MobileNewsHub outsourced

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I have tried outsourcing for the first time on Elance. The project amounts to 3 months of my living expenses here - so it is a costly decision.

The project is simplified into work just on J2ME phones which are widely used in rural areas in developing countries. If you wonder original specifications of the project, have a look here. It is further simplified into just support easy file transfer using OBEX FTP protocol via Bluetooth.

Simple description about project requirements are necessary as I am communicating with a remote development team based in Kenya, Africa. The team has been very responsive and hard-working; despite not meeting the initial timeline.

I am doing final testing and will reconcile with the team after holidays to finalize the very first alpha version. I will be releasing the source code then.

From that version on other major features such as auto-synching of folders/channels, and auto pairing of bluetooth devices need to be worked on. The final application would differ a lot from the initial concept but you get it. It is to make so easy for rich information to be dispersed using ordinary technology.

MobileNewsHub gets into semi-final of Knight News Challenge

I have been having left eye twitches for over 10 days... then two great news come to me on the same night...

one is the http://bit.ly/MobileNewsHub got into semi-final of Knight News Challenge.

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I will be meeting with experts in this area to get feedbacks and advice to further refine the concept.

And I need to submit final proposal by end of January. As one has advised: persevere, persevere, persevere!

hyper local micro-news

Just found out about this great startup utilizing sms messaging to deliver hyper local micro-news via local "reporters".

What is more interesting is that this technology company is started up by someone who has never attended a university.

I have talked about project::relay in here. And the idea is all powered up by goodwill for reporting and operation services. I have been figuring out about monetizing options and sustainability to successfully deploy across rural communities.

The revenue model of smsone could be the way for project::relay.