The Revolution Has Gone Mobile

New York Times Editorial, Sat., Feb. 20, 2010

By mid-2010, there will be 6.8 billion humans on this planet. According to United Nations estimates, there also will be five billion cellphone subscriptions. These are astonishing numbers. What is still more astonishing, and hopeful, is the breadth of change this number reflects.

The United Nations says that right now 80 percent of the world’s population has available cell coverage. The fastest adoption of cellphone use is occurring in some of the world’s poorest places.

Cellphones are cheap, their batteries can be easily recharged with solar power and they are creating nothing short of a revolution: knitting rural communities together, sowing information, and altering the most basic assumptions about health care and finance. Anyone who has traveled to Africa recently can vouch for these changes.

In nearly every sizable town or city, there are dozens of tiny kiosks where phones can be rented or repaired and subscriptions can be purchased. In regions where communications used to be nearly impossible, cellphones are essential to social innovation. This means everything from microfinance and electronic credit, via SMS, to better networking among health care workers and their patients.

Another revolution is following close on the heels of the cellphone revolution. This year, the number of mobile broadband subscribers — people who access the Internet via laptops or mobile phones — is forecast to pass one billion, up from 600 million at the end of 2009. That number will almost surely skyrocket, too — and the developed world should be doing everything it can to encourage it.

That means increasing the reach and lowering the cost of broadband and pressing for political and commercial openness across the Internet. Mobile communication and access to digital information are powerful development tools and aids to self-sufficiency. And we, in turn, have a lot to learn from the innovative way those tools are being used around the world.

By the time you read this, over $24 million in donations will have been collected via premium text messaging for the Red Cross’ relief efforts to aid those impacted by the horrific tragedy of the earthquakes in Haiti. To be sure, this is a credit to the generosity of the American people and to the need, which remains great. It also marks a watershed moment for mobile giving. There were milestones, however, along the way. Crises drive inspiration, invention, and adoption.

In December 2004, back when I was working for Verizon Wireless, a team of which I was a member determined donation via text messaging was an ideal way to aid those impacted by the tsunamis in southeast Asia. A messaging aggregator and service provider, mQube (since acquired by Verisign and then Mobile Messenger), stepped up to provide the platform to donate $5 per text message to the efforts of relief organization CARE in the region. Eventually, several carriers joined and it represented the first such cross-carrier mobile giving effort.

Most importantly, the concept was made concrete: When devastation strikes, news spreads fast, and at that moment of psychic impact, all of us want to help. And the device that’s most frequently with us to do so is a cell phone.

In August of 2005, fate visited a destructive blow to New Orleans and the surrounding areas with Hurricane Katrina. The team of carriers was reengaged and widened, mQube stood ready, and the Red Cross was designated the beneficiary. Texting “GIVE” to “2HELP” would result in a $5 donation. Participating carriers agreed to forward every dollar donated, rather than take the share they might for a typical premium transaction like a ringtone.

Carrier and Red Cross press activities gained some attention, but it was the viral impact of word-of-mouth that generated the most attention. The code was mentioned in morning talk shows, appeared on jumbotrons at NFL football games, was forwarded via email, mentioned in places of worship, and scrolled in the tickers of the 24/7 broadcast news coverage.

But at the time, text messaging wasn’t yet the de facto communication method it is today, and social networks, particularly Twitter, remained nascent and were generally limited to smaller groups of like-minded users. The catalyst that’s made the Haiti relief effort so powerful has been the combination of smart devices like the iPhone, the non-stop funnel of social network and news data, and text messaging.

In 2007, management of the 2HELP code was transferred to the CTIA’s Wireless Foundation, which continued to support it on behalf of the Red Cross. Organizations including the Mobile Giving Foundation and mGive sprung up to support mobile giving, creating a cottage industry.

