Using Information Connectors

How do you effectively distribute information in a mass panic? TV and Radio wouldn't be as effective as in western societies as a much smaller percentage of the population has them.

Most families or villages will have at least one member who lives and works in a city centre. Cell phone penetration is very high, some estimate as high as 93% of the population own a cell phone.

SMS messaging is relatively cheap and bulk messaging facilities are already used extensively for advertising. In an epidemic it would be the fastest way to spread news such as symptoms, your local facilities and so on.

However, there are two issues:

• Sending a message to every number ever issued would swamp the network
• A lot of information would be location specific.

This could be solved by an appeal on radio and television for people to send a message with the number and location of there friends and family to a specific number.Existing computer systems can collate and store that information.

Those who send in a lot of numbers can be identified as Connectors (see Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point for a more detailed description.)

These connectors could be used to spread incormation to their networks - people are much more likely to be reassured by a friend working with 'the authourities' than a bulk message from an unknown. The connector could also collate information and post it on Ushahidi.

This way, rather than the telephone systems being flooded with people calling everyone they know to try find out what's happening, natural social networks are used to create an efficient, heirachial information system.