social networking
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Oct 27, 2011
Today's Mobile Minute brings you coverage on India's mobile growth, smartphones in Asia, the relationship between social media and mobile phones in America, Nokia's global sales report, and the rise of open data projects in the United Kingdom.
- Reuters reports that mobile subscriptions in India are on the rise; in August alone mobile phone operators added 7.34 million new subscribers, bringing the country's total number of mobile subscriptions to 865.71 million. However, now that roughly 70% of the country's population has a mobile phone, the number of new subscribers is rising more slowly than last year as the market becomes more saturated.
- The mobile and smartphone market in the Asia-Pacific region is growing rapidly, and Cellular News has the breakdown of current and projected sales: "The smartphone market is [...] expected to have healthy growth, with 24% share in total handset shipments in 2011, up from 17% in 2010. Smartphone shipments in Asia will see a significant growth of 56% in 2011, which indicates the growing demand for smartphones in emerging Asian markets. Smartphone shipments in Asian markets will see a boost for Android-based smartphones, with market share increasing to 52% in 2011, up from 16% in 2010. As a result, the combined market share of Samsung and HTC, the leading Android-based smartphone makers in Asia, will swell from 11% in 2010 to 24% in 2011."
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 MohiniBhavsar on Aug 18, 2010
How Dr Math reaches Pupils with Competitions and Computer Games by using MXit data sheet 846 Views
Abstract:
In a world where school books, pencils and paper have to compete with cell phones, IPODs, and MP3 players for pupils' attention, Dr Math entices pupils to practice basic mathematics skills by providing games and competitions using Mxit over cell phones. Dr Math is a Mxit contact which pupils can add which gives pupils the opportunity to compete with other pupils in basic arithmetic skills such as addition and multiplication and more advanced mathematics skills such as factoring a polynomial and finding the prime factors of a number. In addition, interactive fiction games are available with mathematical twists in a plot that require some basic arithmetic skills to solve the puzzle. And, all of this is done over Mxit – South Africa's leading instant messaging provider – on cell phones.
Posted by MohiniBhavsar on Jun 29, 2010
Networked Activism data sheet 1789 Views
Abstract:
The same technologies that groups of ordinary citizens are using to write operating systems and encyclopedias are fostering a quiet revolution in another area - social activism. On websites such as Avaaz.org and Wikipedia, citizens are forming groups to report on human rights violations and organize email writing campaigns, activities formerly the prerogative of professionals. This article considers whether the participatory potential of technology can be used to mobilize ordinary citizens in the work of human rights advocacy.
Existing online advocacy efforts reveal a de facto inverse relationship between broad mobilization and deep participation. Large groups mobilize many individuals, but each of those individuals has only a limited ability to participate in decisions about the group’s goals or methods. Thus, although we currently have the tools necessary for individuals to engage in advocacy without the need for professional organizations, we are still far from realizing an ideal of fully decentralized, user-generated activism.
Drawing on the insights of network theory, the article proposes a model of “networked activism” that would help ensure both deep participation and broad mobilization by encouraging the formation of highly participatory small groups while providing opportunities for those small groups to connect with one another. Drawing on a series of interviews with human rights and other civil society organizations, the article recommends specific design elements that might foster a model of networked activism. The article concludes that although online activism is unlikely to replace some of the functions served by human rights organizations, efforts to create synergies between traditional and online efforts have the potential to provide avenues for real, meaningful, and effective citizen participation in human rights advocacy.
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Aug 31, 2009
Pigeon data sheet 2348 Views
Organization that developed the Tool:
Problem or Need:
International communication is complicated and expensive, especially for US immigrants and their loved ones living in other countries. Pigeon allows users to communicate easily, affordibly, and more often.
Brief Description:
Pigeon is a voice-based social network for people with limited technological access and even limited literacy. With Pigeon, a person can record a one-minute voice message telling their world what's up and broadcast that message to a group of their choosing.
Tool Category:
App resides and runs on a server
Key Features :
- Provides a single one minute slot for users to record a message for broadcast
- Enables phone-agnostic group communication
- Enables social networking via a phone call
- Does not require literacy to participate
Main Services:
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Mobile Social Network/Peer-to-peer
Tool Maturity:
Under development/pre-launch
Number of Current End Users:
Number of current beneficiaries:
Handsets/devices supported:
Is the Tool's Code Available?:
Is an API available to interface with your tool?:
Posted by sharakarasic on Nov 19, 2008
On day three of MobileActive ’08, I attended a session led by engineer Blaine Cook, formerly Twitter’s Chief Architect.
Cook summarized what the group was looking for:
“We would like an ongoing, up-to-date tool. A migration tool that keeps us moving from one social network to the next so NGO’s can move and migrate from platform to platform. We need the ability for any one organization to connect with any other organization.”
Mixit was mentioned as a useful tool, but Cook noted cross-border interoperability issues: Mixit requires GPRS which isn’t that credible across borders. Using a SIM card costs a lot to text across borders. Cook suggested that there could be a network where you send to SIM chip in Uganda from Uganda, but set up a network with nodes to dramatically cut costs of cross-border activism.
Cook said that it costs around $20,000-30,000 for a short code in the US and you can send as many SMS’s as you like. He mentioned that Twitter got a bill for $37,000 in Egypt for only 6000 Twitter users.
