This document discusses fieldwork on Ushahidi deployments, including background experiences, challenges, and next steps. It describes fieldwork in Cairo and Nairobi from July to November 2011, where local understanding was found to be crucial but Ushahidi was difficult for long-term strategies. The fieldwork aimed to understand how users communicate and organize online and how cyberactivism translates to on-the-ground impacts. Analysis of deployment websites, social media, and key deployers was conducted from January 2012 to March 2013 to understand patterns and create case descriptions and a best practices report.

1. Fieldwork on
Ushahidi
Deployments
Background
Experiences
Challenges
Next Steps
11.11.11

2. The Gist
How an online platform like Ushahidi creates
new ways and premises for people to
communicate, organize and mobilize in
situations of crisis and political conflicts.

3. From a Problem Statement...
“ (...) how the users of Ushahidi
communicate, organize and mobilize as a
network online; and how this type of
Cyberactivism propagates to people on the
ground?”

4. From a Problem Statement...
“ (...) how the users of Ushahidi
communicate, organize and mobilize as a
network online; and how this type of
Cyberactivism propagates to people on the
ground?”

5. From a Problem Statement...
“ (...) how the users of Ushahidi
communicate, organize and mobilize as a
network online; and how this type of
Cyberactivism propagates to people on the
ground?”

6. From a Problem Statement...

7. ...to the Ground
“Something” with ‘deployers’ and their
motivation, experiences, challenges and
successes”
agency · empowerment · social change

8. Cairo / July-August 2011

9. Cairo / July-August 2011
 “Ushahidi is for action in crisis, but difficult to use
for long term strategies”

10. Cairo / July-August 2011
 “Ushahidi is for action in crisis, but difficult to use
for long term strategies”
 “You throw some dots on a map, some are taken
further, some are not (...) It's not like it is vibrating
in social interaction”

11. Cairo / July-August 2011
 “Ushahidi is for action in crisis, but difficult to use
for long term strategies”
 “You throw some dots on a map, some are taken
further, some are not (...) It's not like it is vibrating
in social interaction”
 “people found the project interesting because it
gave them a little dignity”

12. Cairo / July-August 2011
 “Ushahidi is for action in crisis, but difficult to use
for long term strategies”
 “You throw some dots on a map, some are taken
further, some are not (...) It's not like it is vibrating
in social interaction”
 “people found the project interesting because it
gave them a little dignity”
 “by a click people are changing something”

13. Cairo / July-August 2011
 “Ushahidi is for action in crisis, but difficult to use
for long term strategies”
 “You throw some dots on a map, some are taken
further, some are not (...) It's not like it is vibrating
in social interaction”
 “people found the project interesting because it
gave them a little dignity”
 “by a click people are changing something”
 “doing something instead of complaining”

14. Nairobi / October-November 2011

15. Nairobi / October-November 2011
 “local understanding is crucial”

16. Nairobi / October-November 2011
 “local understanding is crucial”
 “Need a more critical mass”

17. Nairobi / October-November 2011
 “local understanding is crucial”
 “Need a more critical mass”
 “the challenge is to end the circle, so that the
information is actually used for something”

18. Nairobi / October-November 2011
 “local understanding is crucial”
 “Need a more critical mass”
 “the challenge is to end the circle, so that the
information is actually used for something”
 “we’ve had positive responses, because people
can act”

19. Nairobi / October-November 2011
 “local understanding is crucial”
 “Need a more critical mass”
 “the challenge is to end the circle, so that the
information is actually used for something”
 “we’ve had positive responses, because people
can act”
 “I’ve seen it everyday, but without being able to do
anything about it (...) it’s very satisfying”

20. Online Fieldwork ?#€%&!
 Monitor deployment websites
 Monitor Twitter and Facebook interaction
related to the website.
 Following key ‘deployers’ in their online
activities
 Analyze statistics on patterns and traffic
 More?

21. Timeline
 July-November 2011 / Fieldwork in Cairo &
Nairobi
 January 2012 / Provide 2 Case Description + a
short Best Practice Report for Ushahidi
 February-June 2012 / Analyzing data + online
monitoring
 August 2012-March 2013 / Turning the whole
thing into an beautiful audio montage! (=Master
Thesis)

22. mariagrabowskikjaer@gmail.com
maraison.wordpress.com