mobile games for social change in the developing world
TRANSCRIPT
Mobile Gamesfor Social Changein the Developing World
Prabhas Pokharel (@prabhasp)
MobileActive.org (@mobileactive)
The Promise (Almost) 5 billion mobile
phones worldwide.
Africa 2007 Internet access: 5.6% 2007 Mobile Penetration:
30%
Tanzania 2005: 28% “could access a
landline” 2005: 97% “could access a
mobile phone” 2008: 30 Mobiles / 100 people
2005: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4331863.stm2008: WorldBank ICT-at-a Glance. 200&: ITU ICT statistics
The Promise (pt 2) Games + entertainment sites
popular on the mobile web.
On Appstore, Games are top paid apps, top grossing apps. Top category of apps Aug 2008-9.
Who doesn’t love a good game? Tetris hit 100 million paid downloads on mobile phones in Jan 2010(http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/01/tetris-hits-100-million-mobile-phone-milestone/1)
The Limitations (1) #1 – Technical
Difficulties Fragmentation of
platforms. For mass market,
need J2ME J2ME
development is difficult.
Testing even more so.
#3 – Implementer buy-in Establishing Impact. Community. Thinking. Stigma (?)
http://www.mobilephonedevelopment.com/archives/301“Adapting and Optimizing Java ME application for Global Deployment”
The Limitations (2) #2 – Access and Usage
Patterns Target group—access
to phones? What kind of access—
are they sharing phones?
Ability to pay?
Willingness to Pay?
http://www.mobilephonereviews.org/article/mobile-phones-wolves-in-sheeps-clothing/
The Limitations (3)
#3 – Implementer buy-in. Demonstrating impact,
scale – isolated cases. Community.
Thinking.
#4 – Opportunity costs? Too narrow a focus on
“games” Cheaper ways to achieve
- interactivity
- entertainment
The Reality Bleak
Panelists sitting here doing great work, but besides that
..
Scattered pilots M4Girls Dr. Maths
BUT Expanding the definition of a “game”
What’s in a game? Entertainment? Interactivity?
SMS Quizzes for HIV
knowledge…. mNovel
user commenting
user content solicitation
(+competition)… Location-based “games”
(think foursquare).
Opportunities… Social
Social Networking on mobile web is huge.
MXit (chat platform) has tremendous penetration in SA.
Facebook 0, a free web site in 45 countries.
So lets use them!
Facebook Apps
MXit chat-based interactions
Scoreboards. Leaderboards.
