NEW - Crowdsourced Device Database: By the community, for the community

We're delighted to announce a major new resource for those using our software: an online database identifying which handsets and modems that are compatible with FrontlineSMS! We think this will be a huge step forward for our users. 

Our new database currently includes information on 10 devices, both modems and handsets that have been tested for their compatibility with FrontlineSMS. Over time, we'll build up data on phone and modem availability and compatibility all over the world, so that it's as easy as it should be to get up and running.

But we need you to help build it! Please share your own experiences - both successes and challenges - with sourcing and using different devices. The more detailed information you give, the more useful the database will be for others. We'll also be adding data from a few new sources, including the anonymised statistics sent back by our users, which since version 1.6.14.1  included information on the device connected to FrontlineSMS; the very useful thread we'd already created on the user support community; and the user survey we've just completed.

To access the data base and to add information on your own experience of using FrontlineSMS with different devices please visit: http://devdb.heroku.com/pub. When you submit an entry we will review it and add it onto the device database within one week.

The database itself is a prototype - but we wanted to get it up and out so that you could use it as soon as possible. Within the database there is an individual report for each device which has been tested. Please bear in mind that this is a list of phones and modems you connect to the computer running FrontlineSMS. (The people you send messages to, and receive messages from, can have ANY phone). In each device report you can see the mobile network operator (mno), the platform, and the version of FrontlineSMS on which the device has been tested. You can also see the functionalities the device has been tested for by hovering your mouse over the envelope symbols. If anyone has suggestions for improvements and would be interested in volunteering time to work on it with us, then do get in touch at info@frontlinesms.com.

Huge thanks are due to Adam White, Alex Anderson, and Morgan Belkadi for building the database and getting it online!

Vote, Pray, Advocate: 2011 SMS Resolutions in Zimababwe

Freedom of information is often said to be heavily restricted in Zimbabwe. Kubatana is an organisation which aims to strengthen use of email and Internet in Zimbabwean NGOs and civil society organisations, in order to support human rights and access to information. They find many innovative ways to get information out, and to allow Zimbabwean citizens to share their views. We are proud to call Kubatana one of the longest standing users of FrontlineSMS, first using our software back in 2005. At the start of 2011 Kubatana’s latest use of FrontlineSMS demonstrates how text messaging can allow people to share their views and hopes for the future in Zimbabwe.

On 5^th January Kubatana used FrontlineSMS to ask their email and SMS subscribers “What’s your resolution about how you’ll get involved in making change happen in 2011?” By the end of the day they had received 70+ responses. The most popular response from initial subscribers was that they would vote. This, of course, assumes there will be elections this year – nothing’s been officially announced, but rumours are suggesting an election for mid-year. Prayer was the next most popular response, with many subscribers saying they would pray for change this year (some of them said they are going to pray and vote). Other messages sent included plans for activities such as advocating for change, sharing information and standing up for human rights.

By the following week Kubatana had received another 150+ responses from subscribers about their resolutions for how they’ll make change in 2011. Vote, pray and advocate continue to be the most popular responses.

Many thanks to Kubatana for sharing this use of FrontlineSMS with us. Read some of the SMS resolutions Kubatana received below, and read more on Kubatana's blog.

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Will put the best of my ability in all I have to do. Will participate in national issues in which my participation is required.

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Advocate for peace building in preparation for elections thank u same to u

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2010 was a bit challenging year    if the Gvt can improve our living and salaries we feel better.

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CHANGE MUST COME NOT NOW BUT YESTERDAY.WE MUST NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY STONE THROWERS BEHIND GLASS HOUSE.IF WE DON’T WORK FOR CHANGE ITS OUR GRAVE WE ARE DIGGING

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To educate ALL ELIGIBLE people to register to vote and that it is their vote that wl speak for the FINAL AND DECISIVE time!

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My x is the right change

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A change shall come by  putting words into action

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Pray for good health and we will pull through

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Make everyone to vote to make change

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I will pray for the nation especially the Leadership

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Firstly to continue to pray & i am encouraging young people to get ID’s & register to vote for their future.

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Change is also my 1st resolution among others.

