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Summary: Mobile Social Software for the Developing World
Beth E. Kolko1
, Erica Johnson2
, Emma Rose1
1
Department of Technical Communication, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2
Department of Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
{bkolko, ejj3, ejrose} @u.washington.edu
Abstract. This paper discusses how the importance of social networks for performing everyday
tasks in the developing world leads to new considerations of the utility of social networking
software (SNS). The paper presents some results from a multi-year, multi-method study in
Central Asia that tracks patterns of technology adoption and adaptation, as well as shifts in
media consumption and information seeking. Our results suggest SNS is a particularly
compelling approach in resource-constrained environments (broadly defined) as a way to
leverage and systematize the ad hoc processes people develop to navigate their everyday lives
and information ecology.
Keywords: Mobile phones, Internet use, technology adoption, Central Asia, social networks,
social networking software, information seeking
1 Introduction
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