Towards Inclusive Social Networks for the Developing World

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Source of Publication

Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST

Publication Date

1-1-2018

Abstract

© 2018, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. Social networks (e.g. Facebook) are becoming ubiquitous, especially in the developed world. However, they rely on two fundamental assumptions (i.e., reliable Internet connectivity, literacy) that exclude scores of potential end-users, especially in the developing world. Including these potential end-users will require lifting those two assumptions. This paper is a first step towards inclusive social networks in the developing world. It proposes and validates a two-layer system architecture. The proposed architecture allows end-users to access the social network with low-end cellular phones, using voice and Short Message Service (SMS), in addition to traditional access via a computer or smart phone, using keyboards. We have built a proof of concept prototype in which poorly literate end-users are included in two simplified dedicated social networks (a small farmers’ social network and a motorcycle taxis’ social network).

ISBN

9783319667416

ISSN

1867-8211

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Volume

208

First Page

42

Last Page

52

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Keywords

Developing economies, Inclusive social networks, Low-end cellular phones, SMS, Social networks, Text-to-speech

Scopus ID

85032878606

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS