Yesterday I referred to Twitter as a bloated, rotting corpse. Ok, now that’s a bit over the top but more and more Twitter has begun to mean less and less to me. Perhaps a better analogy is to an overripe fruit that will soon burst spewing forth it’s seeds far and wide.
I think Twitter is an absolutely genius application that has reshaped the communication terrain. However, Twitter offers limited fare for those of us in the aid community. Aside from the military and perhaps a few members of the intelligence community there are not many people who are as security conscious as we are. We share close to nothing and anyone who thinks they are going to open up the flood gates and get us to all join in some sort of communication love in are utterly lost. It will never happen. Also, aside from being somewhat paranoid we are hyper competitive and sharing all sorts of information will simply hasten our own demise.
I have a Twitter account and each day I attract new followers. I am thrilled that someone wants to read what I have to write but I have to admit that they are probably really just looking for a nugget of humanitarian news to supplement the more mainstream fare. One thing I have noticed is that most of my followers are interested in humanitarian issues but don’t actually hail from the humanitarian community. There is some overlap but more or less my audience are caring listeners according to their bios. That is all well and good but a bit disheartening when I realize that my Tweets might just fade into the landscape rather than be picked up and recycled for the greater good of the active humanitarian community.
By feeding Twitter we are creating one of the largest databases of searchable material the world has ever known. Just think how you can parse that data and track trends! News agencies are clearly the big winners here hence Rick Sanchez constantly pumping his Twitter link on CNN. Now it seems Google wants to buy all that info for some unholy amount of money and according to TechCrunch the two are in late stage talks. I don’t have a problem feeding the Twitter machine as long as it feeds me back and while I have found a few crumbs to peck at I don’t feel very full.
One reason for this is that as a result of our paranoia we tend to lock valuable data out of the mainstream and cycle it only within the organizational email structure. Our constant planning and staging runs at a frenetic, break-neck pace until someone forgets to hit Reply All and the conversation is lost. When I first started looking at what lay below the surface of Twitter (see links below) I noticed that while the concept was sound it didn’t hold a lot for our agencies. We would never accede to having our data pumped through someone elses server unless it was for demonstration purposes. So, naturally, Twitter had a limited life cycle for us and it was only matter of time before we crawled back into our nest of emails, Skype calls and Excel spreadsheets.
Now, with Laconica rising and iPhone apps like Nambu and Nokia apps like Gravity beginning to be pumped out by developers I think it is only a matter of time before the tinder ignites and microblogs light up the communications structures of some of the worlds largest aid organizations. By running microblogs within their walled gardens that can reach out to every handset aid agencies are going to level their own playing fields and will soon enjoy an information flow like none they’ve ever experienced before.
Obviously this concept is not going to get much free advertising since the people who stand to lose the most are the harvesters like CNN and Google but some outfits are beginning to churn out stories about the benefits of in-house microblogs. Certainly, Google doesn’t want to see this data go under the radar but since they already have so much do they really need ours as well? God knows we don’t want our conversations floating out there in the public domain.
While one of the greatest strengths of the microblogs are their ability to reach out to the field level there are limitations as to just how far they can reach. While we live and breathe data services in the US and here in Italy the same cannot be said for all of Africa. However, during my last trip to Indo in 2007 almost everywhere you went there was substantial data coverage and as my coworker commented just yesterday the data coverage is often better in Uganda than it is elsewhere. As data networks continue to spring up around the globe our reach constantly expands and consequently the argument for establishing and expanding organizational microblogs grows. The early adopters of this technology will be the clear winners and since most of the tools are free and open source there is very little standing in their way.
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Hey there Jon, how is Rome treating you?
I think your points are all part of the overarching trend of the next phase of the web being heavily (albeit not solely) mobile. This is due in a large degree to the iPhone pushing mobile makers and developers in the US, Europe, and Asia plus mobile handset makers wanting to tap more of the African market. It was bound to happen, but I suppose the big question is whether to work on being part of the group making all this happen or being part of the group that’s dealing with all the data from it. Both will most likely be the biggest markets over the next year or so. I see the later being longer term and the former as being more of a frontier with more innovation.
Miquel-
Thanks for clarifying the issue. The ability to push information to mobile handsets is the critical element.
There has been a lot of discussion about crowdsourcing info (http://tinyurl.com/cx4ubo) but I don’t see such information proving useful for the humanitarian community until it is digested and transformed by reliable sources. Therefore, the place to be is on the operator/innovator side which is the natural location for aid agencies as we are typically the ones making the news.
Our task now is to integrate the microblogging platform into our communication structure so that we can free up that information which is languishing at the edges. Most Ops and Logs officers will tell you that the one thing they hate the most is not having access to all the information their organization is generating. Give me access to everything and I’ll decide what I need to forget. Microblogging is the best way to do this.
