COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Celebrating Six Years of FrontlineSMS!

Welcome to our latest newsletter. We hope you find it useful - and don't forget you can start your own discussions on our FrontlineSMS Community forum and keep up to date with regular news on the FrontlineSMS blog!

FrontlineSMS celebrates sixth birthday!

Six years ago this month, FrontlineSMS was quietly released into the world; no press release, no fuss, no fanfare. Since then, FrontlineSMS has been downloaded over 18,000 times, and is being used to enable positive social change in over 70 countries across the world. To celebrate our birthday, FrontlineSMS Founder Ken Banks writes on our blog about the values that run through all of our work and keep us true to our vision as we continue to grow.

Over the past six years we have built up a great team and a range of sector-specific projects, and we're now very nearly there with a new Board of Directors who will help lead us into the next phase of development. We'll be announcing the Board soon, so keep an eye on our blog for details. In the meantime, do check out all of our latest news below and join us in wishing FrontlineSMS a happy sixth birthday!

Share your views in the 2011 user survey for the chance to win a FrontlineSMS T-shirt!

The FrontlineSMS team is always working to better understand the needs of those using our software because it helps us improve the services that we offer. Last year, we ran our first ever user survey, and now the time has come to launch our 2011 user survey. Whether or not you are an active FrontlineSMS user, we'd like to hear your views! Even if you filled out the survey last year we would still love to hear an update on your work.

Those who complete the 2011 survey will be in with a chance to win a limited edition FrontlineSMS T-shirt, and all organizations will also be considered for inclusion in our National Geographic blog series Mobile Message, which could provide some great promotion for your project! So please fill out the survey here today!

This month, FrontlineSMS:Credit has launched its first PaymentView private beta project in Kenya. This is the first of several private beta projects that FrontlineSMS:Credit will implement with partner organizations across Kenya, as the team prepares to launch a public beta of PaymentView by the end of this year. Keep an eye out on the FrontlineSMS:Credit blog for more on this soon. PaymentView is a mobile money management tool for enterprises and organizations, which can be used to send, receive and manage mobile payments. If you're interested in using mobile payments for your work then the FrontlineSMS:Credit team would love to hear from you, as they continue to build and extend the mobile money functionalities of FrontlineSMS. You can contact the team at info@credit.frontlinesms.com.

FrontlineSMS:Radio launch pilot at three African radio stations

Our sector-specific projects really are going from strength to strength here at FrontlineSMS! As well as the FrontlineSMS:Credit pilot, we were delighted to announce that the beta version of FrontlineSMS:Radio is currently being piloted in three African radio stations.

FrontlineSMS:Radio is a tailored version of FrontlineSMS customized for radio DJs, particularly for use during live-on-air broadcast. The FrontlineSMS:Radio software is built on an entirely new version of FrontlineSMS, which is due out next year. Read more here.

New user resources available now!

This summer we have released some exciting new user resources, including:

* Data Integrity Guide: Drawing directly on the experiences of those who have used FrontlineSMS, this guide provides a data integrity framework which which can be used to understand the level of risk inherent in SMS-based activity. Check out the guide, as well as the accompanying case studies and audio from our August launch event here on our website.

* Mobile technology in emergency response checklist: When determining how to approach potential use of mobile technology in an emergency response it is vital to consider the context. In collaboration with InfoAsAid we have developed a checklist which sets out factors you need to be aware of in assessing the mobile context. Find the checklist online here.

FrontlineSMS in action

Over the last few months some great FrontlineSMS use cases have been featured on our FrontlineSMS blog and in our National Geographic series, Mobile Message. Highlights include:

* Combating Food Insecurity in East Africa

* Tanzanian Farmers Report Increased Yields via SMS

* Radio & SMS Promote Open Social Dialogue in Chad & Niger

* Climate Information Alerts for Poor Farmers

* FrontlineSMS Used for Inclusive Arts Project in UK

Recent news and upcoming events

Increasingly FrontlineSMS is being recognized at high-profile events, in the press, and with high-profile awards too! Here's a brief summary of the recent news and upcoming highlights:

* Recent news: FrontlineSMS was honoured to win the Curry Stone Design Prize, a prestigious award which recognizes the valuable contributions of social design pioneers across the world. Read more about this award and the other winners here.

* Recent press coverage includes: 'Data Could Help Fix Philanthropy's Accountability Problem' from Wired magazine, 'Africa's Quiet Digital Revolution' featuring FrontlineSMS:Radio from the BBC and 'A Quest for Hybrid Companies That Can Profit, but Can Tap Charity from the New York Times!

* Upcoming events include: SMS to Map: Using FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi to Tell Your Story: FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi will be co-hosting an event in London, UK, on November 7th. This exciting event will be also be held in collaboration with a simultaneous event at the iHub in Nairobi. For further information and to register click here.

We hope you've enjoyed the newsletter - we'd love to hear what you think. Let us know your views, your requests for future newsletters and any other comments at info@frontlinesms.com.

FrontlineSMS