A Mobile Voice: The Use of Mobile Phones in Citizen Media

This report explores the dynamics of the role of mobile phones in creating and enhancing access to information and citizen-produced media. It explores trends in the use of mobile telephony with a focus on software and platforms that make content creation and broadcasting easier. It also presents an inventory of current and potential uses of mobile phones to promote citizen media and freedom of information, and presents short case studies of examples from the MobileActive.org community. It further discusses security considerations that might impact citizen media and freedom of information. Finally, it describes possible medium-term directions for future development and donor investments. To the end of adding additional tools, case studies, and insights to the document from reader contribution, there is A Mobile Voice addition to the MobileActive.org wiki. The document includes an introduction, key observations, definitions, trends in news production and consumption, industry trends, mobile phone functions and their use in citizen media, citizen media projects, security considerations, open source citizen media platforms, counter-productive uses of mobile phones, cost, knowledge gaps, hardware and software gaps, industry issues, and recommendations.