The NYT on Saturday August 9 published an article about US congressional leaders beginning to see climate s change as a potential national security threat. You can read it here and I think they make a good argument.
I think a similar argument could easily be made about the lack of access to technology. With connectivity certainly a problem in many parts of the world, I do not think that Internet access as we think of it in developed nations is the answer at all.
Instead, the combination of simple mobile access via SMS (or feature phones if available) with a cloud computing & software-as-a-service philosophy can serve to advance those areas with only basic media capabilities and limited broadband. A few ideas based on technology that exists now include:
A hosted platform
that connects multiple media outlets (mobile, radio, TV)
together would improve the reach, capacity and sustainability
of community radio and other journalistic programs. In addition, simple interactive content
tools can connect radio to mobile &, if available, web, along with complimenting basic IVR
systems for mobile phones.
The key is getting the content to the cloud, which can be done with or without 24/7 connectivity. Once in the cloud, the SaaS platform can push it to any available outlet, which is mostly basic.
For example, we can connect SMS messages to a central system to (a) directly connect to audio & video provided by the journalist or other contributors, (b) simultaneously post messages and content t to shared digital outlets like social networks, blogs and microblogs to expand reach and (c) analyze the activity data in order to see the impact of the information, broken down by any categories and variables deemed important.
To further support the expanded delivery of content regardless of radio or TV reception, we can connect broadcasts and journalist audio or video recordings to a SMS keyword and short code database. That will allow any broadcast in any location to trigger content delivery to followers and support dynamic delivery of content during a live speech or broadcast . The journalist can set up the trigger based on keyword subscription or manual SMS from a citizen.
Such a platform for nascent media
& information companies would help them interact more directly with citizens at any
level and, ultimately, support sustainable growth through revenue models that
can be tailored to the needs of the nation & community. Moreover, by using a SaaS model partners from nations further down the path can manage the technology initially while training those on the ground so there can be a handoff to truly launch media independence, which is good for everyone.
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