[UgaBYTES] Mobile phone - ready for knowledge management development?

Mon Aug 10 20:59:17 GMT 2009

Dear Kiringai,

at the beginning I was also sceptic about mobile content services.
But then a friend showed me his applications and explained me the
run for these services in transformation countries.

Have a stop at Dubai Book Fair 2010 and then you will see the
above mentioned applications and realize will mobile publishing
will become the main type of publishing (since the traditional
book market does not exist). So they will bypass the print publishing
and even the e-publishing market and continue with mobile publishing.

Simple and cheap mobile content services for your phone:
- mobile comics (to educate illiterates; None of them buys a book)
- mobile books
- micro-learning
- mobile gaming (again to educate illiterates)
- mobile videos (in countries with Digital-TV a cheap solution)

For those 1 billion people in the world lacking access to computers
and internet, the mobile device will become the supreme form of
interactivity. Even when you consider that most
applications will be performed OFF-line (since pre-installed).

*************
For 2010/2011 he plans a major non-profit initiative for Africa
and he still looks for local partners (the international ones are 
already on board).

Let me state again:
as notebook-nerd I was very sceptic in the beginning.
But now I even use this fabulous tool of micro-learning on my mobile phone.
Whenever you have to commute (on bus, train, tram) or waste waiting time
(at doctors, at bus station) you can start your 3-5 min sessions.
OFF-LINE.

kind regards,

Gerhard

At 05:06 22.07.2009, Kiringai Kamau wrote:
>Dear Pete,
>I suppose the comparisons are very important to help the developers of AKN
>to learn from real case studies and although Polly talks a lot of AKN, we in
>Kenya have not seen its role in the unfolding ICT and related
>infrastructural developments.
>
>The thing is, the model for implementing ICT for knowledge based development
>was and may still be wanting if AKN takes the same direction as it did as
>OKN.
>
>I suppose again the solution for knowledge development is not the mobile
>phone. It is the content that the mobile phone is used to support or
>promote. See the case of Safaricom (Vodafone from your country) and its work
>with money. Its not the phone that makes things work, it is the money
>transfer business that makes sense. Look at the microfinance model that
>Equity uses, it's the money that people want. What I am saying is: Let us
>not talk infrastructure - that will definitely follow content and I suppose
>that is the knowledge AKN needs to address. It is not creating
>infrastructure leaning efforts because that we have that in the telecentre
>network. We also will need to look at the array of ICTs that are available
>and can be used to facilitate knowledge capture and utilization.
>
>The thing that Shaddy mentioned is: they were on the ground as local people
>and institutions to develop what has sustained in Drishtie and I suppose in
>others that have not been as entrepreneurially aggressive as Drishtie.
>
>Let there be no hype. Let all come to reality with what is needed from an
>institutional perspective to host a sustainable model. When you visit Kenya,
>I would be glad to have a one on one discussion to share with you my
>thoughts and fears, particularly if you are engaged with AKN.
>
>Good day
>
>Kiringai Kamau
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: ugabytes-bounces at lists.ugabytes.org
>[mailto:ugabytes-bounces at lists.ugabytes.org] On Behalf Of Pete Cranston
>Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 2:02 AM
>To: ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org
>Subject: Re: [UgaBYTES] AFRICA KOWLEDGE NETWORK launched in Dar
>essalaam|Strategy
>
>
>hi
>
>I've said enough but I'm replying partly so my quietness isn't taken as a
>sign that I disagree with Polly, whereas I do. Since I am here, it was great
>to see Shaddy give the deservedly upbeat account of OKN in South Asia, with
>it's very special context, but also to see Polly confirm that the individual
>OKN Africa partners continued to do excellent work during the programme and
>took in what was relevant to them.
>
>The stress on local is so important and indeed OKN as a single programme
>wasn't continued because the global targets and ambitions weren't met. But
>one of those - and it is the other issue that still remains the hardest nut
>to crack - is how to connect expensive content gathering, sharing and
>creation with revenue models. Services like insurance can immediately
>benefit all players and everyone takes a percentage, so there is the
>possibility of an inbuilt revenue model. Enabling people to share how they
>deal with drought or living with HIV/Aids or their wisdom on child rearing I
>think can only happen if there is some kind of public funding model in the
>network, whether external or Govt. based. Clearly AKN has that network at
>its centre and should be in a good position to build the kind of coalitions
>that we saw working when we looked at content strategies for telecentre.org.
>
>The other element that has changed, of course, is the availability and use
>of mobile phones. Research suggests most people use their phones most of the
>time to keep in touch with family and friends, exactly the local trust
>networks at the centre of village/community knowledge systems. We know lots
>of Question & Answer and information distribution services work well using
>mobiles. I'd be interested to learn from this list how mobiles are
>integrating with telecentre work, especially in connection to local content
>and sharing. It's a great oppportunity for AKN since they are coming into a
>very different context in terms of communication. It's one of the things I
>want to learn about when I visit people in Kenya and Uganda this August.
>
>Best wishes
>
>Pete
>
>  Pete Cranston
>Mob: +44 (0)7917 390133
>Skype & Twitter: petecranston
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----
> > From: Polly Gaster <polly.gaster at uem.mz>
> > To: ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org
> > Sent: Monday, 20 July, 2009 4:51:04 PM
> > Subject: Re: [UgaBYTES] AFRICA KOWLEDGE NETWORK launched in Dar es
>salaam|Strategy
> >
> > Hi again - wasn't going to say any more on this topic, but Shaddy's
> > contributions re OKN deserve some feedback. Basically to say that I am in
> > agreement re the primacy of local content and sharing - that's very much
>what
> > we tried to do in our Mozambique pilot (not totally successfully!), but I
>have
> > a feeling that it's pretty much what ALIN and SAFIRE and Enda were doing
>too,
> > to name but 3, and was very useful. Where we all came to grief was the
> > international using and sharing on the international network (eg the
> > Worldspace radio, which is a brilliant concept, but doesn't have a single
> > channel in Portuguese so was no good to us). This in response to Kiringai
>- I
> > think perhaps it was the weight and cost of the international sharing
>channels
> > that didn't produce enough cost-benefit or even social benefit. Pete (C!)
>may
> > not agree, and obviously knows much more than I do about OKN.
> >
> > I think in Asia it was easier to get economies of scale, and simply more
> > people in the local neighbourhoods, not to mention the basic questions of
> > quality of human resources available and connectivity infrastructures. And
>the
> > fact that where we visited Drishtee sites, there were even 4 online
>services
> > available that were in demand by the community - I remember farmers buying
> > insurance was one of them - in Mozambique at that time there wasn't even
>one!
> > In fact there hardly is even now.
> >
> > But it does remain true that OKN did us all a service by opening the way
>and,
> > as I said right at the beginning, offering us lessons both "what to do"
>and
> > "what not to do". And reminds us that we should be cautious about offering
>to
> > change the world immediately through ICTs.
> >
> > Polly
> >
> > ----
> >
> > Polly Gaster
> > TICs para Desenvolvimento/ICT4D
> > Centro de Informatica da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM)
> > Campus Universitario, Maputo, Mozambique
> > e-mail: polly.gaster at uem.mz
> > cel: +258-82-3264540
> > tel/fax: +258-21-485779
> > Skype: polly_gaster
> >
> >
> > --
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> >
> >
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