FrontlineSMS 2.0

Every time I'm sitting on the bus here in Boston, and I hear someone pick up a cell phone, just to tell the person on the other end of the line, "I'm on the bus," that's when I think about outfits like FrontlineSMS.

Because I've been covering this stuff for a while now folks, and I can tell you that FrontlineSMS is one of those projects that restore my faith in the idea that technology can have a more positive effect on the planet than just letting people know we're on the bus.

Now, a few particulars. You may or may not know it, but SMS stands for Short Messaging Service, that lovely little functionality on mobile phones that lets you key in and send short text messages between cell phones. It's been popular in many parts of the world for years now, because it's generally cheaper than a phone call. In America, text messaging has been less popular, apart of course for sending in your crucially vital vote for which American Idol contestant sucked a bit less than the others on a given night.

So, what's FrontlineSMS doing with text messages? Providing software and a group texting platform, free of charge, to NGOs around the world that want to use text messaging for communication, advocacy, and even conservation. The idea has been, in part, to break NGO reliance on an often unreliable Internet, and put communication tools on the things that the developing world uses in big numbers: mobile phones.

It's the brainchild of Ken Banks, a British IT expert  with a lot of experience working in sub-saharan Africa. A while back, he told me that the idea came to him while he was working with rangers in South Africa's Kruger National Park. That's when he first realized that a ranger "can't just pull up in his Land Rover and send a message via the Internet, but he's got a cell phone; it just seemed that there was this gap that was natural for me to fill."

FrontlineSMS was first released in 2005. Since then, NGOs in more than 40 countries have adopted it. Some have used it for blood donor recruitment, others for election monitoring. It's been used to organize political demonstrations, and to document human rights abuses. I did a radio report on its use in Zimbabwe back in April.

Today, FrontlineSMS announced version 2.0. To get a handle on what goes into this, think about it. This platform has to work on hundreds of different handsets and modems, and in languages ranging from Swahili to Cantonese. And it needs to work with Windows, Mac and Linux. Not child's play, and not something that's been done with millions of dollars of backing from major funders.

Back in May, some 200 additional NGOs signed up for FrontlineSMS at the Global Messaging Congress in Cannes.

Ken Banks says that's down to testimonials like this one, from Malawi. On the FrontlineSMS homepage, there's a quote from Anonymous:

Based in Africa in a country where broadcast technology is controlled by a dictatorial government, this software has enabled me to communicate with the public at large. I am able to run my project without drawing unnecessary attention to myself—a good thing in this neck of the woods.

Ah yes, American Idol voting it is decidedly not.

(Photos courtesy of FrontlineSMS)