MobileActive.org

Talking About Killing: Cell Phones, Collective Action, and Insurgent Violence in Iraq

Mobile Advocacy: A Primer

Note: This primer was written for the NTEN newsletter, targeted at a US audience and thus focuses on America.  For more on mobile advocacy in many other parts of the world, see here.

Mobile phones are more prevalent in the U.S. than ever before. Today, over 86% of the US population ages 13 and up owns a mobile phone. Although Americans say that the mobile phone is the device that they hate the most (it even beats the alarm clock and the television!), the cell phone is here to stay. In the past decade, mobile users have grown from about 34 million to more than 203 million, and growth is expected to continue to increase exponentially.

Do Something NOW! Just-In-Time Volunteering with Your Mobile

Ben Rigby imagines people sitting in airports during a layover, using their mobile phones to do something for a cause. Using an application called Volunteer Now!, potential volunteers could instantly be connected with short-term "mini" volunteer opportunities near their present location. "We could utilize people's spare time to do good in the world," he said. "There's no method right now for that kind of thing, but there should be."

The application doesn't exist yet -- it's still in the planning stages -- but Rigby told MobileActive that the Google Android Developer Challenge deadline has been a motivating factor for the project and that he plans to submit a draft of the application for the competition's April 14th deadline. Volunteer Now!

A Mobile Language Line for Domestic Violence Victims

Claire Joyce Tempongko, a Filipina immigrant, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in front of her two young children five years ago. Tempongko had repeatedly tried to get help from state services -- she had called the police before, and her ex-boyfriend had been in jail for domestic violence -- but she was murdered despite the involvement of various services.

Immigrants like Tempongko repeatedly face language and cultural barriers to getting help from domestic abuse. Tempongko's murder was one of the factors that eventually led to a new translation program which was recently implemented by the city of San Francisco in California in the western United States. The new program brings translation services to non-English speaking victims of domestic violence in over 170 languages, all via mobile phone.

Jill Tregor, a Senior Policy Analyst with the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, sat down with MobileActive for an interview.

Celebrate The Day of Love with Mating Call Ringtones

This Valentine's Day, forget the chocolate, roses, and poetry-filled greeting cards. Instead, consider surprising your love with ringtones of animal mating calls available for download to North Americans at eNature.com.

The site features 20 different ringtones with more to come in the future. Current animals include a lovelorn howler monkey, a horny tree frog, a lonely African lion, various birds, and many other species. The ringtones can be downloaded at no cost. And if you are curious and want to learn more, each mating ringtone page contains a description of the animal's mating habits and calls. We are sure you'll be able to delight your love there.

Global Survey on NGO Mobile Adoption of more than 25,000 NGOs

Happy New Year, MobileActives!

To ring in the New Year, MobileActive is conducting, with the UN Foundation and the Vodafone Group Foundation, a global survey of more than 25,000 civil society groups about how these organisations are using mobile phones in their work.

Dial H for Humanitarian: Guest Writer Paul Currion on mobiles in humanitarian work

I interviewed Paul Currion for a research project for the UN Foundation and Vodafone Group Foundation that will be released next year. I asked him about the "state of affairs" of using mobile phones in disaster relief work and humanitarian emergencies. Veritable blogger that he is, he summarized his thoughts on his blog and gave permission to cross-post here.

"I just had an interesting conversation with Katrin Verclas of Mobileactive, who is doing some research into cellphone use in different sectors, and in the course of our discussion a few points emerged about how cellphones are being used in the humanitarian sector.

$25 cellular handset?

Cell phones need to be cheaper so that more people in developing countries can plug in. Lower cost communication options can help in so many aspects of poor people’s lives, from facilitating the finding of more accurate information on market prices to organizing to speak out against a government that often neglects them.

Bringing cell phones to the masses around the world is also a huge market place for producers to tap. But right now the price of handsets is still prohibitive for may poor people. Cellular-News recently published the article, $25 cellular handset achievable within two years (http://www.cellular-news.com/story/13029.php), looking at industry expectations for lower prices over the next several years.

“Among respondents to the survey, 80% reported a belief that a low-end GSM handset with a total bill-of-materials cost of US$25 can be achieved within two years or less, while 51% believe this level can be reached within one year or less. In addition to electronic and mechanical components, the cost of the handset as presented in the survey was defined to include battery, testing, final assembly, software and IP licensing, and product packaging.”