A global network of people using mobile technology for social impact.
Citizen journalism has been hitting the news lately, accelerated by the use of mobiles and blogging during the latest events in the Middle East. Something which has been around for some time is starting to become more and more mainstream by the day. Sadly, most seems to be centred around world trouble spots, but therein lies it's strength.
I've just been reading about Vodafone's new plans to build 3G capability into laptops:
"Vodafone has partnered with world leading notebook manufacturers to make Built-in 3G broadband available to you in a notebook to suit your needs. 3G broadband is an evolution of 3G that delivers a true mobile broadband experience and by integrating it into notebooks it requires nothing to be installed or set up"
This 'new' move towards integrating mobile services into laptops and notebooks themselves could set a new trend (I don't know if Vodafone are the first).
Up until now at the very least the user has needed to install a GSM PCMCIA card or set up a Bluetooth/IR connection to a handset, or connect via a USB/serial cable. If mobile comms becomes a mainstream feature of new laptops (if 3G is available then it goes without saying that an additional bit of software would be able to control SMS) then a whole new world of opportunity could open up. Applications like FrontlineSMS wouldn't seem quite so crazy if that were the case.
I recently made a presentation at a Conference hosted by Technologies for Conservation and Development (t4cd) at Microsoft's Research Centre in Cambridge, UK.
The Conference, which I helped organise through my work with the lead project partner - Fauna & Flora International - brought technologists and conservationists together to try and join the dots in this 'mini digital divide'. My talk was on the growing use of text messaging within the conservation and development communities, and more generally in wider society.
According to a GSM Association spokesman quoted on the BBC Online website today, "The mobile phone is the only viable technology that can bridge the digital divide". This is quite a bold statement in a debate which has been running for a fair old time. It goes along the lines that by putting something digital – a mobile phone in this case – into the hands of the worlds poor you can economically empower them, among other things. If it were only this simple.
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Ben Freda Consulting