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{{Infobox software
{{Infobox non-profit
| name = Ushahidi
| name = Ushahidi, Inc.
| image =
| logo =
| type = Sowftware [[Charitable organization|Charity]]
| screenshot =
| tax_id = 2652079
| caption =
| founded_date = 2008
| developer = Ushahidi
| founder = [[Erik Hersman]], [[Ory Okolloh]], [[Juliana Rotich]], [[David Kobia]]
| latest_release_version = [http://download.ushahidi.com/ 1.0]
| location = Nairobi, Kenya
| latest_release_date =
| coordinates =
| latest_preview_version =
| origins = [[Crowdsourcing]]
| latest_preview_date = <!-- {{release date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| key_people = Erik Hersman, Ory Okolloh, Juliana Rotich, David Kobia, Patrick Mier, [[Jonathan Gosier]]
| operating system = [[Cross-platform]]
| area_served = [[World]]
| platform =
| focus = [[activism]], [[mapping]]
| language =
| method = [[mapping]] and [[geospatial]]
| programming_language = [[PHP]]
| revenue = $300,000
| license = [[LGPL]]
| endowment = $2,000,000
| genre = [[SMS]]
| num_volunteers = 50
| website = [http://www.ushahidi.com www.ushahidi.com]
| num_employees = 13
| owner = Ushahidi, Inc.
| non-profit_slogan = Crowdsourcing Crisis Information
| former name = N/A
| homepage = {{URL|ushahidi.com}}
| dissolved =
| footnotes =
}}
}}

'''Ushahidi''' is a non-profit software company that develops free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping.
'''Ushahidi''' is a non-profit software company that develops free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping.


Revision as of 16:58, 21 December 2010

Ushahidi, Inc.
Founded2008
FounderErik Hersman, Ory Okolloh, Juliana Rotich, David Kobia
TypeSowftware Charity
2652079
Focusactivism, mapping
Location
  • Nairobi, Kenya
OriginsCrowdsourcing
Area served
World
Methodmapping and geospatial
OwnerUshahidi, Inc.
Key people
Erik Hersman, Ory Okolloh, Juliana Rotich, David Kobia, Patrick Mier, Jonathan Gosier
Revenue
$300,000
Endowment$2,000,000
Employees
13
Volunteers
50
Websiteushahidi.com
Formerly called
N/A

Ushahidi is a non-profit software company that develops free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping.

Ushahidi (Swahili for "testimony" or "witness") created a website (at the time Ushahidi.com) in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election (see 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis) that collected eyewitness reports of violence sent in by email and text-message and placed them on a Google map.[1] I

The organization uses the concept of crowdsourcing for social activism and public accountability, serving as an initial model for what has been coined as 'activist mapping' - the combination of social activism, citizen journalism and geospatial information. Ushahidi offers products that enable local observers to submit reports using their mobile phones or the internet, while simultaneously creating a temporal and geospatial archive of events.

Products

Ushahidi

Ushahidi is built on the Kohana web framework, a fork of the CodeIgniter framework. It includes built-in support for Clickatell SMS gateways, and the official Ushahidi-hosted websites use the commercial service.[2] Ushahidi provides the option of using OpenStreetMap maps in its user interface, but requires the Google Maps API for geocoding. Ushahidi is often set up using a local SMS gateway created by a local FrontlineSMS set-up.

SwiftRiver

SwiftRiver is a suite of intelligence and real-time data gathering products that compliment Ushahidi's mapping and visualization products. Often referred to as the SwiftRiver Initiative the goal of the project is "to democratize access to the tools for making sense of information".

SwiftRiver[3] is a free and open source platform that helps people make sense of a lot of information in a short amount of time. It was born out of the need to understand and act upon a wave of massive amounts of crisis data that tends to overwhelm in the first 24 hours of a disaster. There has been a great deal of interest in Swift for other industries such as newsrooms, political analysts and marketers as an open source alternative to more expensive, proprietary intelligence software platforms. The SwiftRiver platform offers applications which combine natural language/artificial intelligence process, data-mining for SMS and Twitter, and verification algorithms for different sources of information.

SwiftRiver has three primary functions: 1. to structure unstructured data 2. conditional filtering and prioritization of real-time content and 3. adding context (ex. location)

SwiftRiver is commonly mistaken to be an application, when in fact it is a platform consisting of APIs. There are several applications powered by Swift, most notably Sweeper which was designed specifically as a complimentary product to Ushahidi's mapping products.

