ICTworks by Inveneo

You already know that Facebook is driving ICT adoption across Africa, and that its African user base is doubling every 7 months. Now Facebook added a new mobile application that is going to blow away all other social connectors in the developing world - Facebook on Every Phone app:

Today, we're launching the new Facebook for Every Phone app, which offers a fast and comprehensive Facebook experience on over 2,500 different phones. This app not only includes Facebook’s most popular features, such as News Feed, Inbox, and Photos, but also enables you to upload photos and find friends from your phone’s contacts.  People all over the world can download the app by visiting m.facebook.com and scrolling down to the download link, or by entering d.facebook.com/install directly into their mobile browser. You can also find it in leading app stores, including GetJar, Appia, and Mobile Weaver.

Optimized to sip data, this application is specifically targeted at the developing world. Facebook sees trends like 99% of Kenyans going online via mobile phones and is expanding its reach beyond smartphones to the wananchi with this app.

Soon, I predict that this Facebook app will be the most common application on African mobile phones, and Facebook will be the Internet for most Africans (if its not already).

In response to last week's post about Facebook's usage in Africa doubling every 7 months, Victor van R, a Dutch ICT4D researcher asked the following pertinent question: Is there any development impact of FB? I immediately thought of at least 3 development impacts we can expect from Facebook's amazingly fast adoption rate.

ICT Adoption

As I've pointed out before, Facebook is driving ICT adoption in Africa by making technology a primary means of communication - for work, pleasure, or politics. All the chatter about Facebook accounts is driving new customers to invest in smartphones for Facebook 0 or computers and Internet connectivity for the real deal. "I need to get Facebook," is becoming a common refrain at retail technology stores of all types.

Literacy

Facebook is driving both ICT and actual language literacy. By having a relevant draw for people to connect, FB is the carrot which has everyone from children to grandparents learning new digital tools. An in schools, there are at least 4 reasons why Facebook is an educational tool: language development, interpersonal skills, group collaboration, and ICT skills.

Community

Physical logistics in Africa is a challenge we all know and face daily. Not so much online. On FB, you can declare your candidacy and reach over a million countrymen without even leaving your house. Soon enough, I expect to see civil society organizations in sub-Sahara Africa learning from North Africa's revolutions to plan their own regime changes - governments already have.

Sending MMS your way: On August 26, the good folks over at FrontlineSMS, upped the ante with the addition of MMS capabilities to the latest release of their software. Imagine the doors this will open up for health-care delivery, disaster management, eLearning...

Facebook is the mobile internet

The Facebook Factor: According to a recent report, the mobile penetration rate in Africa stands at 47% and there seems to be a significant growth in the number people accessing the web...to use Facebook! Do you see a correlation between Facebook use and mobile web adoption rates?

eDevelopment Defined: Are you working with "ICTs for development" or working for "development with ICTs"? Read IICD's take on the matter.

Quality Assured. Genuine Product: The war against the proliferation of fake medicines could take a new turn with the introduction of a new service that allows people confirm the authenticity of a drug via SMS. Learn more about .

Techno-Optimism: The ICT4D Jester speaks once again.

1,000 Telecentres in Rwanda by 2015? Paul Barera, Executive Director of Rwanda Telecentre Network (RTN), hopes to reduce the digital divided by deploying 1,000 telecentres by 2015. An upcoming handbook provides a case for why and how this ambitious goal will be accomplished.

e-Voting boosts economies: African ICT firms are reaping economic benefits from the transition to e-voting.

m4D. Apps4D. ICT4D. Confused, yet? This Venn diagram provides some clarification.

Finally...the ICT4D Spotlight of the Week: The Talking Book
The Talking Book is a programmable audio computer that shares locally-relevant knowledge and improves literacy. While many of you are already familiar with this project, they've had a pretty busy summer.

P.S. We would like use this spot to plug people, projects or organizations that are using creative yet appropriate ICTs in the field of international development, please leave us a comment if you would like to be highlighted.

To get these links faster, follow me on Twitter: @RitseOnline

1. Keep an Open Mind on What is "ICT"

All too often, we get so caught up in what is shiny, flashy, and new, we come to think of just computers, Internet or mobile phones as the full gamut of information and communication technologies.

We forget that other, older technologies like radio and TV not only have a greater reach, they already have an installed user base that doesn't need new equipment or training to benefit from increased knowledge via ICT.

2. Keep an Open Mind on What is "Access"

I remember talking with a community organization which was adamant that they needed a cybercafe to provide access to ICT for their beneficiaries who would be denied the knowledge of the Internet any other way. But when I asked how many beneficiaries had email addresses, they said "oh almost all of them."

So don't think for a minute that a motivated person cannot get access to ICT. As one Development Marketplace 2009 (DM2009) finalist remarked:

For a chance at $200,000 and a trip to Washington DC, I did what it took to get email. I even explored email over HF radio!

3. ICT Isn't the Only Communication System

For all the attention we give ICT's as the world's greatest communication system, there is one network that is way more effective. One that marketing companies value above all others: word of mouth. Yes, ICT's can amplify the message, but nothing compares to someone you know, in your physical proximity sharing information with you. Face to face communication has the highest bit rate - just look at how much is spent on business travel.

At the same time, don't forget analog systems. One DM2009 finalist is mixing satellite images, GPS, and water bottles and church bells as a mudslide early warning system. Why? Because in rural Philippines, church bells are faster than any Facebook or Twitter alert.

4. Major Barriers to ICT Still Exist

Regardless of these workarounds to the question, there are still high barriers to ICT access in the developing world. Organizations like Inveneo are doing our best to reduce these barriers through technology and capacity building, but our work is the easy part.

Time and time again, we relearn that the real barrier to ICT access and adoption is not technological, its cultural, societal, personal, across all organizations, be they business, nonprofit or government. Its people, not technology.

This is a synopsis of my remarks at the recent Development Marketplace 2009 (DM2009) workshop on "Innovative Approaches and Technologies for Effective and Timely Knowledge Sharing for Climate Adaptation"

During a recent Inveneo training of ICT professionals, I was amazed to hear that most everyone had a Facebook account. Not only that, the computer technicians were seeing a spike in bandwidth usage directly tied to Facebook. And absolutely everyone felt that too much work-time was spent updating Facebooks accounts.

Now you could see that as a negative - the countless lost man hours of work time spent socializing instead of producing goods and services for Africa's millions. Or you could look at it another way:

Facebook is driving ICT adoption in Africa

The consensus of group, marketing and technical experts at African ICT companies, was that Facebook was creating demand for their services. Current clients wanted faster Internet connectivity to download all the images and video sent their way via Facebook, and more technology (cameras, video & image editing software) to create content for their Facebook pages.

All the chatter about Facebook accounts was also driving new customers to buy computers and invest in Internet connectivity. "I need to get Facebook," is becoming a common refrain at retail computer stores. This should not come as a surprise.

Facebook in Africa

Facebook has over 300,000 users in Kenya, is the most popular site in South Africa, and is growing by 20,000 new users per month in Nigeria and Ghana - 3x the US growth rate.

Facebook is encoraging this rapid growth with interfaces in Swahili and Afrikaans, with Zulu and Hausa on the way. Yes, even ICTworks is on Facebook.

Benefits Beyond Facebook

Now Facebook is not a personal favorite, but I am glad something is driving ICT adoption, and through that, an overall comfort with online activity. I expect that from Facebook usage will spring forth usage of other web services, like Twitter and blogging, and hopefully a blossoming of local African content that will make conferences like this one, seem quaint.

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