Ushahidi: the Online Support for the Physical Lives
This article concentrates on Ushahidi, a constantly strengthening producer of software. Ushahidi originated in Kenya. The term “ushahidi” defines as “testimony” in Swahili. Ushahidi specializes on the types of software that may assist individual users and larger organizations/communities/authorities in the emergency situations, such as natural disasters, technological accidents, wars, riots, and conditions of terrorist activity. Originally, Ushahidi.com brought up a program for crowdsourcing and exchange of reports from immediate witnesses of events. Crowdsourcing is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers” (2013). Later, this particular program for crowdsourcing at Ushahidi.com became known as the Ushahidi platform.
The Ushahidi platform and the Ushahidi company overall emerged in the conditions of the extreme urgency. The start of Ushahidi transpired in Kenya during the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis, more precisely in the very beginning of 2008 (Ushahidi, 2013). Since the attainment of independence from Great Britain in 1963, Kenya, the East African country of over forty million residents, established a reputation for political and economic stability. Unexpectedly, this aforementioned violent crisis ignited due to the disputed presidential elections in Kenya on the contrary to the forecasts of reaction in the country. The crisis led to over one thousand casualties. Furthermore, many thousands of residents were displaced. Eventually, the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis was stopped as the result of the successful negotiations with the involvement of international participants. The Ushahidi platform contributed to the positive solution because this it enabled exchange of information and gathered warnings about the potential threats and disturbance in various locations in the country.
Since 2008, several modified versions of the Ushahidi platform were implemented to this date. Ushahidi was orchestrated by several prominent Kenyan IT experts. Later activities of this non-profit company became internationalized. The crowdsourcing platform benefited in a number of locations worldwide. Multiple translations of software packages to the variety of languages emerged (Ushahidi, 2013). By all means, now Ushahidi achieved high results both in terms of information technology and social impact.
The Ushahidi team decided to avoid the limitations of the one-product organization. But the company’s horizontal expansion, its increase of offered products, developed within the same niche market. More precisely, Ushahidi introduced new software products remaining within the framework of the online support in emergency situations. These newer products also achieved international utilization and recognition.
The recent extremely violent and horrible terrorist attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi on September 21–24, 2013, was another event that hardly could be imagined. The same can be said about many other terrorist attacks worldwide. In these conditions, Ushahidi offered two new reasonable and user-friendly online tools that may end up saving many more lives. One program, Ping, allows a person to send a signal to multiple recipients informing that she or he is alive. Another innovation, Blood Donation Kenya, provides information about places in Kenya where blood transfusion is perfomed (Mwanesi, 2013; Macha, 2013). Both of these applications seem beneficial and relevant for international locations. Certainly, in the case of blood donation and transfusion in other countries, additional stakeholders need to be involved for completion of encompassing information, but Ushahidi offers its part.
It is especially commendable that Ushahidi proposed these two new online tools just in hours after the end of the tragic events at the Westgate Mall. It was a lot of work for Ushahidi. Their new offerings needed more attention compared, for example, to a change in public policy. Technological innovations required to be tested, double checked, and triple checked. Aparently, the testing proceeded in the time of the national mourning. New terrorist attacked remained possible. Overreliance on the untested or incomplete software could result in a number of casualties. Even in such conditions, Ushahidi delivered products of high quality.
Owing to its reliance on individual online users, Ushahidi can be considered a part of the social media field. All major social media networks have differentiating features in terms of their respective target audiences and purpose. Instead of other players in the field of the social media, Ushahidi operates with the sense of urgency. When an injured person needs to find the nearest location of a blood transfusion station, clarity and simplicity literally play a life-saving role.
In conclusion, it can be emphasized that the products of Ushahidi deserve attention in the countries with various levels of security and stability. Dangers of various kinds can paralyze all other activities in the area. Counteraction to potential threats needs to include maximization of available measures. At the very least, it would not hurt to be overly safe in a situation when no threats materialize. A reliable signal about survival of a relative or a friend would be the maximal priority on September 11, 2001. Ushahidi offers opportunity of such signals to the world.
Bibliography
Central Intelligence Agency (2013). The World Fact Book. Kenya. Accessed on September 30, 2013. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html.
Macha, Ndesanjo (2013). “Nairobi Mall Attack Inspires Two Online Tools for Emergencies.” Global Voices. Published on September 25, 2013. Accessed on September 25, 2013. http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/09/25/nairobi-mall-attack-inspires-two-online-tools-for-emergencies/.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2013). “Crowdsourcing.” Accessed on September 30, 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowdsourcing.
Mwenesi, Susan (2013). “Ushahidi Develops Apps for Emergency Situations.” Human IPO. Published on September 25, 2013. Accessed on September 25, 2013. http://www.humanipo.com/news/32885/ushahidi-develops-apps-for-emergency-situations/.
Ushahidi (2013). “About Us. Our History.” Accessed on September 27, 2013. http://www.ushahidi.com/about-us.
Categories: Africa / Middle East, Finding Oxstones, Private Equity