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Featured Case Study

Mobile del Mar: How Mobile App Fisher Friend Helps Fishers in India

An ongoing project in coastal India is working to improve the livelihoods of “fisher folk.” A mobile app called Fisher Friend provides timely information on local fish markets, the weather, and the sea.

A video about Fisher Friend suggests that, “for fishing communities, the key to livelihood is knowledge... knowledge of the market, the weather, and most importantly, the sea.” The Fisher Friend app, which launched in 2007, provides timely and critical information for fishers, and “also increases their knowledge base by providing information on government schemes and entitlements, health services, directory services, and a marine toll-free helpline.”

The project is a collaboration between the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Tata Teleservices in India, Astute Systems Technology, Wireless Reach, and Qualcomm.

The Fisher Friend app provides information on potential fishing zones and market rates per species, helping fishers in all phases of their work. MobileActive.org spoke with S. Senthilkumaran, director of MSSRF in Chennai, to learn more about Fisher Friend.

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03.31.11 | MelissaUlbricht | Livelihood & Economic Development

Featured Mobile Tool

PoiMapper

The PoiMapper application allows a user to create a case-specific questionnaire, collect data, and upload it to a database. PoiMapper also allows the user to take photographs of specific points of interest (POIs) being recorded and these images are also uploaded to the database. Another feature is that the system can be used to update existing data.

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01.23.12 | KatrinVerclas | Disaster & Humanitarian Relief

Featured How-to

Safer Facebook

Facebook has more 500 million users, half of which access the site through their mobile phones. Being able to communicate your message to an audience this large is exceptionally valuable. At the same time your activities on the site generate very detailed information about you and your networks. If you are concerned about surveillance, this information can put you at risk.

Assess Your Facebook Mobile Risks

Like Twitter, Facebook is a way to get your messages to a potentially large audience. It is not a secure method of communication for sensitive information.

This article offers advice about how to mitigate risks when using Facebook as a dissemination and organizing tool. In particular, we consider the following risks:

  • The risk that your public activities on Facebook reveal compromising information about you or your networks - for example, revealing the identity of supporters or identifying people who were present at a particular event.
  • The risk of your private information being revealed to a third party without your consent.
  • The risk that your account details (username and password) are discovered, and that someone may impersonate you.
  • The risk of your account being deleted or suspended.
  • The risk that Facebook is blocked or becomes inaccessible.

in general, you should only use Facebook to share information that you consider public. Public information can be freely distributed by you, your organization, and your supporters, without any risk to individuals or organizational operations. In communicating public information, you can send and receive this information without taking any precautions.

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08.09.11 | SaferMobile | Advocacy