Communication is the key to so many of the issues raised by Umair – I remember working with fair trade coffee producers in the 80’s. Typically there are times when there is was no electricity. There were times when there was no telephone. Some time there would be both. Asynchronous communication (with 1200 Baud modems) via a bulletin board was the only option. Now central America has a viable fair trade industry.

The mobile phone offers so much more. We explored the simplest of tools – how to learn in 160 characters. ZygoHubs txt groupware provides a great mechanism for small group mutual support and learning. frontlineSMS is designed specifically for NGOs and provides means of broadcasting information without interference by other channels through txt..

Although many of the young African researchers and change agents I spoke with last week were keen to discover what solutions I had to offer – it became obvious that the solutions to Africa’s problems (apart from the G8 obvious!) had to have an African dimension and that ICT systems need to start from or evolve into an African context. What works in San Jose does not work for Addis. Returns on investment in Africa may not seem great at the moment – but there is real potential there.

I suspect some of the real revolutionaries of the next wave must come from Africa.

However one important perspective they did share on current ICT: the advantage they see in Web 2 is that “free” is a very good price for them.

Communication is the key to so many of the issues raised by Umair – I remember working with fair trade coffee producers in the 80’s. Typically there are times when there is was no electricity. There were times when there was no telephone. Some time there would be both. Asynchronous communication (with 1200 Baud modems) via a bulletin board was the only option. Now central America has a viable fair trade industry.

The mobile phone offers so much more. We explored the simplest of tools – how to learn in 160 characters. ZygoHubs txt groupware provides a great mechanism for small group mutual support and learning. frontlineSMS is designed specifically for NGOs and provides means of broadcasting information without interference by other channels through txt..

Although many of the young African researchers and change agents I spoke with last week were keen to discover what solutions I had to offer – it became obvious that the solutions to Africa’s problems (apart from the G8 obvious!) had to have an African dimension and that ICT systems need to start from or evolve into an African context. What works in San Jose does not work for Addis. Returns on investment in Africa may not seem great at the moment – but there is real potential there.

I suspect some of the real revolutionaries of the next wave must come from Africa.

However one important perspective they did share on current ICT: the advantage they see in Web 2 is that “free” is a very good price for them.

Think of the $100m spent on an integration hub for government services so that people could get access to government information by “life stage”. This is a societal block screaming out for redesign.

I’ve been fascinated by how real estate has been not so much disintermediated, but re-mediated, and “exposed” by the internet. If Boris in London wants to expose crime data by area, so that citizens can perhaps make grounded suggestions as to how their areas might be better policed etc, then that is genuine redesign. If companies like Qik can let citizens record in real time, then car accidents, bad driving, evidence of social misconduct are immediate, mappable, findable, and “valuable”.

I love the question “are you solving a real problem”, but here’s another question for you “is this a problem really worth solving”?

Think of the $100m spent on an integration hub for government services so that people could get access to government information by “life stage”. This is a societal block screaming out for redesign.

I’ve been fascinated by how real estate has been not so much disintermediated, but re-mediated, and “exposed” by the internet. If Boris in London wants to expose crime data by area, so that citizens can perhaps make grounded suggestions as to how their areas might be better policed etc, then that is genuine redesign. If companies like Qik can let citizens record in real time, then car accidents, bad driving, evidence of social misconduct are immediate, mappable, findable, and “valuable”.

I love the question “are you solving a real problem”, but here’s another question for you “is this a problem really worth solving”?