With some imagination, the coordinates generated could be the positions of nearby public transport, marathon runners carrying GPS devices, cars in a rally, or the location of a package in transit.

It is hard to rally the public behind austerity programmes at the best of times; even harder to solicit their support for measures to bolster a currency they do not like.

Banding together with a bunch of like-minded citizens to make a big noise is a great way to get noticed, to rally similarly-outraged others to a cause, and to shift the terms of the public debate.