ICTworks by Inveneo

First off, pornography happens online, and it's been a problem in every country for decades now. Just read what the U.S. Department of Justice said way back in 1996:

“Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene) material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions.”

And that was before widespread broadband penetration or advances in video streaming and social networking. According to Alexa, now the most popular pornographic sites individually attract anywhere from 0.07% to 0.14% of all web pageviews.

Porn sites are also popular in Africa. The following table from Online Africa shows the rank of the most popular adult sites in African countries where data is available:

So how do you stop the viewing of pornography in school labs so concerned parents, teachers, and school administrators don't rise up in revolt?

Software is not a solution

Most people think you need to install a content filter with a strict whitelist to block pornographic content. And there are a number of companies that sell both installed client software and bandwidth monitoring software to reduce the opportunity to find online porn.

Yet, content filtering software isn't foolproof. Because new porn sites launch every day, their filters need to be updated constantly. Users can also bring in their own digital porn content and view or share it without ever crossing the filter.

Peer pressure is the solution

The simplest and best filter is human - to quote Supreme Court Justice Stewart, "I know it when I see it" - and this is how you can effectively, and cheaply keep Internet cafe users from watching porn online.

You make their peers automatic porn blockers by making sure that others can easily see every computer screen in the room with these simple steps:

1. Face each screen towards the center of the room
2. Remove any obstruction between screens (like CPUs or dividers)
3. Place the lab admin where they can easily see each screen
4. Make sure the admin is looking out - not down - when seated at their desk
5. Use mirrors or windows to create an open, bright workspace

Here is a great example of a safe school computer center from Kempshot Grammar Academy, Ghana:

Note how you can see every screen, and there is nothing hiding a screen for its neighbour. This is also the view from the doorway to the lab, so anyone walking by the lab, or walking by either window can see each person fully.

In this way, the community becomes a human peer pressure blocker of objectionable content - no matter what kind of content it is. And it's a self-regulating filter - no software or updates needed.

Do you want to deploy a computer lab as part of your organization's programs? Yet, are you lacking the cash to pay for the technology yourself? Here is a quick guide on how to raise money for an Internet Cafe from individual donors in 3 steps:

1. Have a clear pitch for your computer lab

The world is a busy place. You want to capture your potential donor's attention quick and hook them on your idea fast. Here's a great example of using YouTube to do just that - ProjectFOCUS' Bringing Solar Internet To Rural Uganda:

Note how ProjectFOCUS shows just the long-term benefits of the computer lab - health, education, economic development. They don't dwell on the features - number of computers, type of software, etc - but give donors the big, uplifting picture.


2. Have a clear fundraising goal

Individual donors want to feel like they are contributing to an achievable goal. Show them what the goal is, and better yet, show them how you came up with the goal. Again, ProjectFOCUS does that really well with their project goals:

Short Term
Project Focus is partnering with local organizations in rural Southwest Uganda to launch an Internet Café, providing access to information and communication previously unavailable to residents of the region. The Café will also provide technology skills training, a revenue source for a local community-run primary school, and allocate space and tools for the production of creative multi-media projects.

Mid Term
The next stage may include the establishment of additional art-therapy/creative media projects, water and sanitation projects, an earth-brick income generation project, and other ideas coming from community members.

Long Term
The long-term vision embodies continual support of holistic, sustainable, community-driven initiatives in the areas of education, health care, economic development, and psychosocial needs in the community.

Even better, they also give donors and understanding of the detailed costs of the computer lab (PDF). This way, donors feel confident that their donation will cover all the needs of the Internet cafe.


3. Have an easy way to donate

It may seem common sense to make it easy for people to send you money, but too often I see donation requests leading to an email address or requests for checks(!). So let's look one last time at ProjectFOCUS - this time at their website header, and note the call to action right at the top:

The "Invest Now" is a great way to make donors feel engaged in a beneficial, long-term project (vs. "donate now") and it links directly to a PayPal donation page. You can also use Google Checkout or even Global Giving. The point is to make it easy to give.

In reading Miquel Balsa's post, The decline of Senegalese (and maybe all) internet cafes, I was struck by the suggestion that public internet access points would soon disappear because the business model wasn't viable.

On the contrary, I believe that we will soon see a cybercafe renaissance, with an explosion of different, and more varied format, for three obvious reasons:

Gone and good riddance

Free Internet access is dead. And good riddance.

I am sure that Miguel and I can agree that the aid-sponsored free community cyber cafe model is dead, and this is a good thing.

I can still remember the first free Internet cafe I visited in West Africa. Funded by USAID, it was supposed to offer access to a wealth of information about NGO services to the community. Except it was only open 9-5, weekdays, and had no control over content, which means there wasn't any in the local language.

Not that it mattered. The majority of the population was illiterate - in any language, much less the skills to surf the web. So it was populated by young boys playing games, downloading music, and skimming porn.

This model was bound to fail, but not before it also bankrupted pay Internet cafes by offering their services for free. Thankfully, big donors have mostly dropped the free cafe model, and not a moment too soon.

We sell you anything digital

Many services, all paid, but not all Internet based

Miguel made a good point - cafes only providing Internet are commodity businesses at the mercy of price wars and supplier whims. So the key to a vibrant cybercafe business is to move into related services for the same client base.

I know of successful African cybercafes that sell anything digital, from music and images off the web, to video, photos, and audio recorded in the cafe or at your event. They also had classes on advanced ICT skills like editing, video production, etc, in addition to graphic design and printing services.

The next level of cybercafe, is the cafe that has Internet access to attract the technology elite. Even though their primary revenue generation may be through food, their open internet access is what drives their customer base to the cafe. Bourbon Cafe in Rwanda or Java House in Nairobi are great examples of this Internet access as lure.

Growing, not shrinking, need for public access

Miguel's point I most disagree with is the suggestion that there is a decreasing need for cybercafes in Africa because of 4P Computing:

Outside of tourists locations, they seem to be drying up everywhere to some degree as more and more of us travel with laptops or at the very least, wifi/highspeed data enabled phones that can do simple browsing anywhere we go.

While he and I may travel with netbooks and iPhones, the majority of Africans do not have such electronica, nor are they buying the expensive data plans that allow for mobile web access. They closely monitor their communication expenses, budgeting for Internet access out of meager daily wages.

Yet more and more business and government services, and professional social capital is moving online. Stores like Rachels' Bargain Corner and Kenya's eGovernment initiatives require full-screen Internet access. And with Facebook driving ICT use in Africa, the next professional networks will be virtual, not in person.

So as high-speed Internet and cool new gadgets increase usage by elites, there will be even more need for average Africans to get online, economically, through public access cyber cafes offering Internet access in multiple formats.

More than decline, this is the time to invest in African cybercafes!