Mobile has been receiving a lot of attention lately. But what does engaging in mobile mean for mission based organizations with limited resources? Should you engage in this expanding field? In this three part series, we’ll talk about what mobile is, what you can do with it, and how and if you should go about integrating it into your organizing strategies.

What is “mobile”?

The term mobile encompasses three different but often overlapping areas:

• SMS or texting
• The Mobile web (your website as viewed on smartphones or tablets)
• Apps (think for the iPhone, iPad and Android based devices)

Each of these tools can be used to communicate with your supporters and help them organize around your mission. They are often combined with innovative uses of VOIP telephony services (to the end-user: voice calls). Here are a few examples of how SMS and mobile apps can be used for the social good:

Protests in North Africa/Middle East (Telephony/Apps)

In Egypt, during the recent protests when the Internet was down, VoiceCloud let Egyptians call a phone number and leave a message, which would then be transcribed into a Twitter post at twitter.com/egyptianvoices enabling protesters to continue to be connected.

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (SMS)

Revolution Messaging helped The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades(IUPAT) connect their members in core crafts to job leads via text alert on their phones. Members text in the first letter of their craft to 48728. For example, Painters (industrial and commercial) text the letter P to 48728, drywall workers D. When local IUPAT leaders need workers in any of those crafts, a job alert will go out to those registered with contact information in the message.

Reform Immigration FOR America (SMS/Telephony)

When President Obama and a Democratic Congress took office in January 2009, opening the window for comprehensive immigration reform legislation, Reform Immigration for America (RI4A) was starting from square one, with no list of grassroots supporters to mobilize. Their opponents, who had out-faxed and out-called them during the previous immigration fight in 2007, were starting with email lists totalling over 1.2 million supporters. Early on, RI4A identified SMS as a key channel for communication with their core constituency. The campaign focused every department — communications, field, fundraising, digital — on publicizing "Text JUSTICE [or JUSTICIA] to 69866" via radio, television, online, and via dozens of rallies and other offline events. By choosing the right channel to engage their core constituency, RI4A was able to build an SMS activist network of 175,000 — which drove over 500,000 calls in 24 months, including 75,000 calls to Congress in one day in support of the DREAM Act. This was part of a comprehensive program that has made 2.5 million contacts in that period, including 1.5 million faxes with the help of MobileCommons and Fission Strategy. More details about this project at SMSAdvocacy.com.

Canby School District (Apps)

The Canby School District in Oregon started an iPod Touch pilot program in a single third grade classroom where students were given assignments using apps for collaboration and learning. The results were dramatic. Math and reading scores were up across the board  compaired to those third grade classrooms without the iPod Touches. Test scores are most striking when looking at students with disabilities and those students where English is a second language. A majority of these groups meets or nearly meets standardized test requirments. 

Because of this success:

The Canby School District is extending the iPod program by providing iPod Touches for all third graders district-wide during the 2010-2011 school year.

These are just some of the many examples of how mobile is being used for social good. You can read about even more examples at MobileActive.org.

In the next part in this three part series, we’ll discuss the different mobile options and how to go about choosing which approach may be the best for your goals and budget.