TED2009
Erik Hersman: Reporting crisis via texting
埃里克-赫斯曼：通过发短信来报告危机事件
Filmed:
Readability: 3.5
466,307 views
在2009年的TED大会，埃里克-赫斯曼呈现了一个在Ushahidi的显赫故事。GoogleMap mashup程序令肯尼亚人能够通过手机发短信跟踪报道2008年大选后的暴力事件。随着系统的进一步发展，它继续在其他国家地区拯救生命。
Erik Hersman - Technologist
Erik Hersman harnesses Africa’s boundless spirit of innovation by creating platforms to improve daily lives both inside and outside the continent. Full bio
Erik Hersman harnesses Africa’s boundless spirit of innovation by creating platforms to improve daily lives both inside and outside the continent. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
So I'm here to tell you a story of success from Africa.
0
0
4000
在这里，我要跟大家分享一个在非洲的成功故事。
00:16
A year and a half ago,
1
4000
3000
一年半以前
00:19
four of the five people who are full time members
2
7000
2000
在这里的5个人
00:21
at Ushahidi,
3
9000
2000
是Ushahidi的专职委员
00:23
which means "testimony" in Swahili,
4
11000
3000
“Ushahidi”在斯瓦希利语里的意思是“证据”
00:26
were TED Fellows.
5
14000
2000
其中4个人是TED的同道中人
00:28
A year ago in Kenya we had post-election violence.
6
16000
3000
一年前在肯尼亚的一次选举后发生了一起暴力事件
00:31
And in that time we prototyped and built,
7
19000
3000
而在那个时候我们利用短短三天
00:34
in about three days, a system that would allow
8
22000
2000
建造了一个系统平台的雏形
00:36
anybody with a mobile phone
9
24000
2000
这个系统平台允许任何人通过手机
00:38
to send in information and reports on what was happening around them.
10
26000
3000
发信息和报告那些发生在他们周围的事情
00:41
We took what we knew about Africa,
11
29000
2000
我们把我们所认识的非洲
00:43
the default device,
12
31000
2000
默认装置
00:45
the mobile phone, as our common denominator,
13
33000
2000
手机，作为我们的共同点
00:47
and went from there.
14
35000
2000
信息就是来源于那里
00:49
We got reports like this.
15
37000
3000
我们收到这样类似的报告
00:56
This is just a couple of them from January 17th, last year.
16
44000
3000
这只是在去年1月17日众多短信里的几条
01:02
And our system was rudimentary. It was very basic.
17
50000
3000
那时候我们的系统平台发展还未成熟，非常基本的
01:05
It was a mash-up that used data that we collected from people,
18
53000
3000
我们从人民那里收集数据，这是一个混合模式
01:08
and we put it on our map.
19
56000
2000
然后我们把它标在在地图上
01:10
But then we decided we needed to do something more.
20
58000
2000
但是那时我们意识到我们需要做更多东西
01:12
We needed to take what we had built
21
60000
2000
我们需要更好地利用这个已经建立
01:14
and create a platform out of it so that it could be used elsewhere in the world.
22
62000
3000
和创造好的平台，以便它能够在世界其他地方中应用
01:17
And so there is a team of developers
23
65000
3000
于是产生了一个开发人员的团队
01:20
from all over Africa, who are part of this team now --
24
68000
3000
现在，团队成员有来自非洲各地
01:23
from Ghana, from Malawi, from Kenya.
25
71000
2000
来自加纳、马拉维和肯尼亚
01:25
There is even some from the U.S.
26
73000
4000
甚至有一部分是来自美国的
01:29
We're building for smartphones, so that it can be used in the developed world,
27
77000
3000
我们正在开发智能手机，以便于它不仅能够在发达国家里使用
01:32
as well as the developing world.
28
80000
2000
也能在发展中国家里使用
01:34
We are realizing that this is true.
29
82000
2000
我们渐渐意识到这是正确的
01:36
If it works in Africa then it will work anywhere.
30
84000
2000
如果它在非洲管用的话，那么它在任何地方都管用
01:38
And so we build for it in Africa first
31
86000
3000
于是我们先在非洲建立它
01:41
and then we move to the edges.
32
89000
2000
然后再向外发展
01:43
It's now been deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
33
91000
3000
现在已经在刚果民主共和国做好系统的部署
01:46
It's being used by NGOs all over East Africa,
34
94000
3000
东非很多的非政府组织也有使用
01:49
small NGOs doing their own little projects.
35
97000
3000
小型的非政府组织做他们自己的小项目
01:52
Just this last month it was deployed by
36
100000
2000
就在上个月，我们把这系统应用到
01:54
Al Jazeera in Gaza.
37
102000
3000
加沙的半岛电视台
01:57
But that's actually not what I'm here to talk about.
38
105000
2000
但是实际上这不是我在这里要讲的东西
01:59
I'm here to talk about the next big thing,
39
107000
2000
我在这里要谈论另一件重要事情
02:01
because what we're finding out is that
40
109000
2000
因为我们发现
02:03
we have this capacity to report
41
111000
2000
我们有能力
02:05
eyewitness accounts of what's going on in real time.
