Archive for the ‘Africa’ tag
From Open Data to Open Action
“The thing to remember is, Human beings do not socialize in a completely random way. There’s a tangible reason for us being together, that ties us together. Again, that reason is called the Social Object.” Hugh MacLeod
The Open Government Partnership declaration commits members to support civic participation in addition to making data on government activities open to the public. In Africa, Kenya made history as the first country in sub-Sahara Africa to implement an open data initiative giving citizens unprecedented access to valuable datasets. 40 countries, 5 of them African countries, have since signed up to the OGP and I believe they are at different levels of following through on the spirit of the declaration.
A sign at Fort Jesus in Mombasa, Kenya.
The value of open data to citizens is unquestionable. This year, Kenyan software developers have launched mobile apps that leverage open data to provide services to citizens. They have mostly been in the healthcare and agriculture verticals but services in education and entertainment have begun to emerge. These are very encouraging signals coming out of a country that only a decade or two ago made it almost impossible for citizens to know what the government was doing. These apps may not have been possible without access to the huge amount of data the government holds and is now making available to software developers.
However, we shouldn’t think of only mobile and the web when we talk about leveraging open data. “To turn raw data into ‘edible’ content that citizens can consume and make decisions with” should be the overarching objective for anyone looking to improve citizen participation in governance through open data. This edible bits of content should be easily consumed on the now ubiquitous mobile devices in Africa as well as on old fashioned news print and billboards. Jyri Engestrom refers to social networks as “object-centered sociality” meaning people connect because they have a reason to and that reason is usually an object (in the loose sense of the word). Moving from mere intentions to action may start with little more than an object (physical or otherwise).
Apps for Africa: 3 Reasons To Focus on Mobile
MXit's Android App
The iTunes App store has had phenomenal success as a content distribution platform starting with music and then moving into magazines, books and software applications. There are currently more than 300,000 apps on offer on the App store and numerous stories of developers who went on to make millions of dollars from publishing the apps to the store. The App store may have been solely responsible for spawning a whole new sub-sector for application development that wasn’t taken very seriously until then. Read the rest of this entry »
TweetAfrica: Opportunity Awaits
I looked up a Nairobi-based digital strategist Mark Kaigwa last month, smart and insightful, he’s become a voice to listen to on East African social media and internet marketing affairs. Mobile quickly became part of the conversation since internet penetration is still relatively low. In fact, telecommunication companies across the continent have identified data subscriptions as the next frontier for growth as voice revenues decline due to increased competition and regulatory intervention.
TweetRebooting Africa and the Semacraft Team
We thought it was about time that we took a moment to share what has been happening here at Semacraft. Its been an exhilarating year and we’ve only reached the middle of March.
First, Semacraft Consulting Group was invited to write a series on Africa, with a particular focus on the contemporary tech sector by our good friend, Dirk Knemeyer of Involution Studios, Boston. We’ve published four articles already and here they are in order:
TweetAre Kenyan Blue Chips Anti-’Social’?
Only a measly 22% of companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange have a presence on Facebook. That is despite the fact that there are 1 million Kenyans on that platform alone, the majority accessing it via mobile phone. None of the top 3 companies with a strong presence on Facebook have significant presence on retail shelves. One is a telco, the other a media house and the top company on Facebook is an airline. Read the rest of this entry »
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