socialnetwork

A group of Nigerian grassroots organizations and agencies have joined together to form ReclaimNaija, in an effort to provide the Nigerian electorate a way to report on the elections as they happen. ReclaimNaija documents how citizens are experiencing the elections by using FrontlineSMS to receive and send text message reports, and Ushahidi to visually map the election reports received. It is very exciting to see FrontlineSMS being used in this way, especially because one of the first public use cases of the software was during the last Nigerian elections in 2007.

Very interesting concept.

Facebook is opening up their server technology used in their data centers. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said he hoped the unusual technology-sharing program, which Facebook is calling the "Open Compute Project" would encourage industry-wide collaboration around best practices for data-center and server technology. "By sharing this, we will make it more efficient for this ecosystem to grow," he said.

Open systems encourage community collaboration and can produce incredible results quickly, growing and extending systems beyond the imagination of the initial designers. I think that's is what the church has recognized. Hacking is just a term for extending closed or limited systems.

Another example of government officials reaching out to the public via Twitter.

So, where has this impulsive need for mobile apps come from? Karen van Zyl, Marketing Executive for Newsclip, explains, "Social engagement demands constant communication, so why not communicate and engage through your phone as it's fast, easy and ultimately effective."

Rick Falkvinge gives the telcos 20 years of life left before it is all over. He also says that the attitude of the telcos is harming growth on the internet.But he predicts three changes that will, in his view, kill them off within a generation: The shift to mobile handsets, the second is the political pressure to make internet connectivity a basic urban utility, and the third is the handsets' increasing ability to place voice calls directly over the internet, bypassing the telco network altogether. Is a mandate for a publicly-owned network the solution? -wouldn't that be something!

Great quote: "The best part about working on an open source project is that you're not just building a software application; you're building a community."

I guess Wave didn't die after all :) I hope the new features in Google Apps take people (the ones I work with at least) away from email as their primary project management and collaboration tool. It's worth a shot.

Group text messaging for a purpose. "textPlus, the pioneering mobile app that debuted group messaging back in June 2009, is the only app that allows people to text in topic-driven Community chat groups, as well as in one-to-one and group conversations. With its photo-sharing, people search and personalization features, textPlus has increasingly layered in social elements to traditional texting to remarkable public response and is now ready to enlist its loyal following to mobilize for good. The app is available for download on the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android, and works across all carriers on any mobile device that sends and receives SMS messages. "

Location based advertising are not always about proximity. They can also take users away from where they are at currently and influence them to travel to new places.

With the new camera on the new iPad 2 and iMovie features, students will now be able to use one mobile device for personalized instruction with master teachers from anywhere in the world. These new developments bring online education technology to the next generation while making it possible for users to take and make their lessons anywhere from an airport lounge to their couch at home. Though the article is talks about the iPad 2, which is soon to be released, the same could be said about using any tablet with front and rear cameras and video software.

PDF of 7 good tips to make your website more social.

Salesforce uses Twitter and now Facebook in call centers to provide support service to customers.

Content-wise, it's even more significant to talk about social media in the classroom. The ability to bring the outside real world into the classroom in real time is a tremendous advantage to using social media. Students immediately react to that. Who among us doesn't like to think what what we're learning is relevant to the world immediately around us? They will immediately react to that. They will begin talking back and forth with the company. For so long, we have shared information in a one-way channel, throwing as much as we can up against the wall and hoping that it sticks. Now we've entered a landscape where the audience would like to give us information back, would like to participate in a two-way dialogue that can really strengthen a company if you know how to embrace it.

"With mobile banking systems on the rise, health experts are hoping to capitalize on the budding technology to make health services more accessible as well. The mobile finance systems allow subscribers to store and transfer money as credits on their phones, and withdraw cash from local vendors when needed. The tools have appealed to many people who previously had no banking mechanism."

Broadcastr, a platform for location-based storytelling, allows users to easily create and share audio on an interactive map. Anyone can now upload stories and hear content from thousands of users and featured partners, including the 9/11 Memorial, Audible.com, The USC Shoah Foundation Institute, Fodor's Travel Guides, and comedian Michael Showalter.

New audio sharing service, like Cinch but with location. In beta.

Social media data analysis explained using a sample query.

Smartphone users are using mobile apps more than the mobile Web or voice service, and are close to using them more than mobile messaging apps like email and messaging. 70% or more site I personally visit from my phone are not mobile optimized, which is one of the reasons I prefer apps. Also, they are easier to navigate and use compared to to web versions, desktop or mobile.

This is an important development in social networking that would allow collaboration between people living in very remote areas with limited Internet access.