• New CSS based design that is easier to skin!
• 5 minute installer
• Automatic version detection and upgrade
• Themes
• Site Statistics and Analytics
• Admin email notifications on emails and comments
• Add custom pages and tabs
• Auto-Geotagged news feeds
• Convert news feeds to reports
• Layer KML/KMZ files on the map
• Numerous bug fixes

KML/KMZ Data Overlays
You’ll note that you can now do multiple KML/KMZ file overlays onto a map with pre-existing Ushahidi data. The above map shows our demo Mogadishu site with a KML file of Somali pirate attacks.

Statistics
If you’re running an Ushahidi instance, just jump into the new “stats” tab and you’ll be able to see the number of unique visitors, report statistics, country breakdown and category impact.

Custom designs and theming
There’s a new default look/feel for Ushahidi. We redid it from the ground up so that it would be a lot easier for anyone who wanted to customize the look and feel of the site could do so just by working with a CSS file. There are also some basic color themes included in the backend so that those who aren’t CSS-savvy can still brighten it up.

An easier installer
One of the Achilles heels of any open source software application is the horrible experience installing it. We’ve taken our first step in making it even easier to do this on your own server. You have a choice of taking two paths when you begin, a basic one and a more detailed one. Whichever you choose, you can still fine-tune the details later once the site is up and going.

Find a bug? Submit it to bugs.ushahidi.com
Have a question? Ask it on the forums
Want to pitch in? Start on the wiki or download the code

Major contributors

Projects like Ushahidi wouldn’t be where they are without the help of programmers who volunteer their time, brains and energy to solving some very difficult challenges. A BIG thanks goes out to all the devs who made this happen. Major contributors included:

• Jason Mule (Kenya)
• Brian Muita (Kenya)
• Max Froumentein (Norway)
• Soyapi Mumba (Malawi)
• Emmanuel Kala (Kenya)
• Henry Addo (Ghana)
• Dale Zak (Canada)
• Pablo Destefanis

Ushahidi Meetup 09 C from Ushahidi on Vimeo.

QuestionBox is a project that allows offline people in emerging markets to ask questions and get answers. It’s an analog solution for those who don’t have their own digitally connected data devices. Open Question is a free and open source software application used for the purposes of collecting and disseminating information via phone in extreme environments. It’s being launched today, in conjunction with TEDIndia, where founder Rose Shuman is presenting.

“The longterm vision is to have it integrate with other open source software and data collection platforms like RapidSMS, FrontlineSMS, Open Data Kit (ODK), OpenRosa, JavaRosa, Kannel, Asterisk, Ushahidi, Sahana and others, to make them work quickly and efficiently in a call center environment… The product is designed specifically for the purpose of collecting and disseminating information from humans that is often difficult to automate (ex. the use of IVRs in emergency situations may not be effective). This includes people who may call to answer complex questions, situations where each caller speaks a different language, for reaching the illiterate, the visually impaired or in situations where privacy must be protected. In addition, the system works on or offline, on one non-networked computer, a closed LAN or across a distributed network. “

This is a big deal. If integrated in the right way it can make up for the shortcomings that a purely digital solution has in places where illiteracy, language or lack of phones makes tools like Ushahidi less useful.

Methods for Deployment

1. Call Boxes
Open Question can be configured to work with remote phones. In this scenario a call center acts as the central location to receive, while users visit designated location points to call in. The operator proceeds to collect demographic info, but doesn’t need to collect location info (the location of the caller can be determined by the phone number and foreknowledge of where that unit is located).
The benefit to using these phones (we call them Question Boxes) is that all calls are free as the deploying organization pays for them in advance. Open Mind offers an optional hardware product that can be pre-wired to dial specific numbers, to prevent users from using the phones for any other purpose but calling for emergencies or calling operators for information.

2. Caller Hotline
A number is publicized and anyone with a phone can call it. In theory, using a software PBX system like Asterisk, would allow for call routing or ‘hunting’ at the call center. The disadvantage to this method of deployment is there is no control for scale, if the number ‘is simply out there’ or publicized too heavily, the call center may be overwhelmed by anyone who decides to call preventing the assistance of people who actually need help.

3. Short Message Services
SMS collection of information and distribution of information is the easiest method of deployment is highly scalable and easy to implement. Unfortunately, it also has the highest barrier to entry for the rural poor, who may not be able to read English.

Methods for Answers

1. Local Database and Relevancy Engine
Open Question was designed by Ugandan software developers who had bandwidth constraints in mind. As such, it shines in environments where there are few alternatives for quick access to information. A localized database of documents is installed on the client machine or network, indexed, and allows the operator or user to search for information in real time….something that would not be possible if the service relied only upon searching the internet. As new documents are added to the database, the software’s relevancy algorithms determine which information is most relevant through extended use. (ex. if the same question is asked multiple times, the answer most associated with those keywords is ranked higher).

