Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about FrontlineSMS!
FrontlineSMS set up on a laptop. Photo credit: Ken Banks, kiwanja.net When people first encounter FrontlineSMS software, a number of questions come up again and again, both in person and on our community forum; ‘how do I access the software?’ ‘What does it cost to send and receive messages?’ ‘What can FrontlineSMS be used for?’ We’ve collated the answers to these and many more Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)... Read More
FrontlineSMS is shaped by our diverse user community: We want to hear from you!
By Florence Scialom, FrontlineSMS Community Support Coordinator Some FrontlineSMS users 'doing' the FrontlineSMS logo. Photo credit: Ken Banks, kiwanja.net “Focus on the user and all else will follow,” has been one of our main mottos here at FrontlineSMS ever since the original version of our software was built in 2005. Yet it is undeniable that, as we gear up for a big year in 2012, the face of the FrontlineSMS user is more diverse than... Read More
New Year – New Internship Opportunities!
Hussain, previous FrontlineSMS intern who has now joined our team as a member of staff As 2012 begins, are you interested in taking up an exciting opportunity to learn more about mobile technology’s role in social change and development? If you’re a creative and enthusiastic individual, we’d like to invite you to apply for our two internship positions to join the growing FrontlineSMS team! You can help support a community of people using mobile... Read More
Supporting Education through SMS in Kyrgyzstan
IREX is an international non-profit organization working on education, independent media and civil society development. Recently, they have been using FrontlineSMS as a tool for efficient management of their Global Connections and Exchange (GCE) and Digital Youth Dialogue (DYD) programs in Kyrgyzstan. In this guest post IREX’s Myahriban Karyagdyyeva and Tynchtyk Zhanadylov explain how their use of FrontlineSMS is making a difference in their... Read More
Communication for social change: How to turn a stone into a sponge (it’s not magic, it’s design!)
FrontlineSMS set up at Equal Access radio station in Chad Guest Post by Dr. Karen Greiner, University of South Florida Earlier this year we heard from Equal Access about their radio project in Chad and Niger. Dr. Karen Greiner conducted 3 months of field research over a two-year period as an external evaluator of the radio programs, producing an evaluation report as a result. Drawing on this work in the below post, Dr. Greiner shares her reflections... Read More
A personal message from FrontlineSMS Founder, Ken Banks
As we approach the end of 2011, there is opportunity for us to reflect on a successful year at FrontlineSMS, reveal some news and reach out to you – our users – to share your thoughts through our survey so that we can carry on innovating. Recently we sent out a personal message from FrontlineSMS Founder, Ken Banks, via our e-newsletter list and we wanted to share it again here with readers of our blog: Ken Banks, FrontlineSMS Founder Hello, It’s... Read More
Our new website layout shows FrontlineSMS in action!
FrontlineSMS user map By Florence Scialom, FrontlineSMS Community Support Coordinator Throughout 2011, FrontlineSMS has supported an increasingly global and active community of those using our software for social change. We also have a growing team working on improving our software, our resources and our sector-specific projects. We have therefore decided to update our website layout to more effectively represent all of this, and much more! Hopefully... Read More
FrontlineSMS User Meet-up in Haiti: The First of Many Global Meet-Ups!
FrontlineSMS meet-up in Haiti It is well known that “the whole is more than the sum of its parts,” and this was certainly shown by recent FrontlineSMS user meet-up in Haiti. The meet-up started as three people interested in learning about FrontlineSMS and grew to be a meeting of nearly 20 people, all of whom are involved in social change projects in Haiti and are either actively using or interested in using FrontlineSMS. This meet-up was organized... Read More
Using SMS to Help People with HIV in Rural Kenya
Guest post by Ben Parfitt, Ugunja Research Team Making use of available tech in Ugunja. Photo Credit: Ben Parfitt Africa has undergone a mobile revolution, and it is spreading. The health sector is capitalizing on the resulting plethora of new opportunities. Doctors, nurses, health workers and pharmacists often rely on their mobile phones, using them as a reference tool, accessing information otherwise unavailable to them. Among this rapid change,... Read More
Reflections from Nairobi: FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi ‘SMS to Map’ Event
Last week FrontlineSMS held an event with Ushahidi, as previously reported on our blog here. The event was held in both Nairobi and London on the same evening, and the below is a guest post from Samanthat Burton who attended the Nairobi-based event. Image credit: Erik Hersman, Ushahidi “On November 7, 2011 a community of experts, techies and curious people gathered together for the event SMS to Map: Using FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi to Tell... Read More
