The Role of Mobile-Enabled Social Media in Social Development data sheet 668 Views
Author:
Masatake Yamamichi
Publication Date:
Jul 2011
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
A number of countries recently experienced protests organized by citizens that were in pursuit of accountability and openness from government. It was witnessed that social media played a highly important role in those events; among others, continuously providing updated information, establishing human networks, forming opinions, mobilizing people, and taking concerted actions.
Of course, social media is not the sole reason that made the events happen. However, it can be at least said that the general public were encouraged to move into the actions for their enhanced well-being. From a broader perspective, those occurrences also showcase that Information & Communications Technologies (ICTs) can help enhance social development among people.
This short note seeks to develop analysis on the role of social media in social development, in the wake of the increasing diffusion of mobile phone Internet access.
Bad Services? Holding Officials Accountable with SMS, Radio, and TRAC FM data sheet 2290 Views
A recent radio poll at Sanyu FM in Kampala, Uganda, asked listeners what area of service delivery should be a priority: healthcare, education, security, sanitation, or transport. Using a new tool, TRAC FM, the station was able to solicit comments via SMS from listeners, discuss the issue on the air, and create and post online visualizations of the responses. The station received 103 SMS responses which showed that healthcare was the major concern for listeners, which accounted for 65% of responses.
With help from Text to Change and in partnership with local media organizations, TRAC FM provides citizens in Uganda with a platform to monitor, scrutinize, and discuss public service issues via SMS, radio, and online data visualizations. It does this via the TRAC FM software, a tool for Ugandan radio stations that is partially built on RapidSMS, an open source platform originally developed by UNICEF.
TRAC works in countries affected by poverty and conflict. Its sole purpose is to improve the welfare of people by enabling them to make informed choices and to hold their leaders accountable. TRAC gathers data to enhance transparency and informs people by unleashing the power of mobile communications.
[Update below] On the morning of July 29, Reporters Without Borders reported that several citizens of the United Arab Emirates has been arrested for allegedly using BlackBerry Messenger to coordinate a protest against the high price of gasoline. This news comes on the heels of several countries’ working to block or severely limit the use of BlackBerry Messenger in their respective countries. There have also been reports on RIM setting up a server in China under Chinese pressure, even though MobileActive.org could not directly verify these reports.
On July 25th, the United Arab Emirate’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said that they believed BlackBerrys could be used in a way that compromised national security, in April of 2010 Bahrain issued a ban against using the chat feature to share local news, and now India has joined the ranks of countries requesting access to data and information sent over BBM.
Reporters Without Borders has been covering the controversy in the Middle East. Regarding the arrests in the U.A.E., the organization reports:
The authorities were able to trace the organizer, known as “Saud,” because he included his BlackBerry PIN in a BBM message he sent calling for the protest. They held Saud for a week and used his phone to trace those he had been messaging. Accused of inciting opposition to the government, he has lost his job. At least five other members of the group have reportedly been summoned by the police or are still being sought.