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SAME TO YOU. MY RESOLUTIOM ABOUT BEING INVOLVED IN MAKING CHANGE HAPPEN IN 2011 IS TO PUT MY (X) IN THE RIGHT BOX CAME ELLECTION.

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2011: To aim for success leading to great success (greatness without limits).

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2 in courage as many pple as I can 2 go and vote for total CHANGE and make them 2 be strong 4 there rights!!!.

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I will fill happy this year. I need to work as a one part kuti tikunde. this year i want to drive new minsters thank you happy new year

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If elections do take place my vote will help change. is this wiki-leaks thing true?

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kubatana!  happy  2011  hop wil  b  able 2  make a  beta  zimbabwe  this  yr

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I am going to make my voice heard through voting

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Nothing much waiting 4 the election time.

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2011 my vote will count it will call for change. Count it will towards a new political order. My vote will speak

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I resolved: to preach against violence     to encourage people to be registered voters  and to stand for just at any given opportunity.

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How can i make a change while i am jobless livng in country without a pasport

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Am going to vote for the changing party if there are elections.Prayer is the GREAT CHANGER.

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Start a child rights club in my community.fund raising for sports equipment&run a children’s talkshow

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PUSH TOWARDS DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES THROUGH PUSHING ON VIOLNCE, ELECTION CONDUCIVE, IMPORTANCE OF ELECTIONS

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Its now 2011, time for the new constitution and violence free election. I resolv 2 campaign for self defence of one’s statutory rights to achieve change.

Daily Nation: Next on Google Maps: Hospitals, roads and kiosks of Korogocho slum

After mapping various key locations and landmarks in the country, Google is now mapping Korogocho, one of Nairobi’s informal settlements.

The mapping of Korogocho, an area with about 200,000 people, is meant to make it easier to identify streets, key structures and landmarks that were previously not mapped onto Google Maps.

“One of the things we spend a lot of time thinking about at Google is how we can make the world’s information more accessible and useful to people all over the globe. This includes providing rich local geographic data because a huge number of search queries have a geographic component,” said Joe Mucheru, Google’s sub-Saharan Africa leader.

The mapping is done through Google Map Maker, a tool that allows people to help create a map by adding or editing features such as roads, businesses, parks, schools...

Health facilities

“The aim of the mapping is to link the Korogocho community to health facilities and local community radio stations like Koch FM. This ensures that when there are health problems in the area, people can send text messages to the station; the station then gets in touch with health experts to advise people on what to do,” said Leonard Njeru, one of the volunteer cartographers.

The text messaging platform is provided by FrontlineSMS, a free service that allows one to send messages to large groups of people and enables instantaneous two-way communication.

“After mapping, the information is put in the system; it is hoped that it can move to a level where it can train community health workers,” said Mr Njeru, who is also a co-founder of Koch FM, one of the community-based radio stations operating in Korogocho, adding that the mapping also enables easier access to the area as it shows directions and distance.

The mapping of Korogocho follows the earlier mapping of other major towns on Google Maps.

Read more of this post by Michael Ouma on the Daily Nation blog.

NDItech: On the Front Lines with FrontlineSMS

NDItech has recently been doing a lot with FrontlineSMS. Via their blog they share thoughts on experiences using the software: Given its heritage it's not surprising that FrontlineSMS really nails our mantra of "appropriate technology" in a number of ways.

• It doesn't have a steep learning curve. Our partners in Eastern Europe downloaded and got it working on their own before I even got to show it to them.
• It runs on very common technology
• It communicates with people where they are: text messaging. Across Africa, as we've mentioned, mobile phones are far and away the best way to reach people.

In the vast swaths of the world where only elites are on the internet, this is a great way to build connections between organizations and their members, whether civil society groups, political parties, or other groups.

We're using Frontline in Haiti, where Katherine is involved with getting local "Information Centers" connected with their constituents via FrontlineSMS.

But it's also valuable in other situations: where there may be internet access, but it's heavily filtered, censored, monitored or otherwise controlled by the government. SMS texts can be monitored as well, of course, but it can be easier to fly under the radar if your volume is not too high or you're not using sensitive keywords.

The great flexibility of FrontlineSMS makes it easier to recover from blocking, too. If all you need is a normal phone, changing numbers - and making the censors find you again - can be as easy as swapping SIM cards.

