There's a flock of naked women in the music video on the screen, hidden only by two black bars strategically superimposed on each body. They're bopping along together, doing some sort of synchronized dance; there are several close-ups of their toes.

At the Friday night Liberation dance party at DC9, people are digging the video. Then, just as it's ending, the screen flashes to a list of messages. "This video is [expletive] awesome," reads the most recent.

The dispatch was from someone in the club who sent a text message to DC9's video screen: a feature installed in mid-June as the latest interactive way to attract and entertain customers. Although it's one of the few nightclubs in the District to use text-to-screen technology, clubs elsewhere, noticing that there are nearly as many clubgoers texting as talking, have started to capitalize on the trend.

"I've seen friends in the same room 20 feet apart sending messages to each other," said Bill Spieler, owner of DC9. "Which to me is silly, but I can't fight what is happening."

In mid-June, Spieler contacted FireText, a Canadian company that provides text-to-screen services. FireText lets anyone send text messages to a designated phone number; the receiving cellphone is hooked up to a computer, which is hooked up to a projector. The messages can then be sent to a screen for all to see. Within days, the system was set up to run on the 10-by-15-foot screen that DC9 already used for music videos.

The first time someone texts the number displayed on the screen, his or her phone is assigned a four-digit tag that identifies the sender for the rest of the night. The text messages that pop up between music videos range from . . .

The song request: "R Kelley -- Flirt . . . props and luv."

To the shout-out: "Happy birthday little Brian!!! Vamos United on sunday!!!!"

To the group discussion: "Jessie is smokin hot!" (presumably about someone in the club), then "Jessie is still [expletive] hot!,"then "I agree. Jesse Ventura is hot."

To the occasional gibberish: "We all live on a giant beachball. Duuuuude."

And the solicitous: "Are you the guy I saw in the alley behind jrs? You're hot."

This last demonstrates one of the more clever uses of the system. The anonymity of the messages makes approaching and meeting people much less scary. "It's the oldest story in the nightclub business: How do you help break down inhibitions?" said Ed Bailey, manager of Town Danceboutique nightclub.

Bailey remembers tricks of the trade from when he worked at Nation in the '90s. Each patron wore a sticker with a number, and if you were attracted to someone across the room, you left them a note pinned on a bulletin board.

"Hey 703, I think you're cute. -- 224"

If 703 thought 224 was cute, too, then great, they met at the bar. If not, 224 wouldn't have to deal with what Bailey calls "the spear of rejection right to the face."

Last Valentine's Day at Town, a video screen served the same purpose; instead of bits of paper, there were text messages. DC9 works the same way: Anyone who wants to participate in "private flirt" can write the four-digit number on a sticker.

The text-to-screen system was a hit on Valentine's Day, but was set up only for that one night at Town to keep it novel. "When you find something that intrigues customers, you have to pace yourself so you don't wear it out too quickly," Bailey said.

He was able to hook the system up himself, but he also decided to monitor messages for vulgarity. "We only edited them if they were truly obscene or if they just seemed hurtful or spiteful for some reason," Bailey said. "But we ran things that may not have been pleasant -- like, 'Hey 16, stop talking to my boyfriend.' " (Some text-to-screen programs automatically filter messages for inappropriate language, but Spieler said his clientele is older than 21, so he's not too worried.)

Bailey said he made sure people knew that though their phone numbers would not show on the screen, Bailey would be able to preview numbers and messages on his computer. This kind of accountability prevented anyone from submitting "something horrific."

What some texters might not consider is the cache of phone numbers that clubs can build this way. Each phone number -- and the message that appears on the screen -- can be kept in the club's main computer. Don't want advertisements sent to your phone? Then don't text the screen. Not all clubs use numbers for advertisements; Town tossed the numbers after the night was over. "That's not who we want to be," Bailey said. "We're not opportunistic. We're just trying to create a fun little game at the club." But Spieler said one of the best things about FireText is the ability to send customers alerts about drink specials and discounts, and have them forward the alerts to friends.

Nightclubs are not the only places to use text-to-screen. At Merriweather Post Pavilion, the crowd can text messages to giant screens before concerts and between sets. Large conferences use it so audience members can text questions during sessions.

New Life Church in Colorado Springs uses FireText so congregants can text prayer requests to the pastor. The requests are too personal to be displayed on a screen, but Brett Smith, the pastor's assistant, said it's a way for people to get in touch with the pastor immediately -- faster and easier than filling out a card. "Our pastor was out preaching in Los Angeles a while back and asked the crowd, 'How many of you all are texting right now as I'm talking?' " Smith said. "More than 50 percent raised their hands, and he realized that there's a whole group of people who are never going to fill out the card." Now, the video screen that used to just display scripture references also displays a cellphone number for congregants to text.

On an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" that aired in December, FireText helped set up a television in a girl's bedroom so she could chat on her bedroom wall with her friends.

"At first, it was difficult to break into the market because people didn't see the potential for it," said Raoul Bhatt, lead developer at FireText. The company developed the software two years ago. "But as the market changed and more people started texting, businesses said, 'Let's jump on this bandwagon, they might as well be texting us.' In the past six months, it's been crazy for us. . . . Our network of nightclubs using it is growing like mushrooms."

Bailey, of Town, remembers giving up vinyl records for digital tracks; trading actual conversation for text messaging is, perhaps, not so different. He said he would install text-to-screen as a regular feature if it looks as though it is getting more popular at other clubs. But he still grumbles about the etiquette of texting while talking to someone.

"When I started working in the nightclub business, there really weren't cellphones," Bailey said. "You wouldn't have to tell your employees not to text while serving drinks. You almost can't even say that now because it's such a part of our culture. You can't say to someone, 'Don't do that,' because they look at you not like you're being mean, but like you're crazy."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071800854.html?tid=informbox

By Laura Yao Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, July 20, 2008; M11