2. Escalation and Distributed Network of Experts
If the user or operator cannot find the answer in the Open Question database, the query is ‘escalated’ to a human expert who can then address the concern. In an Open Question implementation, the deploying organization should have at least one (but we recommend several) ‘experts’ who are ready to address such emergencies within 48 hours. At deployment these experts designate how they would like to be contacted (Instant Message, Email or Phone), then later when the service is in use, messages that are escalated are put into a queue and the system attempts to reach the experts using the methods they prefer.

3. Web Search and The Cloud
In the event that internet access is available, Open Question operators do have the option of searching the web. To improve the relevancy of the search results, administrators can use filters to define the web search to specific urls like http://wikipedia.com or company intranet sites. This is far more efficient than searching the entire web. Because Open Question is designed with the absence of internet as at the forefront, all relevant content that is found on the web can be archived and indexed. Once added to the database they then become ‘documents’ and can then be ranked and searched quickly as mentioned in above.

How to get Involved

Interested parties can find Open Question 0.2.0 and the developer’s roadmap at http://github.com/openquestion/

At first look it might appear that open source development in Uganda runs on Bell beer. That would be incorrect, it runs on a mixture of Bell Lager, Open Arena and free Ushahidi t-shirts…

This last Friday we had a meetup at the Linux User Group (LUG) monthly meeting in Kampala. There was a great turnout of at least 40 people, though I have my reservations on whether they were all there to hear me talk about Ushahidi or whether it was for the Linux gaming focus…

It turns out that there are quite a few open source advocates in Kampala, and there were a couple guys who were interested in helping out with the building of Ushahidi. Here’s hoping that we see more Ugandan devs on the Skype channel and in the commit logs!

Men’s shirt is tan:

Women’s shirt is in women’s sizes and in blue:

Naming Names

People receiving the Ushahidi Dev shirt:

• Jason Mule – Core architecture (Kenya)
• Brian Muita – Java development (Kenya)
• Soyapi Mumba – Map and timeline (Malawi)
• Jeremy Harrington – Blog design (USA)
• Emmanuel Kala – FrontlineSMS integration (Kenya)
• Richard Flores – Site and shirt design (USA)
• Henry Addo – Core architecture (Ghana)
• Steve Mutinda – J2ME mobile app (Kenya)
• Dale Zak – WinMo mobile app (Canada)
• Chris Blow – Mobile app design (USA)
• Cory Collier – Bugs (USA)
• Alex Anderson – FrontlineSMS integration (UK)
• Caleb Bell – Admin design (USA)
• Meryn Stol – Admin features (Netherlands)
• Kwame Nyong’o – Dev shirt design (Kenya)

[Note: if I missed you, or if I don't have your mailing address, shoot me an email through our contact form.]

The Red Shirt

The Ushahid Red shirt is for supporters, friends, partners and anyone else that works as a part of the Ushahidi extended team. I’m thinking of offering these up on the site, if you’d be interested in one, and willing to put in $25 to go towards Ushahidi to get one, let me know.

Example: We just shot off a box of shirts to the Kohana and OpenLayers teams as a big thank you for providing the framework for much of what we do.

Get involved:

Want to pitch in on the code? Start on the wiki or download the code
Find a bug? Submit it to bugs.ushahidi.com
Have a question? Ask it on the forums
Want to find us online? Besides the blog, you can track us on Twitter and Facebook

This is really an award for the Kenyan developers in Nairobi. A recognition for all the hard work and volunteer time that guys like Jason Mule, Laban Mwangi, Brian Muita, Wilfred Mworia, Amanya Kimathi, Jessica Colaco, Josiah Mugambi and Steve Mutinda (and others) have put into the platform.

I’m about to start an Ushahidi meetup in Nairobi. It’s going to be about 30 people, including developers and users. A big thanks!

Ushahidi Wins Kenyan Open Source Award! from WhiteAfrican on Vimeo.

I then re-read the post and realized he was right. Our actions were indefensible and not in the spirit of the open source programming community that we are a part of. You see, this last week we turned Ushahidi over from a private alpha to open beta. This means the code should be easy to access, easy to find, and the community should be easy to plug into. Phew, we had failed. How miserable of a feeling…

The main points of this post (in summary for those who want the short version):

1. Make the source code easy to access and the community simple to plug into
2. Have communications channels open for people who don’t know you personally
3. Honest, constructive criticism is good (and proves people care)
4. What we’ve done to address these issues

Easy Access

Our original goal with the download request page for Ushahidi was to make central point of entry for end-users to grab the code to put up on their own servers and deploy. So, it’s useful to find an installation file, but not so for the source code. We hadn’t created a way for developers to get into the code repository (in fact, our code repository was still invitation only… lame).

Rabble ended up having to get the code from another one of our mutual contacts – one that didn’t have any version number, changelog, or a release date.

