Last weekend three US-based members of the Ushahidi project team were able to get together for two full days of planning for the upcoming Net2 conference. (Photo proof exhibited... Erik, David and Juliana)

This month's Net2ThinkTank questions was:

How Can Nonprofits and NGOs Use Mobile Phones and SMS for Social Change?

Ken Banks of Kiwanja.net, submitted the post, Social Mobile and the Long Tail. You can listen to Ken Banks' presentation at Net Tuesday San Francisco and David Collins' interview with Ken on the NetSquared Podcast.

Sokari at Kabissa posted about Ken this month in the post, Ken Banks at the Mobile World Congress

You also might want to read the Pan African Mobile Activist Network (PAMOMNet)'s notes from The Mobile World Congress.

Katrin Verclas and Corey Ramey at MobileActive submitted a multitude of useful posts covering a range of ways nonprofits and NGOs can use mobile technology for their work:

In a November 29, 2007 article, Reuters reported,

"Worldwide mobile telephone subscriptions reached 3.3 billion -- equivalent to half the global population . . ."

Some nonprofits and NGOs are using mobile phones and SMS to get the word out about their cause, but many are not, which leads to this month's Net2ThinkTank question:

How Can Nonprofits and NGOs Use Mobile Phones and SMS for Social Change?

Share your advice, case studies and ideas for how nonprofits and NGOs can better utilize mobile phones and SMS for their work, or why they shouldn't, in a blog post.

Please tag your post, "net2thinktank" and send a link to it to bbravo@techsoup.org by Wednesday, February 13th, Noon PST.

If you don't have a blog, but would like to contribute to the Net2ThinkTank, write a post here, on the Net2 Community Blog. Any registered user can post on it. Here's how.

According to Pambazuka News:

"The UmNyango Project will use SMS technology for rural women and men to access information to, and report incidences of violence against women and children, as well as violations of women’s right to land.

This initiative will be tested out in Dondotha, KwaDlangezwa, KwaGcwensa, Limehill and Muden, and if successful, will be rolled out on a wider scale.

As well as using text messaging, the project will enable women in these areas to produce their own radio programmes which will be made available to local radio stations, as well as being distributed over the internet as ‘podcasts’".

Katrin Verclas coordinates the secretariat of MobileActive, a global network of activists and campaigners using mobile phones for civic action and engagement. MobileActive is a project of the Green Media Toolshed.

Mobiles have been used around the world to ensure impartial elections through monitoring, mobilize massive collective action to free political prisoners, and advance public health strategies.