Comments on: Covering the DRC – challenges for Ushahidi

By: Making Ushahidi — WhiteAfrican

Making Ushahidi — WhiteAfrican — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:08:42 +0000

[...] of the space we build software in. We learned from those lessons though, and Ory wrote a good blog post making sure that it was shared within and [...]

By: The Limitations of Technology in Tracking Election Irregularities | Gauravonomics Blog

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:21:33 +0000

[...] Ory Okolloh has earlier written about the challenges in using Ushahdi for crisis reporting in DRC, and the [...]

By: Adam H.

Adam H. — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:59:50 +0000

Paul brings up a good point in the added value issue of Ushahidi. The exact same type of data that Ushahidi is collecting has been collected for years by human rights investigators and MONUC (the UN mission). There exist literally tens of thousands of records that are personal accounts of what bad things have happened there. These files are stored and then accessed again when say, someone from the ICC visits at which point the people are interviewed again. And then the people are interviewed again when international media crews want some heartbreaking stories about Congo. So, the issue isn’t a lack of information. It’s there and it has been there for a very long time. The issue is a serious lack of action upon the information that’s given, so the question of added value is extremely valid and actually a crucial question for Ushahidi to answer in regards to what you’re doing in DRC.
I admire what Ushahidi is trying to do, but this is just another “flash in the pan” if there is no substantive follow through that goes along with it and from working in DRC for over two years, I have to say that the people there are tired of words that have no action behind them.

By: Which is a Better Mobile Citizen Reporting Tool: Twitter or Ushahidi? | Gauravonomics Blog

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:28:38 +0000

[...] Ushahidi had more precise location information and wider coverage. Unfortunately, Ushahidi has been much less successful in its other implementations in Congo and [...]

By: How Does Zimbabwe’s Inflation Effect Ushahidi? - The Ushahidi Blog

How Does Zimbabwe’s Inflation Effect Ushahidi? - The Ushahidi Blog — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:52:11 +0000

[...] until the greater Zimbabwean community drives it forward on their own. From what we’ve learned in the DR Congo, we at Ushahidi need the local Zimbabweans and the diaspora to champion [...]

By: Panic {RE}_Programming » Blog Archive » Ushahidi Platform Used to Document Congo, Gaza Crises

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:47:36 +0000

[...] some of the issues raised in the DRC version, Ushahidi co-founder Ory Okolloh, explained that it has not been easy to “localize” the [...]

By: Panic {RE}_Programming » Blog Archive » Ushahidi - Documenting Global Crises

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:34:53 +0000

[...] co-founder Ory Okolloh, explained that it has not been easy to “localize” the platform. Ushahidi works best in areas [...]

By: Patrick Meier

Patrick Meier — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:52:06 +0000

@Mark – Thanks for reading my post carefully.

@Paul – I don’t believe the comment “what I want is authoritative information” is always applicable (or even possible) in situations of conflict. We, as Westerners, may want authoritative information because that’s what we’re used to in the West. And even then, the authorities can’t be everywhere all the time monitoring everything, let alone the mainstream media. Hence the value of crowdsourcing.

If I found myself in a conflict zone, I would want as much information as possible on the security situation but would need to recognize the trade off between volume and reliability. I would want to know about a rumor even if I could not authenticate it’s validity. Why? Because at least I could take precautionary measures in case the rumor turns out to be true. The point here is to improve an individual’s situational awareness so that s/he can make more informed decisions about their security environment. Waiting for authoritative information is often like “Waiting for Godot” in certain conflict situations.

On the comment of not wanting “the same sort of information I get from my neighbors, amplified.” Really? I would want to know if a militia was entering the outskirts of town if a neighbor happened to see the movement of soldiers. I would want to know from a friend in a neighboring village that military jeeps have been spotted heading to my village. The authorities are not going to be giving me that information!

@Ory – I too agree that “the trust wouldn’t likely happen in a crisis itself.” Still, I’d at least provide the platform; because without a platform the challenge of trust becomes a moot point.

By: Ory

Ory — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:54:01 +0000

Paul, thanks for your comments. Great food for thought. As far as your last comment – I agree that the trust wouldn’t likely happen in a crisis itself…more likely if it is being used in an ongoing situation that has a risk of blowing up. Also you might not want the same info as what you can get from your neighbour, but if the information is being used e.g. to direct help more efficiently to you – there could be some value add there. Also envision a situation where your neighbour might be as clueless as you as to where the closest nutrition feeding center is, or where roadblocks are (in Kenya figuring out travel routes to avoid being targeted based on ethnicity was important during the worst of the violence) – that could be value add.

Also keep in mind that our model will in the future rarely involve us deploying Ushahidi ourselves as in DRC but will involve organizations more connected to the local situation deploying Ushahidi…again not a complete solution but it should help close the gap/information loop.

By: Paul C

Paul C — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:03:18 +0000

I’m just not certain where the added value is. If I’m individual at risk, surely what I want is authoritative information – not the same sort of information I get from my neighbours, amplified. Building up the sort of trust that would make Ushahidi be seen as a reliable source would take a long time, and probably wouldn’t be possible during an emergency itself. I’m still thinking it all through.