June 16, 2011

Its time to democratize programming!

Last week I was playing around with Google App Inventor, a web based tool that allows you to make simple as well as sophisticated apps for Android. It uses ‘blocks’ with cut outs like puzzle pieces and then uses a combination of these blocks to specify the app’s behaviour.

Sort of like this one:

It should be pretty easy to figure this one out. Its a simple “answering machine” for SMS’s.

What really strikes me about this app is not only its simplicity, but the fact that it was built by an English major with no prior programming skills!

How about that?

Here is someone who notices a problem or rather a need and without effort, finds a solution using technology…and I believe this person was able to do this because he understood the value of technology and used this value to seek out opportunities for solving this particular problem.

…and that leads me to think that its about time we ‘democratize’ programming.

Its about time we lowered the barriers to creating tech based solutions for our needs and problems just as we did for consuming tech based information (Think tablets, Cell Phones, Portable Music Players and related items).

Quoting the authors of App Inventor;

Imagine a world where you can transform ideas into prototypes without hiring programmers, where you can make apps that work specifically for you, where you can adapt mobile computing to fit your personal needs.

I’m calling out to the developers among us and challenging them to take initiatives (such as the afore mentioned) to empower non-programmers to find tech based solutions that suit their personal needs.

Any seconds?

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June 3, 2011

Redefining ‘Champions’ in Development as ‘Roles’ rather than ‘People’ (We’re in this together!)

At a workshop late last year, I found myself in a group discussing the role of digital natives and techies in social change processes.

The discussion mostly centred on being champions in various communities whereby these people serve as a link between the beneficiaries and the benefactors. Its pretty much a standardized role in the development sector. (And while bridges are awesome, they break!)

A little in depth thought to the role of ‘champions’ made me re-think the concept.

My train of thought starts from the fact that every community has needs and problems that need to be addressed with some sense of urgency. I believe that members of that same community are capable of finding solutions to their needs and problems. They don’t necessarily need someone to come around and craft solutions for them.

The one thing that these communities may not have is the means or resources needed to effect their solutions.

This strikes a chord in my brain.

While they can define their needs, they can also use the same to define what roles/tasks need to be accomplished in order to meet their needs and solve their problems. TO paint a picture, this looks like a crowdsourced model where many people with ideas or skills are tasked to a particular role instead of having one person take on the entire weight of achieving the community’s objective.

A single person’s knowledge and skills are limited as compared to what a community can offer if they knew what to do and how to go about it.

…and that’s why I propose we re-think the model of champions in development work.

I believe that we should take on the solutions and ideas presented to us by the community and use that to define roles that various people with various skills can take on to achieve the desired objective.

…after all, we’re in this together!

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May 29, 2011

Capitalizing on Shared Values in Digital Spaces

I recently had the opportunity to meet face to face, for the very first time, with the people I have worked with on The Kuyu Project and StorySpaces for almost a year.

The Kuyu Project Core Team

Deb, Vic and I - The Kuyu Project Core Team

Deb, Vic and I have worked on various initiatives in different capacities in our organization and we have done this virtually for a little under a year. For many, this is unreal!

Reflecting on this achievement, I now understand the ‘forces’ that have enabled us to work together virtually with concrete progress and achievements.

Of course a major ‘force’ is the tools that enable us to communicate and work together. I’ve talked about this in a previous post. Tools such as Email, Productivity Suites, Apps on various platforms etc have enabled us to make solid advancements in our work.

The less obvious ‘force’ has surprisingly nothing to do with technology…well, at least not directly. I believe that there are shared values in digital spaces that connect people together around various causes and efforts.

I often study people’s behaviour online and there seems to be some binding values that effect this. Values such as openness, net neutrality, privacy etc. We seem to be more ready to trust people we’ve never met in person when we base our trust on the assumption that these people share the same ‘digital values’ as we do and our every interaction is built on this foundation afterwards.

In the last year I’ve used this foundation built on shared values to incubate and grow an internet based organization…and this is one of the simpler things.

Based on my experience, I think we as a global digital community should strive to protect, develop and grow the values we share in digital spaces so as to provide a solid foundation and framework to capitalize on the Internet’s power and resources…people included.

What do you think?

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April 28, 2011

A smile is good enough for me!

preamble:

I’ve been going through a tough time lately and figured I needed to re-ignite the passion I had for using technology to effect social change. This post, re-blogged from the Digital Natives website, seemed to help quite a bit.