With 2008 came the landmark mobile activism event of the Obama campaign, which leveraged passion and urgency of a different sort to help secure the White House for a previously little-known freshman Senator from Illinois. There, too, the pressure, in this case the need to fuel youth voters viewed as undecided or under-activated, drove innovation. And all the elements (adoption, viral, catalyst) were rising forces.

Now in 2010, we see the culmination of these themes. The State Department smartly tweets instructions for mobile giving, a healthy virus spreads, and instant action for good takes hold. It is our collective need to help, and to innovate in order to do so quickly, that has powered mobile giving to achieve this landmark moment.

Sidenote: While apparently most popular, mGive’s “Haiti” to 90999 for the Red Cross is but one of multiple mobile giving options. You can find a full list from Mobile Giving Foundation here. And you can find mGive’s full list of supported partners here.

Between two floors, volunteers made tuna casseroles and PB&J sandwiches on long tables that stretched from one side of the room to the other. Due to the sheer volume of people, volunteers stood closely side-by-side, spreading peanut butter and jelly on bread or cutting up vegetables, while others packed it up to be sent to local homeless shelters.

After finishing making all the sandwiches we could (literally, we ran out of bread), the Revolution Messaging crew joined the other volunteers at Z-Burger, which generously contributed free burgers to those who worked at the event.

We want to send our thanks to the Washington Hebrew Congregation for organizing a successful service project that brought together over 200 local residents as well as Z-Burger for supporting community service.

On this day we remembered what Martin Luther King Jr. once declared: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” We encourage others to utilize community service databases such as Greater DC Cares, VolunteerMatch, Serve.Gov, and OneBrick to find answers to that question.

Since Tuesday, all our thoughts and prayers have been with the people going through a tragedy in Haiti. But there is hope, and we’ve embraced a new way to give it. So far, concerned citizens have donated $10 million through text messages to rebuild Haitian lives and communities. Mobile giving is revolutionizing the ability of people to give in a swift and urgent manner to those who need it most. It’s another way thinking globally is turning everyday devices into tools to improve the world.

In just minutes, you can donate money to Haiti relief efforts by texting YELE to 501501, HAITI to 20222, HAITI to 90999, or ONEHEART to 85944.

This Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is a national day of service. Projects around the country will offer opportunities to act locally, reminders that we can personally make a difference right in our own communities.

By taking Monday “on” instead of “off,” we in the DC area can help improve it by beautifying local parks, elementary schools, or donating food and warm clothes. The Revolution Messaging staff will go offline on Monday to work at the Washington Hebrew Congregation’s 8th annual MLK Jr. service project where we will prepare hot food and sandwiches for the homeless. We encourage clients and supporters to join us this Monday by RSVPing on Facebook.

For those outside the DC area, VolunteerMatch, Serve.Gov, OneBrick are great resources to find service projects in your community.

Text YELE to 501501
Text HAITI to 90999
Text ONEHEART to 85944

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti on Tuesday at 5pm ET.

Three hours later, singer Wyclef Jean posted news of the quake on his Twitter.

Sixty minutes later, the Haiti-born singer urged his 1,310,888 Twitter followers to donate $5 to the relief efforts by texting YELE to 501501. Yéle Haiti started in 2005 to provide community programs, food distribution and emergency relief for the country.

“I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse,” Wyclef wrote on his blog. “The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now.”

The Haitian Prime Minister estimates several hundred thousands of people may be dead. Only one hospital remains open in Haiti, all hospitals in the region were destroyed by the earthquake.

Jean’s Yéle allows supporters to donate easily to the organization’s Haiti Earthquake Fund. The money will be deducted directly from the user’s cell phone bill.

According to his Twitter, the former Fugees singer and Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti is currently en route to the country.

Others are also organizing mobile relief efforts. Singer Danny Gokey, the third place finalist on last season’s American Idol, has followed suit, facilitating text donations through Sophia’s Heart of Compassion, his own nonprofit. The Red Cross is also calling for people to text to donate $10 to their relief fund.