Read more on the NDItech blog.

We Magazine: Technology for Transparency – SMS Helping Protect Children Against Violence

Here Linda Raftree, of Plan International, is interviewed about a project which uses FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi to improve reporting on violence against children in Benin and Togo:

The Violence Against Children (VAC) project is an initiative co-implemented by PLAN and Save the Children in West Africa and takes place over 4 years (2008-2011) in seven countries: Togo, Ghana, Benin, Guinea, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Gambia. The VAC project trains and engages children and youth themselves as advocates and agents of change to end violence, together with adult community allies. A comprehensive UN report proposes recommendations for action to prevent and respond to violence against children around the world. Earlier this year, the project explored the idea of setting up a text message based system [using FrontlineSMS] that will collect and map out [via Ushahidi] reports of violence against children in communities in Benin and Togo.

...It started off really as a youth project funded by our office in Finland and an effort to break down the UN recommendations from the Violence against Children (VAC) study into a more mainstream language. The idea was to make specific areas of the study more palatable to the general population. The original VAC study was conducted over about 3 years in consultation with hundreds of children, and the goal of the broader VAC project is to increase awareness amongst children and adults, to get them to learn about the effects of violence and how to prevent it and to share the knowledge with their peers. We (Plan) organized a conference in Kenya on social change through new media in December 2008, where my colleague Anastasie Koudoh in Dakar heard of FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi. She started wondering whether such a system could be set up to track violence via cell phone messages...

Read the full interview on the We Magazine website

Jobs@FrontlineSMS: Media Project Manager and New Jobs Page!

New FrontlineSMS jobs page!

Current opportunity: Media Project Manager!

In order to share the exciting opportunities we have to work with us at FrontlineSMS, we now have new jobs page here on our website to keep you all updated on the ways you can become a part of our lively and growing team! This page will show all paid and unpaid roles available at FrontlineSMS, both in the core team and in our sister projects. The location of our vacancies will vary; we currently have staff based in the UK, the US and Kenya.

Media Project Manager position - recruiting now!

FrontlineSMS is currently looking for an enthusiastic self-starter, with an interest in international development and /or media to fill the internship role of Media Project Manager, based in our London offices. The post holder will be responsible for project managing one of our sister organisations, FrontlineSMS: Radio, during its exciting trial stages and beyond. One of the most visible parts of FrontlineSMS  is our growing community of sister organisations: separate projects which fall under the FrontlineSMS umbrella who are developing sector-specific plug-ins to do new and incredibly exciting things. FrontlineSMS:Radio is one of these projects, which will develop a new software module (or plug-in) designed specifically to help community radio stations in the developing world interact more dynamically with their audiences.

The Media Project Manager will also be involved in the work of the FrontlineSMS core team, helping to organise internal and external communications in preparation for the launch of new FrontlineSMS 2.0 software.  We are looking for a candidate who can ensure effective coordination of multiple stakeholder groups and balance software development timelines with the demands of implementing projects on the ground. To find out more about this role visit the jobs page here, where you will find a link to the full job description.

This is what our outgoing intern, Adam, had to say about working with us:

“FrontlineSMS is an exciting and dynamic organization. The diversity of the skills and projects of this small organisation makes working here fascinating, while the uniqueness of the projects makes the work very important”.

And keep a regular eye on our jobs page for more exciting opportunities coming soon!

The Guardian: Technology's role in fighting poverty is still ripe for discussion

If I were to make one key observation, I'd say that the "D" in ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development) resembled more "debate" than "development" during 2010. The ICT4D field has always been ripe for fierce discussion – perhaps a sign that all is not well, or that the discipline continues to mature, or that the rampant advance of technology continues to catch practitioners and academics off-guard. Where, for example, does the advance of the iPad fit into ICT4D, if at all? I've witnessed debate around the promise of high-speed internet since the landing of the new cable off the east coast of Africa almost 18 months ago. There was much hype and excitement when the connection was made – yet the promise of faster, cheaper broadband is yet to reach the masses. It was always going to be a battle of expectation versus reality, and maybe 2011 will be the year that accelerated progress is finally made.

Read more of this article by FrontlineSMS's Ken Banks on The Guardian website.