This weekend, the Guardian and Rewired State partnered with BlueVia and Nokia to run (H)activate - a cause-led hack running at the Guardian headquarters in Kings Cross. Activate is the Guardian's platform for people working with the internet and its associated technologies, to change the world for the better.
(H)activate gave developers the chance to get involved in a key Guardian project with a global reach and to meet and work with like minded developers who believe that we can improve lives through intelligent use of data and technology. The ultimate aim of (H)activate was to apply the community's vision and creativity to areas that market forces wouldn't normally reach.
You can find out more about the event on the Guardian Hactivate site.
All the projects have descriptions up on the Rewired State site.
Here were the projects presented at the end of the weekend:
Development Leaks: There is currently a big campaign for more transparency about where aid is spend, but lots of information so where are the interesting stories? This tool helps people research international development spend, specifically cross-referencing IMF's World Bank investments with Wiki Leaks to display "possible matches". Although World Bank funding is there for development aid, how are governments and corporations involved? Useful for journalists trying to find needles in data haystacks.
Traeder: Idea is to implement exchange of virtual currencies, without having any hardware if tokens of any kind. Built over SMS. Carbon credits was the example used, where a trader and buyer exchange relevant codes via SMS to complete the transaction. Also had a mobile web interface, but presentation of SMS means it can be rolled out here, in developing countries, or elsewhere and can be applied to many different ideas, e.g. carbon trading, babysitting circles, timebanks.
Loca: The audience was asked to send a short code to a specified number, which then subscribed them to a Hactivate SMS subscription channel. Ad-hoc channels are created through short codes, or you can subscribe to already existing ones. The app would be useful for demonstrations, protests, events. Potential for analytics to know what channels are most active. Simple script, very scalable, lots of people subscribing to the demo channel set up, which is a good sign for ease of use and take up.
Touchy Peely: A compost matchmaking app. "Helping your vegatable peelings find a home." For people without access to compost bins / gardens, it makes it easy for them to give their peelings to someone who really wants them. Interface was a map with 'heaps' for those who accepted peelings and apple cores for those with peelings to give. Also gave the option to specify how much peelings you had to give or could recieve. Tried to use BlueVia API, but ended up using another API. Would like to add activity feeds and analytics.
Green Incorporation: Want to make it easier for people to find out green credentials of the products that people buy. Example presented was Apple and unethical treatment of employees in their supplier's factories (Foxconn). Showed wages of workers and how long they would have to work for in order to buy the products they were making. All showed good and bad examples, such as Nestle withdrawing the use of Palm Oil as a good example. Also anlyses things you buy, your ethical purchase behaviour and how you can improve it.
Wearable Tech: Fascinated by how sensing and wearable technologies will become an increasingly important addition to our lives. Hacked a Sensebridge Heart Spark which works with gym monitor to make a mood device, which displays if you're getting palpitations if someone's near. Wants to add analytics, so you can see who has made your heart flutter that day. Good for shy and retiring geeks!
SMS Mapper: Can create an instant crowdsourced maps via SMS, with no other knowledge. Gave a live demo that sent an SMS, which was then added to Google Earth, with username, date it was sent and location. Matches mobile number and account to geo-locate device.
Social Shopping: Makes your shopping list more ethical. Users upload their shopping list through their mobile phone, which then gives users recommendations of cheaper / greener / more ethical products.
Interact: The opinions of the common people matter. In Inda, large scale opinion polls to capture the voice of citizens doesn't happen. So when a leader is elected, voters no longer have their opinions represented the way they do in other countries, e.g. US and UK have companies such as YouGov to run opinion polls. The app allows opinion polls to be setup quickly and at low cost, which can reach mobile users through SMS. There is a mobile client, a hosting server and a desktop SMS monitor. All the surveys are submitted using the BlueVia API.
W5: Lots of public data coming, but how do you get this data to the public? By hitting the W5 button, it finds the "Who, What, Where, When and Why" behind the data. Example showed a Guardian article, which by clicking the W5 button brought up the countries mentioned, information on the development aid given, wikipedia entries. Allows users to find out lots about development without searching the data themselves.
Liq Calendar: Quick and simple calendar app. People can write on a stylus, e.g. "shops", which then gets added directly to the calendar. Designed for people who need a simple app to act like a wall calendar, without the complexity of web services and apps. Synchronises across devices, so people can use at home or on the move.
CR4Good: QR codes for good. Every product in supermarkets will have a QR code, which when activated will bring up details of it's environmental footprint, ethical nature, fair trade details, and transparency information such as how much the workers are paid. Information could be crowdsourced or from nonprofits / commercial entities. Could be extended to add a score at the bottom of your receipt to tell you how ethical your purchases are, which could be reported over time to show how your ethical pruchases have improved. Could also have "ethical product of the day" features.
USSD Enabled Mobile App: Developing mobile apps for learning environments. "Anywhere, Anytime E-learning". Why mobile e-learning? Interactive, low cost, universal. Using USSD rather than SMS as it is more interactive, engages the users and is better suited for learning environments.
Scan Campaign: QR Codes for Activism. "Let's use QR codes for activism rather than marketing bollocks". More and more people have QR capable phones, so it's an easy way to find out about a campaign and an easy way to get more involved. Scan Campaign quickly and easily allows you to create a QR campaign, which can also be used for demonstrations, donations or polls. Aimed at grassroots campaigns, such as UK Uncut.
Safe Trip: Aims to reduce chances of migrant workers being taken advantage of by criminal people traffickers by providing a free service that allows people to update on the progress of thier journey. Aims to tackle the major problem for migrant workers who are promised work in countries by traffickers, but this often is false infromation, they end up in different countries than promised, which results in arrests and people's lives ruined. Uses the BlueVia API to allow updates to be sent by SMS, e.g. "I'm in London, I'm OK" or "I'm in the UK, but I'm in trouble". Intended to supply information for charity workers so they can help if needed.
FreeHoc: Aims to make Freecycle more user friendly by adding mobile access via SMS/MMS (using the BlueVia API), which means there are no geographic boundaries and you don't have to monitor the site. Notifies users when an item they want becomes available near their location. Works via keywords (e.g. "bike") and geolocation (triggers a text message when the item is near to you). Can be extended to skills, e.g. I can offer you these tools in this area, which would be useful for developing countries.
Local Heroes: Local volunteering opportunities for local charities. Uses geolocation to find where you are and find volunteering opportunities near you. Charities can also submit opportunities or events. Aimed at smaller charities, as larger charities are strict on the amount of volunteering time that opportunities have (e.g. 6 hours). Local Heroes solves this by letting you submit specified, smaller lengths of time.
Climate Quiz: A simple quiz app, which aims to educate users on green facts. E.g. "What was the tree-cost of Christmas cards sent this Christmas?" (Answer: 248,000 trees!). Also finds data from a service that shows where local recycling centres are, using the BlueVia API.
