NetSquared, an initiative of TechSoup.org - mobile

A Cry for HELP

disasterlogistics — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:38:57 -0400

This is the story of a 1 year 2 month old boy born to an 18 year old mother on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. This report/plea for assistance came in recently from a Philippine Physician at one of the remote rural clinics HELP visited during "Needs Assessment" operations recently.

Learn how you can help at the end of this story.

Ushahidi, Mapping and Mobiles - Activism in the Developing World

ehersman — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:48:38 -0400

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)

Net2ThinkTank: Nonprofits & NGOs UsIng Mobile Phones and SMS for Social Change

Britt Bravo — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:23:47 -0500

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:

Join the Net2ThinkTank: How Can Nonprofits & NGOs Use Mobile Phones and SMS for Social Change?

Britt Bravo — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:17:05 -0500

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.

Mobilizing Generation 2.0: An Interview with Ben Rigby of Mobile Voter

Britt Bravo — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:16:44 -0500

" There are about 50 social networks, and they each have thousands of groups of individuals in these little private circles. It is not like you can send out a blast to everyone on the list and expect them to respond enthusiastically. You really have to do what Jacob Colker did, and go door-to-door--the equivalent of door-to-door online and get to know people, spend some time."
read more

First Day in Africa!

jensly — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:53:54 -0400

Note from NetSquared: Jennifer Sly is the Founder of YouthAssets, a Featured Project at the NetSquared Conference.

Well, I made to Johannesburg! It was a looooong flight - around 15.5 hours, not including the hour we sat on the tarmac. Has anyone travelled to Dulles lately? I forgot about the StarWars like "mobile lounges" they use to transport passengers to and from terminals, gates, and DIRECTLY TO THE PLANE. They packed everyone in it reminded me of New York subways!

Amplafi: A Social Network for Organizations

rachelweidinger — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 20:34:39 -0400

Twitter for social change

dan mcquillan — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:44:05 -0400

i can see some signs that the twitter debate is moving beyond the cappucino-digerati and in to the world of social movements.

andy carvin's done a good post at Can Twitter Save Lives? and i've focussed more on field use in africa in Urgent Action IM Bots and Twitter for Darfur.

And i just heard today from a friend that social campaigning / subversive use of twitter was discussed over the w/end at Barcamp Bangalore

If anyone has any other ideas / examples then please leave a comment or contact me.

dan

CharityDrives.org Goes Mobile

Britt Bravo — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 15:30:26 -0400

I have an update from the people at Charitydrives.org to add to the post I wrote about them last month. Now you can find places to donate stuff using Charitydrives.org from your cell phone. According to the site, all you have to do is to enter charitydrives.org/mobile into your phone-based web browser, enter your zip code, press Find and voilá, you'll see a list of charity drives within 15 miles of your zip code.

You no longer have an excuse for having a random bag of clothes/books/CDs, in your trunk for 6 months

MakePovertyHistory

Arielle — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 07:34:44 -0500

Project Screenshot

Supporting organization

Global Campaign Against Poverty (GCAP)

URL

www.makepovertyhistory.org

Project Description

Make Poverty History is prominently displayed by one of their corporte partners the jeans retailer Diesel. Make Poverty History is about grassroots activism using a spectrum of tools to draw attention and create action opportunities. View their members. I was struck by their use of texting with mobile phones, which has become so ubiquitious in the developing world. Here is the story in their words:

The gap between the world's rich and poor has never been wider. Malnutrition, AIDS, conflict and illiteracy are a daily reality for millions. But it isn't chance or bad luck that keeps people trapped in bitter, unrelenting poverty. It's man-made factors like a glaringly unjust global trade system, a debt burden so great that it suffocates any chance of recovery and insufficient and ineffective aid.

This year there are a number of really important moments when we need as many people as possible to make their voices heard so as the world's most powerful people know that they must make poverty history.

Take Action Now! - Texting

Comic Relief operates the texting service on behalf of the MakePovertyHistory coalition. Of the 25p text at least 15.5p (net proceeds after VAT and handling costs) goes to Comic Relief, registered charity 326568, to cover the cost of updates about Make Poverty History.

More action: Banner ads, Order White Band, Email votes and protest, Resources for Schools.

What has been achieved:

The G8 summit went some way towards meeting the demands made by the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign, including:

The G8 leaders' promise of $48 billion of aid;

The cancellation of debts owed by 18 of the world's poorest countries;

A proposal for AIDS treatment for everyone who requires it by 2010.

You can read the full Communiqué by visiting the G8 Summit 2005 website. However, there is still a great deal more that needs to be achieved. Find out more by visiting the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY response to the G8 Summit Communiqué.