What follows is a short extract from the recent “Soul of the New Machine” human rights/technology conference hosted by UC Berkeley, in which I explain my theory of the Social Mobile Long Tail.
This video is also available on the FrontlineSMS Community pages
A full video of the session – PDA’s and Phones for Data Collection – which includes presentations from InSTEDD, Ushahidi, DataDyne and Salesforce.com, is available via the FORA.tv website.
For those of you who don’t know, Tactical Tech is an international NGO specialising in helping human rights advocates use information, communications and digital technologies to maximise the impact of their advocacy work. They empower by providing advocates with guides, tools, training and consultancy which help them develop the skills and tactics they need to increase the impact of their campaigning.
I’ve been fortunate to have worked with Tactical Tech over the past couple of years, and am a huge fan of their work. If you’re an NGO, or work with NGOs, then take a look at some of the tool kits they’ve put together. Just like any good sweet shop, there’s something in there for everyone.
Mobiles in-a-box
Designed to support campaigners looking to use mobile technology in their work
English: http://mobiles.tacticaltech.org
French: http://fr.mobiles.tacticaltech.org
Email: mobiles{at}tacticaltech.org
Message in-a-box
A set of strategic guides and tools to help non-profits create media and communicate for social change
English: http://www.messageinabox.tacticaltech.org
Email: miab{at}tacticaltech.org
Security in-a-box
Created to meet the digital security and privacy needs of advocates and human rights defenders
English: http://security.ngoinabox.org
Soon in Arabic, Russian, French, Spanish
Email: security{at}tacticaltech.org
Maps for Advocacy
An effective, practical guide to using maps in advocacy campaigns
English: http://www.tacticaltech.org/mapsforadvocacy
Email: mapping{at}tacticaltech.org
Visualising Information for Advocacy
A manual aimed at helping NGOs and advocates strengthen their campaigns and projects through visual communication
English: http://www.tacticaltech.org/infodesign
Soon available in Russian
Email: infodesign{at}tacticaltech.org
Quick ‘n’ Easy Guide to Online Advocacy
Aims to expose advocates to online services that are quick to use and easy to understand
English: http://onlineadvocacy.tacticaltech.org
Base NGO in-a-box
A collection of tools for the day-to-day running of small to medium sized NGOs
English: http://base.ngoinabox.org
Currently being updated and translated into a number of languages
Email: base{at}tacticaltech.org
All of these guides and toolkits are available online as downloadable files, or they can be posted to not-for-profits in a book/CD format, free of charge.
[Appropriate] technology. It’s not the fact that it runs on low-end devices, or the latest Android phone, or is platform independent, or seamlessly connects with the “cloud” or the rest of the solution ecosystem, or that it has the smartest user interface ever designed, or that it meets recognised data compatibility standards. It’s whether or not it’s usable by – and relevant to – people.
That’s what counts, and that’s the part we should be getting excited about. After all, technology alone is not the answer. People are the answer.