Our first act was to switch over from Unfuddle to Github for to solve this problem.

Open Communications Channels

We have always prided ourselves on being an open organization, but that’s mainly been through getting to the founding team via our contact form. It has always been easy to get, and stay, in touch with us once you’re part of the dev community. We have a Skype channel for devs, but it was also invitation only.

What we had done was create the traditional non-open source business-side approach to communication. Sure, we’re available on the Ushahidi blog, our personal blogs, Twitter and our contact form – but none of that helps the greater Ushahidi dev community get in touch if they don’t know who we are. It definitely doesn’t help them connect to each other without us acting as a bridge.

Our first act here was the creation of an IRC channel, open for anyone to join, moderated by Henry.

Openness and Criticism

If someone cares enough about your project, they’ll take the time to tell you what they like/don’t like about it. That’s valuable information, and it’s especially useful when they don’t just flame you, but offer solutions and alternatives that could work. Rabble did that, and it’s made us a better project already.

In less than 24 hours we’ve made some big adjustments (see below). That includes replying to this issue on the forums in the same transparent manner, getting IRC and Github setup and creating the new Ushahidi failephant especially for this blog post.

What We’re Doing About It

We’ve already done a couple things to make everything more accessible, open and easy to find.

Options to download a zipped file or go to the code repository

• You can now find the code at Github.com/Ushahidi – feel free to check it out and go to town on it in whichever way you like.
• There is now an open IRC #ushahidi chat channel on irc.freenode.net – join us anytime, a core Ushahidi team member is almost always around.
• We’re changing the download request page so that end-users can still download a simple tarball to get going with the latest stable build of Ushahidi. However, the page now also shows a link to the code repository for all the devs out there.

Finally, we’re new to the open source space – at least in running a community, so we expect to learn along the way. Hopefully they won’t always be from mistakes. We’re glad this slap on the wrist came from a friend, and we’re hoping to get less of those in the future…

Brenda of FreedomFone, Erik of Ushahidi and Ken of FrontlineSMS

One of the discussion points that has kept coming up in conversations here is how powerful platforms are over single products. In this case, I define a technology platform as a basic tool that provides unique functionality that can then be customized for many uses outside of what the original creators could have done on their own. A product, on the other hand, is also a tool, but one that has a specific purpose – one that can’t be extended.

So, I see a platform as a foundation, a product is a specialized tool.

The FrontlineSMS/Ushahidi relationship

To this point, we’ve baked FrontlineSMS into the platform. Basically, we make it easy to do one of two things. First, if you have a FrontlineSMS setup already going, you can just layer Ushahidi on top of that and sync the data for visualization purposes. Second, if you’re about to start using Ushahidi and need a local number, we get you started on FrontlineSMS as a way to create that local gateway to gather and sync SMS messages.

This is possible because both of us have open platforms. We can continue to build our own tools, focusing on the needs of each of the users that we support. However, because of the open nature, we are able to easily access and utilize each others platforms.

It’s simple, it lets each group go after their own self-interest, and it works.

Needless to say, this isn’t just us, but it’s an example of how platforms can work together to become more than the sum of their individual parts. You can see the same type of interaction happening between other organizations, like InSTEDD and JavaRosa, with OpenMRS and Android.

A couple of platforms in the ICTD space

• FrontlineSMS is a platform. It simply lets you setup a localized SMS gateway.
• Ushahidi is a platform. It allows for the gathering of distributed data via mobile phone, email and the web, then the ability to visualize and manage that data.
• FreedomFone is another platform. It’s an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, that allows people to interact via voice, not just text. Highly useful in many parts of the world, not just Africa.

Preferred Futures for African IT Projects – Erik Hersman from Jonathan Marks on Vimeo.

“Another important barrier to the rapid implementation and sustainable use of eHealth solutions in developing countries is the recurring, and often costly, licensing and upgrading fees of proprietary software. Open source systems, based on licenses that ensure users’ freedom, no recurring fees, and that work with the principles of sharing and collaboration, offer the promise of filling this gap.”

What Heather and the team have done is create a campaign that brings in some big name recording artists, like Youssou N’Dour and Peter Buck of R.E.M. Beyond the big names and the campaign as a whole, I think what’s important is that it brings a whole new level of attention, from a much more consumer-side sector, to the need for using open source software in Africa.

Examples of open source in African healthcare solutions:

• OpenMRS, a community-developed medical records system
• IntraHealth’s iHRIS human resource information system
• OpenELIS laboratory/diagnostics information system
• OpenROSA mobile data-collection toolset

OPEN Remix

Youssou’s song, “Wake Up” is available on the EP, but he’s also put it out there under a open-source license. You can download the remixes – or make your own remix – and make a donation.

Personally, I hope they make money, but that’s not really the big deal. More important is the awareness raised for open source initiatives, even beyond healthcare, in Africa.