New Resource: Step-by-Step Guide on Using FrontlineSMS with Ushahidi
Here at FrontlineSMS we aim to make our software as accessible and adaptable as possible, and we’re always looking to respond to the needs of our growing user community. Through interaction with many users, we’ve found that some have successfully synched our software with mapping tool, Ushahidi. This set-up allows SMS to be submitted to the Ushahidi platform, enabling people to contribute reports to an online map using just their mobile phone. Combining... Read More
Monitoring Conservation via SMS: Pact Use FrontlineForms in Cambodia
Guest post by Amanda Bradley, Director of Pact’s Community Forestry Partnership Program in Cambodia Using FrontlineSMS in Cambodia. Photo: Pact Community Forestry Program The Oddar Meanchey Community Forestry REDD project is the first of its kind in Cambodia. This project was initiated in 2008 when international consensus crystallized around a mechanism called REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), aiming to compensate developing... Read More
At the Forefront of Development: A Look at the Potential of FrontlineSMS in India
FrontlineSMS featured in an Indian newspaper named The Financial Chronicle this week, in an article entitled At the Forefront of Development. You can read the article below, or view the print version of this article here [pdf]. By Brij Kothari, The Financial Chronicle BIG POTENTIAL: The Financial Chronicle looks at how India is an ideal adoption ground for solutions like FrontlineSMS. The hardware is rudimentary. An ordinary mobile phone connected... Read More
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
How Journalists Are Using FrontlineSMS to Innovate Around the World
This post was originally shared here on Media Shift’s Idea Lab blog. By Flo Scialom, FrontlineSMS Community Support Coordinator So much can be said in 160 characters. As we’ve started to look at tailoring FrontlineSMS software for journalists, we’ve realized just how much potential there is to use text messaging as a news source. As FrontlineSMS’s community support coordinator, I interact every day with people and organizations... 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