Once we have the raw data from both the field and HQ we can then parse it, cut it, chop it and ultimately use it to make quick and informed decisions. For example, if someone sends up a message from the field level that there is a bridge down then we can simply add that data to our map and then send it out through proper channels to our fellow orgs. Or, if an NGO observes there is a need for water but a medical team that need could be sent up the chain and then routed to the proper org. Laconica allows for stream convergence between silos so I imagine it would be fairly easy to establish a third party silo during an emergency that could serve as a central repository for critical information flowing from all orgs. Most likely this would be kept out of the public domain and accessible only to participating groups.
Cheers,
Jon
John,
This is fascinating, and only one question — do you think large agencies are tech-savvy enough actually to start using micro-blogs anytime in the near future? From my experience, most NGOs still regard the web with as much suspicion as anything else, especially given the security concerns (and competitiveness) you mentioned above. As per Paul Currion’s posts on innovation, curious to hear your thoughts on what it would take for agencies to begin making use of these new tools.
Michael-
The security concerns should be a non-issue since Laconica can be installed and run behind the corporate firewall. Microposts from the field are viewed only within the closed structure of the organization’s microblog. For those tin foil hat folks I am sure that adding encryption wouldn’t involve too much more work on the part of the developer. Perhaps I’ll email the developers of Gravity and Nambu and see if that is in the works. Laconica has a separate sign in that is also supported by desktop apps like Twhirl, etc. (http://laconi.ca/trac/wiki/Apps).
Tech savvy is not a problem. I don’t any IT dept would have difficulty setting it up and getting it running. They could then structure however they want. I think they creat groups like Wat/San etc, possibly also create country groups, establish permissions, etc. They could customize it to suit their org. Remember, they are controlling all aspects of the software so they don’t have to sweat the public domain. Sure, there is going to be a learning curve and some victories and some losses but I think in the end they will find in-house microblogs to be a real asset.
The best way to get started would be to set up a test group, much like we did with our Skype roll out some years back, which is sanctioned by HQ. If it works then that’s great. If it doesn’t then lesson learned and move onto the next project. It would have to include HQ players as well as field players. Always get some key management folks involved that are tech savvy and kind of keen on this type of stuff. This is exactly how we did it with Skype and it worked out beautifully.
One hurdle is going to be coverage in the field so they’ll need to be sure they pic a good test spot like Uganda. The next step will be to make sure that the field user is using a Nokia phone (unless they are using an iPhone) running S60 Symbian OS which is now the default OS on most Nokia handsets so it shouldn’t be an issue. They’ll need to download either a free or paid for App to their handset (the Ovi Store is a good place to look) and then configure it using the settings sent to him/her by the IT team. It’s not difficult, really only a few steps, and something you can check out for yourself if you are using Twhirl.
It will take some discipline to get people to start pumping microposts from the field but once it starts the sales job will be much easier. That’s when you add in a few HQ folks and have them follow the stream, using either their phone app or desktop app, and I think they’ll begin to see the value in it. Best to get it up and running before an emergency so that there is time to work out the bugs. I think it is difficult to wrap one’s mind around these things but once someone sees a deliverable pop on the screen they’ll get the picture. For us the main selling point with Skype, aside from call quality, was when we did a cost comparison between Skype calls and standard calls and showed the savings.
Whoever is responsible for firing up a Laconica install for their organization is going to have to monitor the traffic. Not a big deal to have a client open and troll posts, much like we do with Twitter, but if you miss a gem it is going to come back to bite you. But once you get the hang of it you’ll be able to serve data out at lightening speed to your fellow staff members. Once nice option to have would be the ability to email a micropost directly from Twhirl or the handset app. I am pretty sure this feature is in the works (if not it should be!) and I see email/microblog integration as the future of communication. It’s like building on ramps and off ramps between a freeway and a frontage road. Whoa, wait! Someone already built it and it is called OutTwit (http://www.techhit.com/OutTwit/) Now, does it work for Laconi.ca?
It’s only a matter of time before we have all the tools we need effectively microblog from wherever we are. We are way more than half way there. Now the task will be for innovators within aid agencies who believe in the power of microblogging to convince their management that it is a viable tool by effectively rolling it out. My guess is that some agencies are already toying with the idea.
Cheers,
Jon
Another advantage of doing it in-house is that you can add the stream to your existing knowledge more easily. Of course nobody will do that because nobody pays any attention to their knowledge base in any meaningful way.
Okay, so I find your argument semi-convincing. I think there could be a role to play, although as Lucien pointed out on my Quickbits post, the time when Twitter-like service is likely to be most useful is exactly the time when general communications infrastructure is least likely to be working.
One question and one comment:
1. Given that we fail to manage our email traffic reasonably, how is this going to add value? Instead I can see it being yet another data stream that overwhelms key staff at a time when they need it least.
2. You don’t mention that protocols would need to be established to define exactly what this channel is used for. If you don’t think this is an issue, listen to radio chatter since we stopped prioritising radio.