42
113000
4000
根据目击者所叙述的真实情况进行实时报道
02:09
We're seeing this in events like Mumbai recently,
43
117000
3000
就像最近发生在孟买的几起事件让我们意识到这点
02:12
where it's so much easier to report now
44
120000
2000
现在在那里，报道消息比隐瞒消息
02:14
than it is to consume it.
45
122000
2000
变得容易多了
02:16
There is so much information; what do you do?
46
124000
2000
有这么多的信息，你要怎么做呢？
02:18
This is the Twitter reports for over three days
47
126000
3000
这是三天以来Twitter的消息
02:21
just covering Mumbai.
48
129000
2000
仅仅关于孟买地区的消息
02:23
How do you decide what is important?
49
131000
2000
你如何决定哪一条消息才是重要的呢？
02:25
What is the veracity level of what you're looking at?
50
133000
3000
而你所看到的消息，它们的真实性又有多高呢？
02:28
So what we find is that there is this
51
136000
2000
我们发现
02:30
great deal of wasted crisis information
52
138000
2000
充斥着大量多余的危机信息
02:32
because there is just too much information for us to
53
140000
3000
因为对于我们来说存在着太多的信息
02:35
actually do anything with right now.
54
143000
3000
需要马上处理
02:38
And what we're actually really concerned with
55
146000
2000
而实际上我们真正关注的
02:40
is this first three hours.
56
148000
2000
是头三个小时
02:42
What we are looking at is the first three hours.
57
150000
2000
我们在头三个小时所注意到的
02:44
How do we deal with that information that is coming in?
58
152000
3000
我们如何处理那些流进的信息呢？
02:47
You can't understand what is actually happening.
59
155000
2000
你不可能知道到底正在发生什么事情
02:49
On the ground and around the world
60
157000
2000
无论是在现场还是世界各地的
02:51
people are still curious,
61
159000
2000
人们都是很好奇的
02:53
and trying to figure out what is going on. But they don't know.
62
161000
3000
并尝试去了解清楚事情的进展。然而他们并不知情。
02:56
So what we built of course, Ushahidi,
63
164000
3000
那么当然在Ushahidi我们所建立的
02:59
is crowdsourcing this information.
64
167000
2000
正是要把这些信息人肉资源化
03:01
You see this with Twitter, too. You get this information overload.
65
169000
3000
你在Twitter上看到的情况也是一样的。你得到超负荷的信息。
03:04
So you've got a lot of information. That's great.
66
172000
2000
那么你得到了许多资信。那实在太好了。
03:06
But now what?
67
174000
2000
但是现在接下来呢？
03:08
So we think that there is something interesting we can do here.
68
176000
3000
于是我们想到我们能够做一些有趣的事情
03:11
And we have a small team who is working on this.
69
179000
2000
我们有一个小团队做这方面的工作
03:13
We think that we can actually create
70
181000
2000
我们觉得我们实际上能够创造
03:15
a crowdsourced filter.
71
183000
2000
一个人肉资源过滤器
03:17
Take the crowd and apply them to the information.
72
185000
3000
吸纳这些群众以及把他们应用到信息上
03:20
And by rating it and by rating
73
188000
2000
然后通过把它分等级类别
03:22
the different people who submit information,
74
190000
2000
把提交信息的人分不同等级类别
03:24
we can get refined results
75
192000
2000
我们能够得到精确的结果
03:26
and weighted results.
76
194000
2000
和衡量过的结果
03:28
So that we have a better understanding
77
196000
2000
以致我们有一个更好的了解
03:30
of the probability of something being true or not.
78
198000
2000
这些信息的真实程度
03:32
This is the kind of innovation that is,
79
200000
3000
这种革新
03:35
quite frankly -- it's interesting that it's coming from Africa.
80
203000
2000
十分直接——有趣的是这个革新来自非洲
03:37
It's coming from places that you wouldn't expect.
81
205000
3000
来自一些你意想不到的地方
03:40
From young, smart developers.
82
208000
2000
来自一群年轻有为的开发者
03:42
And it's a community around it that has decided to build this.
83
210000
3000
有一个围绕着它的共同团体决定要建立它
03:45
So, thank you very much.
84
213000
2000
最后，非常感谢大家
03:47
And we are very happy to be part of the TED family.
85
215000
2000
我们很高兴成为TED大家庭的一份子
03:49
(Applause)
86
217000
1000
（鼓掌）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Erik Hersman - TechnologistErik Hersman harnesses Africa’s boundless spirit of innovation by creating platforms to improve daily lives both inside and outside the continent.
Why you should listen
Hersman is the CEO of BRCK, a rugged, self-powered, mobile Wi-Fi device that connects people and things to the Internet in areas of the world with poor infrastructure. He leads a number of web and mobile projects through organizations including iHub, a Nairobi community center that’s an epicenter for Kenya’s booming tech industry. The mobile app Ushahidi, which he co-developed, allows users to share breaking news through text messaging and continues to revolutionize and empower journalists, watchdog groups and everyday people around the world.
Erik Hersman | Speaker | TED.com