Abstract
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).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boyd, D.M., Ellison, N.B.: Social networks: definition, history and scholarship. J. Comput. Mediat. Commun. 13, 210–230 (2008)
ITU-T, ICT facts and figures. www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/…/ICTFactsFigures2013.pdf‎
UNESCO: The official source of literacy data. http://www.uis.unesco.org/literacy/Pages/default.aspx
Vallina-Rodriguez, N., Hui, P., Crowcroft, J.: Has anyone seen my goose? Social network services in developing regions. In: 2009 International Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (2009)
Fall, K.: A delay-tolerant network architecture for challenged internets. In: Proceedings of SIGCOMM (2003)
Ahouantchede, H., Belqasmi, F., Glitho, R.: SNS4D: an Online social network system for developing countries. In: Fourth International IEEE EAI Conference on e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries, Africomm 2012, November 2012
Pentland, A., et al.: DakNet: rethinking connectivity in developing nations. IEEE Comput. 37(1), 78–83 (2004)
Smaldone, S., et al.: RoadSpeak: enabling voice chat on roadways using vehicular social networks. In: SocialNets 2008, April 2008
Agarwal,. S.K., et al.: The Spoken web: a web for the underprivileged. In: ACM SIGWEB Newsletter, Summer 2010
Manjunath, G., et al.: Delivering mobile eGovernance on low end phones. In: 2012 IEEE International Conference on Mobile Data Management (2012)
Hasel, M.: Opensocial: an enabler for social applications on the web. Commun. ACM 54(1), 139–144 (2011)
Belqasmi, F., Fu, C., Glitho, R.: RESTful web services for service provisioning in next generation networks: a survey. IEEE Commun. Mag. 49(12), 66–73 (2011)
Lee, A., et al.: Recent development of open source speech recognition engine Julius. In: APISIPA ASC (2009)
Beutnagel, M., et al.: The AT&T next-gen TTS system, Joint Meeting of ASA (1999)
http://www.oktellpbx.com/gateways/, June 2001
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering
About this paper
Cite this paper
Akpona, C., Gohoue, R., Ahouantchede, H., Belqasmi, F., Glitho, R., Degila, J. (2018). Towards Inclusive Social Networks for the Developing World. In: Bissyande, T., Sie, O. (eds) e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2016. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 208. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66742-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66742-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-66741-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-66742-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)