Crowdmap

Crowdmap[4] is designed and built by the people behind Ushahidi, a platform that was originally built to crowdsource crisis information. As the platform has evolved, so have its uses. Crowdmap now allows users to set up their own deployments of Ushahidi without having to install it on a web server.

History

Beginnings in Kenya

Ushahidi.com' (Swahili for "testimony" or "witness") is a website created in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election (see 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis) that collected eyewitness reports of violence sent in by email and text-message and placed them on a Google map.[1] It is also the name of the open source software developed for that site, which has since been improved, released freely, and used for a number of similar projects around the globe.

The Kenyan site was developed and run by several bloggers and software developers, all current or former residents of Kenya: Erik Hersman, Juliana Rotich, Ory Okolloh and David Kobia.[5] The site was initially proposed by Okolloh, developed cheaply, and put online within a few days.[5][6] International media, government sources, NGOs, and Kenyan journalists and bloggers were used to verify eyewitness testimony.[5][7][8] The site was later also used to facilitate donations from abroad.[8]

Post-Kenya crisis uses

Soon after its initial use in Kenya, the Ushahidi software was used to create a similar site to track anti-immigrant violence in South Africa.[8] The software has since been used to map violence in eastern Congo,[1][9] to track pharmacy stockouts in several East African countries,[10] and to monitor elections in Mexico and India, among other projects.[11] It was also used by Al Jazeera to collect eyewitness reports during the 2008-2009 Gaza War.[12][11]

The post election violence in Kenya was the subject of a Harvard Humanitarian Institute study and mentioned in a Berkman Center report.[13][14][15]

2010

Haiti

In 2010, due to the earthquake in Haiti, Patrick Meier launched a joint effort between Ushahidi, The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University, UN OCHA/Colombia and the International Network of Crisis Mappers (CM*Net) started the Haiti implementation. A few hours later many humanitarian/tech workers joined this initiative.[16][17]

Chile

Only a month after the Haiti earthquake, the 2010 earthquake in Chile prompted Patrick Meier to launch Ushahidi-Chile within hours of the initial quake.[18][19] The Chile site is currently co-managed with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the US, supported by the Chilean diaspora.

Washington, D.C.

In the wake of winter storms, the Washington Post and the web development company PICnet used the software to create a site mapping blocked roads and other information.[20][21]

Russia

Ushahidi was used in Russia to set up a "map of help" for voluntary workers needed after the wildfires.

References

  1. ^ a b c Megha Baree (20 November 2008). "Citizen Voices". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  2. ^ "SMS Helps Provide Instant SOS During Times of Crisis - Clickatell and Ushahidi Urge Support to Haiti".
  3. ^ "Introduction to SwiftRiver".
  4. ^ "Crowdmap Puts Any Data on an Interactive Map".
  5. ^ a b c David Adewumi (15 January 2008). "Kenyan tech bloggers launch crisis-report site". VentureBeat. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  6. ^ Chris Chambers (12 May 2008). "Mapping violence in Kenya". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  7. ^ Peter Smith (31 January 2998). "Cellphone and Internet access helps – and hinders – accurate reporting in Kenya". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 16 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Dorcas Komo (3 July 2008). "Kenyan Techie Honored for Role in Tracking Post-election Violence". Mshale. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  9. ^ Alka Marwaha (10 December 2008). "Web tool maps Congo conflict". BBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  10. ^ Ken Banks (31 July 2009). "Mobiles Help Put a Stop to Drug Stock-outs". Pc World. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  11. ^ a b Rebecca Wanjiku (12 August 2009). "Technology elevates Africa's global status". Computerworld. Infoworld. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  12. ^ "War on Gaza - Experimental Beta". Labs.aljazeera.net. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  13. ^ "Crisis Mapping Kenya's Election Violence".
  14. ^ "Digitally Networked Technology in Kenya's 2007-2008 Post-Election Crisis".
  15. ^ "Conflict and Fragility : Preventing Violence, War and State Collapse" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  16. ^ Robert Mackey (12 January 2010). "Tuesday and Wednesday's Updates on Haiti's Earthquake". New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Monica Hesse (16 January 2010). "Crisis mapping brings online tool to Haitian disaster relief effort". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  18. ^ Net puts Kenya at centre of Chile rescue efforts, Jonathan Fildes, BBC News, March 1, 2010
  19. ^ "Ushahidi Chile". Chile.ushahidi.com. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  20. ^ Giridharadas, Anand (12 March 2010). "Africa's Gift to Silicon Valley: How to Track a Crisis". New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  21. ^ "Who's Behind This?". Snowmageddon: The Clean Up. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
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