MIT OpenCourseWarehttp://ocw.mit.edu MAS.965 / 6.976 / SP.716 NextLab I: Designing Mobile Technologies for the Next Billion Users�� Fall 2008 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use, visit: http://ocw.mit.edu/terms.Michael Gordon MIT CSAILRichard Heeks,“ICT4D 2.0:The Next Phase of Applying ICT for International Development,” Computer, vol. 41, Jun. 2008, pp. 26-33. J. Donner et al.,“Stages of Design in Technology for Global Development,” Computer, vol. 41, 2008, pp. 34-41.Richard Heeks,“ICT4D 2.0:The Next Phase of Applying ICT for International Development,” Computer, vol. 41, Jun. 2008, pp. 26-33. J. Donner et al.,“Stages of Design in Technology for Global Development,” Computer, vol. 41, 2008, pp. 34-41.�� Moral argument (diminishing returns for first-world technology) �� “Enlightened” Self-interest �� “Problem of the poor today can become our problems tomorrow” �� New markets (poor as consumers) �� The poor have disposable income and they prioritize ICT �� “Personal” self-interest �� Projects are interesting and satisfying�� Until 1990 computing for development focused on: �� IT for internal government administration �� Corporations viewed IT as a tool for delivering economic growth in the private sector �� But then came the Internet and the Millennium Development Goals (1996) �� “new tools in search of a purpose”�� Era of the rural telecenter �� Room with one or more internet-connected PCs �� Imposed existing designs and expected the poor to adapt to them �� Most ended in failure which led to new watchwords: �� Sustainability: failed to survive �� Scalability: limited reach �� Evaluation: all hype What are your thoughts/experiences with rural Telecenters? Question:Que�� Pushing the internet connected PC is difficult and recent innovations have focused on: �� Terminals: OLPC �� Telecommunications: wireless �� Power: generation, storage, and consumption �� Heeks:Why push down this route when we can jump ship to a more appropriate technology: Mobiles! stion:What are your thoughts/experiences with the OLPC?�� Incredible acceptance and growth rates of mobile telephony �� How do we reach the last “half billion”? �� Should the internet be the focus? �� What can be done with existing technologies? �� Calls �� SMS �� Radios (80% penetration in DCs) �� Televisions (50 penetration in DCs)�� Equating poor with illiteracy is a common mistake: �� > 50% adults in poorest countries are literate �� 2/3 of 15 – 24 yr olds are literate �� Villages have infomediaries �� Still need to create user interfaces appropriate for these populations �� Audio-visual�� Content: appropriate and narrowing �� Community radio and participatory video �� Interaction and communication �� Services �� E-government �� M-development: hang services on growing phone base �� Production �� Create incomes for the poor �� Authors of contentDiscussi�� “Passive diffusion” �� The market will decide if ICT4D has value �� Combination of: �� private firms’ search for profit �� Poor’s search for value �� Any attempt to intervene would be wasteful �� “Active innovation” �� Market will not deliver �� intervention required that will help meet development goals on: Comments on “passive diffusion” versus “active innovation”?�� “Pro-poor” �� Outside poor communities on their behalf �� Design versus reality gaps �� Some successes: pre-paid mobile plans �� “Para-poor” �� Working alongside poor �� Participative, user-engaged design process �� Problems: �� Who participates matters �� Our class �� “Per-Poor” �� Within and by poor community�� Poor are adapting and applying technology in new ways: �� New processes �� Flashing �� New business models �� Mobile transactions of airtime �� New products �� Re-chipping phones (latest look without the $$$) �� My $0.02 �� Education the key to per-poor �� Ex: MIT’s EPROM and AITI Question: Other examples of per-poor innovation?�� Technologists cannot stand alone �� The problem with ICT4D 1.0 �� Science and technology are climbing the development scale. �� Korean and Taiwan (NICs) �� Integrate IS, development studies, and CS. �� Multidisciplinary teams �� Don’t trap ICT as a tool to serve individual development goals �� Misses out on ICT’s roll as a linking technology �� Doesn’t let the poor innovate What do you think of your project and your project team?Richard Heeks,“ICT4D 2.0:The Next Phase of Applying ICT for International Development,” Computer, vol. 41, Jun. 2008, pp. 26-33. J. Donner et al.,“Stages of Design in Technology for Global Development,” Computer, vol. 41, 2008, pp. 34-41.�� Text-free UI �� Design UI’s for the 1-2 billion illiterate individuals �� Regular UI’s are text-heavy and designed for literate Journey of design: •� Voice annotations on everything •� What do users want to know? (Job listings) •� Graphical representations (cartoons work well) •� TV and word of mouth prevailed as information channels •� Everyone could read numbers (Indrani Medhi) Courtesy of Microsoft Research. Used with permission.�� Armed with this knowledge they designed text-free monster.com and tested it. �� Only 30 percent completed the assigned task. �� The problem was not the UI: �� Users were concerned they would break PC �� Why use the PC? Just ask someone… �� How did the box work? �� Solution: create a short movie that explained the context of the application �� Informed by the Bollywood culture. �� After watching the video, completion rate was 100%. �� Help build the cognitive model of the technology for the user.�� Wonder: Huge problem, why does it persist? �� Exuberance:This technology will solve the world’s problems! �� Realization: Discover the realities; it does not work. What are the problems? �� Adaption: Create a modified/new solution that solves the problems. �� Identification: Understand the gap between the initial and the final solution.�� Wonder: Microfinance is great! Can we lower interest rates by lowering