Posted by anoushrima on Nov 20, 2010
Have you ever texted a fish? Or graffitied a wall with your mobile?
Thanks to the ever-present mobile devices and connectivity, artists and activists are experimenting with how we interact with each other, organize ourselves, and our surroundings.
We've written about interactive texts messages in activism before, and are very excited to devote our December Tech Salon to how artists and activists use mobile phones for expression.
RSVP here to join us on Thursday December 9th for "Mobiles + Art + Activism": an evening of conversation with artists, and live demos & exhibits of mobile art projects exploring public spaces, calls to action, crowd engagement and participation.
Projects & artists to be showcased include:
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Nov 18, 2010
Today's Mobile Minute brings you news about the six organizations that won social networking grants from infoDev, the way mobile advertising is used in Europe, the launch of 4G networks in Africa, accusations of rigging in India's bandwidth auctions, and a CGAP series that de-hypes mobile banking with actual data.
- InfoDev announced the winners of its social networking grants for organizations working in Africa and Asia. The winners were Akirachix (Kenya), MoMo Kampala (Uganda), COSTECH (Tanzania), Mobile Monday (Mozambique), CRC Topica (Vietnam), and Young Innovations Pvt. Ltd. (Nepal). The winners received $35,000 U.S. as part of the Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy program.
Posted by anoushrima on Nov 16, 2010
This week, the US Center on Citizen Diplomacy is hosting the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy in Washington, DC. in partnership with over 1,000 NGOs conducting citizen diplomacy activities. MobileActive.org is participating in a roundtable discussion on the Role of New Media in Advancing Citizen Diplomacy. The panel will address both policy recommendations and recommended tools for facilitating the use of new media in citizen diplomacy. A live webcast of selected Summit sessions will be available here beginning Wednesday.
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Nov 11, 2010
The Mobile Minute is here to bring you coverage on the rise of smartphone sales around the world, a crop insurance plan in Kenya that uses mobiles to process claims and distribute money, the effect of the 2010 U.S. elections on PBS' mobile web and app usage rates, a pilot in Zambia that uses SMS to rapidly transmit HIV test results between rural clinics and hospitals, and mGive's new mobile donation options.
Posted by melissaulbricht on Nov 10, 2010
Today at noon PST, Kentaro Toyama will give a talk from UC Berkeley on Ten Myths of ICT for International Development, a topic dear to our hearts as we continue to demystify mobile technology for social change.
A live broadcast is available here. Questions can be sent via Yahoo IM to username: citrisevents.
The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society summarizes the event here:
The past decade has seen incredible interest in applying information and communication technologies for international development, an endeavor often abbreviated "ICT4D." Can mobile phones be used to improve rural healthcare? How do you design user interfaces for an illiterate migrant worker? What value is technology to a farmer earning $1 a day?
Posted by MohiniBhavsar on Nov 10, 2010
In this two-part series, MobileActive.org explores how mobile money services can support health care in developing countries. In part one, we described the key ways in which mobile money services can be adopted by the health sector.
At the primary level of care, subscription-based mobile payment services can create two-way links between patients and health care providers, as summarized here.
- Patients can pay service providers directly for health care services delivered.
- Service providers can use mobile transfer platforms to reward patients with monetary or airtime incentives for treatment compliance.
At the district, regional, and national levels, governments and organizations can improve management of funds and introduce better checks and balances by using mobile money platforms. Some uses include:
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Nov 09, 2010
Today's Mobile Minute brings you coverage on an iPhone security hole, how mobile phones are used to transfer music in Mali, Facebook's continued mobile marketing strategy, and the Guardian's updated mobile web site.
Posted by MohiniBhavsar on Nov 08, 2010
Mobile phones are being tried and tested in myriad ways in health care. They are used for data collection and disease surveillance, for ensuring treatment compliance, for managing health information systems and point-of-care support, for health promotion and disease prevention, and for delivering emergency medical services. Clearly, m-health, as this growing field is dubbed, is here to stay.
At the same time, achieving scale and sustainability in most m-health projects has been a challenge. One of the key aspects of beginning to think about ways to integrate m-health into health systems in a sustainable way is to establish financial systems to pay for health services and to ensure financial accountability within programs.
Posted by NateBarthel on Nov 04, 2010
There are a myriad of mobile data collection tools, and varied documentation describing what they do, what they require, and how they work. Given these choices, choosing a particular system can be a daunting task.
We recognize this challenge and have developed a DRAFT matrix assessing ten different mobile data collection technologies against a core set of metrics. It does not seek to emphasis one over the other, rather is meant to aid you in determining which is best for your project. Please take a look at this draft and annotate and edit, as appropriate. Given the quick changes in this area, this is a work in progress.
Thank you to my colleague at MobileActive.org, Mohini Bhavsar, whoe helped compile the data, and the many people who made themselves available to vet the data in the spreadsheet.
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Nov 02, 2010
Get ready for a month of mobile events with something for everyone! Interested in how ICTs can be used to help civil society organizations, or help manage crises? Or do you want to develop and monetize apps? This month, we've got you covered:
2 November, Global Pulse Tech Salon (New York City, USA): Interested in learning about how ICTs can be used during crises? The Global Pulse Tech Salon is hosting a gathering to focus on crisis management through data collection, citizen engagement, and the use of communications technologies.
2-4 November, Planet of the Apps (London, UK): This app-focused event is mainly for corporate brands and operators, with panels and presentations on building and marketing engaging apps.