So I’m sharing it with you with the hope it helps you out in your low moments. :)

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I’ll be honest with you…I may not fully understand why I chose to teach high school kids how to use social media and all but I do understand the value of it.

I work with High school students between the ages of 14 and 18 and the one thing about them that provides a common ground is their ideas and their dreams! Most of these students come from the rural parts of Kenya and probably don’t have as much of a chance at life as their colleagues in urban cities…but they still cherish their dreams and ambitions and keep hoping that one day they will live to see their dreams come to fruition.

Every time I talk to these kids they seem to jump at any opportunity they recognize to advance their causes and ambitions. They recognize that they have the potential to make a change, not only for themselves, but also for those around them…So when they learn about digital tool, their value and the opportunity it accords them, their faces light up with a glow and a wide smile spreads across their faces…

…and that’s what makes it worth the effort: the smiles on their faces!

As a digital native with a cause, I am obviously burdened by a number of constraints including bandwidth costs and speeds, funding, privacy and licensing issues…but none of these compare to the satisfaction you get knowing that you have made a difference in someone’s life and because of your effort, your initiative, someone has a better shot at achieving their goals.

…and for me, that is what change is about: empowering someone to make a difference in their own little corner of the universe! And when they do, they have the same glow, the same smile on their faces they had when they were first empowered.

I may not exactly know why making a difference is really my business but I know for sure that its something the world urgently needs…and as a digital native, I am empowered to use technology to effect that change in many ways. I will not shy off! Neither will I make excuses for it or apologize to anyone about it. This is my way of making the universe a much better place…this is my bubble, my space, my voice. Someone’s future depends on my activities and I risk that if I fail to fulfill my self adopted responsibilities.

Some of you may be smiling as you read this and I strongly believe it’s because you recognize and understand the value of being a digital native…with a cause. And because you have seen the smiles and the glow on other people’s faces as you go about your work. And I bet you wouldn’t want to trade that experience for anything!

In the current state of the world where despair and disbelief are the status quo, we need to appreciate the value of a smile…we need to put a smile on people’s faces.

…so what are we waiting for?

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April 18, 2011

I’m afraid for the ‘unplugged’ – Our digital actions may be causing more harm, contrary to our intentions

I love being a digital native…honestly!

I love the fact that I have a digital self, and I can be comfortable with it. I love the fact that I can use technology to achieve any objective. I love the fact that I can be in realtime in a number of digital spaces at the same time. If you think about it, there’s lot’s to be happy about being a digital native.

BUT…

I’m a little worried about how my digital activities affect those around me and beyond me. My retweets and likes could well be causing a much greater impact than what I simply imagine. While this is commonly viewed as a good thing, I’m scared of the negative impact it creates.

Here’s an example:

The recent turmoil in Northern Africa (Egypt, Tunisia and Libya) prompted me to help get the word out using digital technologies and all while hoping that soon my efforts may contribute to helping the people in these regions to achieve their objective i.e. to topple their governments.

But what next?

I contributed to the fall of major regimes but has it made anything better? I strongly feel that there’s a chance that I made things worse for a lot of people. Because of my actions, the arab world is now unstable and living in uncertainty and possibly fear.

…and this is just one side of the equation.

Who helps rebuild fallen countries after they’ve toppled their govt’s? Who helps them get back on track? Do we even bother? Take the example of Iraq and Afghanistan. We all cheered the Americans on as they invaded the countries. We blogged about it and put all our thoughts in digital spaces. Look at their people now. If you ask me, I believe that these people were better off before we got involved.

What of Wikileaks?

While keeping governments open is a good thing, who’s paying for the consequences? Someone has to. Take Bradley Manning as an example. He got the cables and leaked them and put a number of diplomats in an uncomfortable position and even put some in the line of fire.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m afraid my actions in digital spaces are possibly making the world a worse off place than it was before. Perhaps I need to reconsider the consequences of my actions not only to my digital conterparts, but to those people on the gorund who do not have a way to tell us how they are being impacted by our digital activities.

I want to change the world. But is it worth it if the intended beneficiaries are left worse off because they don’t get to have their say?

I’m a little confused about this (as you may be at this point) but I strongly believe we need to reconsider and redefine our objectives when considering digital actions for different causes.

Does any of this make sense?

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