Another new technology that is being used in this current war is Ushahidi Mapping Software. All this does is map what is going on in a conflict, based on various reports from the field from anyone with a SMS enabled phone or computer or using news aggregates. The problem I have with this system is verification. Hamas or the IDF could easily tap into this and contribute false reports, to paint a picture of what they want the public to see. If there was an accurate way to verify, like only accepting reports that have multiple photo or video showing the same thing from different angles, along with a time/date/description stamp system, then maybe this might be somewhat useful. Until then, I only see this being used more as a propaganda tool. As you can see below, Al Jazeera is playing around with it, and it is kind of cool to flip through the various info and reports. But who are these folks making the reports, and how do I know they are telling the truth? The truth after all is the first casualty of a war.
Now what I see as a good use for this tool, is for disaster relief. Mobile phones and text messaging are often the only survivors amongst the rubble of disasters, and you always see these being used to a great extent during and after a disaster. Sometimes only text messages can make it through, and something like this might be a great way for aid agencies to tap into the needs and emergencies of the victims.
Although, the key component of this technology is a population that have mobile phones, and having plenty of working towers to reach these folks. I do think a mobile cell tower system is a vital component of today’s disaster relief, and should be one of the top priorities of a disaster. Then once that tower is up, to implement a SMS plan, of reaching out to everyone via their phones, and giving them the preferred method of reporting–using text messages.
Could this work in places like Iraq and Afghanistan? Maybe. It all depends upon the usage of cellphones in an area, and wether the Ushahidi could be used by an enemy to hinder the effort. In basic disasters, I wouldn’t be too worried, but in war zones, I am somewhat skeptical. Although in disasters, countries like Myanmar used aid manipulation in their efforts to control the people or hurt enemies during their disaster.
Politics is another area where this could be used, just to track potential voters and identify weak areas of a campaign. It could also be abused, unless verification can be initiated and everyone trusts that process.
I definitely like the crowd sourcing aspect of this, and we can learn a lot from this kind of thing. But to me, the crucial part is the verification process. I am sure the guys at Ushahidi are working on it and we will see how it goes. –Matt
——————————————————————-
Al Jazeera Labs is Testing Ushahidi
By Erik Hersman
January 2, 2009
It made sense that Al Jazeera’s new media team got in touch with us via Twitter – email and Skype came later. A week ago they asked us for the alpha code to see what they could do with it around the recent activity in Gaza. This was the first time a non-Ushahidi team had deployed the alpha-level software. You can see it at .
Instructions from Riyaad on the Al Jazeera team:
“If you’re anywhere in the world and an event is taking place to do with #gaza #israel send a text to: +45609910303 – Start it with GAZA.” You can also, SMS 37191 / +45609910303 – Twitter: @ajgaza
Al Jazeera testing out the Ushahidi Engine in Gaza
Al Jazeera is estimated to be the second largest international news/media house, reaching 100 million households. That kind of organization testing Ushahidi gives us a lot of insight into what we need to do in the future for enterprise-level deployments. This is our first Arabic language deployment, which the Al Jazeera new media team has been working on in the last week – more to come on that soon.
Benjamin Doherty has also played a role in helping get the site up. He also brought up an interesting point that he’s helping us figure out how to work into the system. How do you deal with synonymous names of locations? That’s an especially good question to ask in Gaza, as there are multiple names for the same place used by different groups.
Lastly, this is also the first time that Google Maps was not chosen as the default map, but Microsoft Virtual Earth Maps were instead. We can already see some areas there where we need to fine tune the clustering at the higher elevation levels (as you drill down closer you see that the reports are in the right spot on the map).
So, a big thanks to Riyaad at Al Jazeera New Media Labs for giving it a try. We’ve already learned a great deal from just one week on this, and we’re looking forward to seeing what they do in the future.
StoryHere
——————————————————————
AlJazeera Ushahidi
——————————————————————
About Ushahidi
By admin
January 21, 2008
Ushahidi, which means ”testimony” in Swahili, is a website that was developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. We’re working to build a new platform that can be used anywhere in the world, and this blog tells some of that story.
Ushahidi’s roots are in the collaboration of Kenyan citizen journalists during a time of crisis.
The new Ushahidi Engine is being created to use the lessons learned from Kenya to create a platform that allows anyone around the world to set up their own way to gather reports by mobile phone, email and the web – and map them. It is being built so that it can grow with the changing environment of the web, and to work with other websites and online tools.
Our goal is to create a platform that any person or organization can use to set up their own way to collect and visualize information. The core platform will allow for plug-in and extensions so that it can be customized for different locales and needs. This tool will be tested and made available as an open source application that others can download, implement and use to bring awareness to crises in their own region. Organizations can also use the tool for internal monitoring purposes.
The core engine is built on the premise that gathering crisis information from the general public provides new insights into events happening in near real-time. It is being developed by a group of volunteer developers and designers, hailing primarily from Africa. So far there are representatives from Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Ghana, Netherlands and the US.
Ushahidi Blog