Other resources
From TTC: Mobile Advocacy Toolkit Working Meeting wiki
This page contains links to other resources, tools, services and documentation which are not included in the toolkit.
Contents |
[edit] Mobile advocacy communities
- Kiwanja. Mobile applications database containing details of projects from around the world which make social and environmental use of mobile technology in fields such as human health, economic empowerment, conservation, education, human rights and poverty alleviation. A resource collected by Ken Banks, creator of Frontline SMS, who is one of the mobile advocacy toolkit authors.
- ShareIdeas. ShareIdeas.org is an online community and a wiki for sharing ideas on how to use mobile communications for social and environmental benefits. ShareIdeas.org was created with support from Nokia and Vodafone, but belongs to the growing global network of individuals and organizations that use this virtual gathering place to communicate - and collaborate.
- Mobile Active Strategy Guides: A series of guides directed at NGOs, listing strategies, case studies, and lessons learned to encourage the adoption of mobile phones.
- Eprom: Eprom is a part of the Program for Developmental Entrepreneurship within the MIT Design Laboratory, aimimg to foster mobile phone-related research and entrepreneurship with a focus on the Africa region.
[edit] Services
[edit] Commercial services
These are companies that provide services such as bulk SMS messaging and short codes. Inclusion in this list should not be seen as an endorsement of the products or companies detailed.
- KaPow
- mBlox
- MPP Global Solutions
- MX Telecom
- NetSize
- SpiderSMS
- TXT4: high quality marketing information & integration with CRM systems make these the supplier of choice for large NGOs such as Oxfam & Amnesty
[edit] Messaging systems used in NGO contexts
These are some messaging systems that have been used in interesting ways in the not for profit environment.
- Kazi560 - Kenyan Job site with SMS alerts (established by OneWorld's Mobile4Good)
- Rights Group: US Based Mobile Services & Tools for Cause-Related organisations
- SafetyText: A text messaging system where users can send a text message with details about their surroundings, this gets delivered if the person isn't safe and unable to cancel it. The message is sent to a previously chosen contact, at a pre-defined time. SafetyText is managed by the Lucie Blackman Trust.
- SW Radio Africa SMS Campaign: When Mugabe's started confiscating radios in an effort to clamp down even further on access to information, SW Radio Africa launched a program through which people could receive headlines by SMS.
- Greenpeace Japan GMO Campaign: GP Japan developed a GMO-free shopping guide browsable on mobile web, which creates the opportunity for a shopper to check food products on the fly, while walking up and down the grocery store aisles. They can also read background information about the source company that produces that item and in particular, their customer feedback telephone number, so that companies can be asked questions directly from the public.
- SMS Communities: Use by Wildlife conservation teams
- One SMS to Save One Life in Darfur: Turkish NGO Kimse Yok Mu asks people to send an SMS message to a specific number, and part of the costs will be a donation for the Darfur food program.
- Manobi: A Senegalese company operating online systems for businesses in the developing world. It launched the trading platform for farmers and fishermen in the west African nation, signing up 40,000 customers there. Teaming up with cell phone manufacturers, farmers can access the information on a web-based trading platform via Internet-enabled phones, or can request prices and make trades via SMS, or text message.
[edit] Voice
Some telephony and VOIP applications.
- Grand Central: Hosted service providing a multitude of Feature options for your telephony
- Celliax: A project which uses Asterisk to manage cell phones & Skype callsMedia:Example.ogg
- Gizmo Project: SIP service with a client for a Java Mobile (especially useful with WiFi)
- TruPhone: SIP service with a client for a Java Mobile (especially useful with WiFi)
[edit] Other interesting links
- Mobile Africa: A web portal very popular amongst the mobile users in Africa, calling itself "the gateway to Africa's mobile communication technology, containing extensive invaluable tools for everyday use like SMS, Ringtones, a Glossary of terms used in the mobile communications industry".
- Draft paper on mobile phones and activism: Ethan Zuckermann's paper on the role mobile phones and messaging play in the activities of grassroots groups in developing countries.
- Mobile Society: This website provides information on research related to the social consequences of the mobile phones. Their mission is to include all publicly available information on studies about the interaction between mobile phones and contemporary society.
[edit] Ringtones
- Ring Tones and Mobile Phone Downloads are Generating Income for Local Musicians in Africa: In order to fight music piracy, African musicians made a partnership with mobile providers. These, by selling ringtones and songs on their networks, agreed to give a percentage of the income to the musicians.
- Latest ringtone news
[edit] The political context of mobile phone use
Some stories from around the world about the regulatory and political environment of mobile phone use.
Links from Textually.org on SMS and politics
Banned since the contested elections in 2005, SMS has at last been turned back on in Ethiopia in time for Ethiopia's new millennium.
The Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation, the sole telecommunication service provider in Ethiopia, has re-started SMS on 14th September.
Venezuela Proposes to Hold Operators Responsible for Sms Content
Venezuela's telecoms regulator Conatel launched this week a public consultation on a reform bill that proposes to hold mobile operators accountable for the content sent in text messages via their networks, the watchdog said in a statement.
KUALA LUMPUR: Those spreading rumours via SMS on racial clashes can be detained under the Internal Security Act.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, who issued the warning, said police were aware of unscrupulous persons spreading rumours via SMS to incite racial clashes.
Togo High Court rules against SMS
The High authority of audio-visual and communication (HAAC) of Togo has criticized the use of SMS in Togo's election campaign.
In a watershed decision the High Court on Tuesday denounced the publication of short messages by a member of the RPT which is the ruling party in Togo to send SMS messages to potential voters.
