No More offers advice on how to contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline and what to do if you suspect a friend might be the victim of domestic violence or if, indeed, you are.
Just one text during the big game might make all the difference to someone's life.