Yesterday’s training went very well, not just by my rosy standards but also according to my hardnose co-coodinator Aansa and the trainees themselves . 32 women happily “bought” their first handset and SIM. Within an hour all had sent 2 or 3 messages to the PULS network. And for all of 20 minutes before the power went out in Rawalpindi and the server crashed in Islamabad, we all watched in awe as their messages appeared instantly on the (Internet) live event stream next to their names and profiles in the Groundcrew Viewer….
learning to compose and send - but most already knew how
As of today then, the PULS Network is composed of well, me and 32 women. Admittedly these first steps are somewhat small and awkward. The next move is clearly to build the volunteer base and “grow the network” according to the framework in mind (or perhaps in expected ways).
For now the vision is for every new SDDNCF client that signs up, there should be at least two new volunteers to balance and support the efforts of agents in the field. Volunteers coordinators are the dispatchers and without them, agents’ messages from the field essentially go unheard, neglected! For better or for worse this is how the technology is set up currently. Agents cannot send their messages directly to other agents. Individual messages can be forwarded on to groups but only manually through coordinators accessing the viewer applications.
This framework will begin to change as we write scripts for automatic dialogue with agents. For example, we might create skills-match (job-finding) script similar to the system developed by souktel.org. In this case an agent sends PULS a request for work and PULS automatically responds with a script that asks for type of work, desired location, duration etc. The agent then replies accordingly and the network software automatically forwards the information on to a select geographical or tag-word group of potential employers or customers of the client’s skills.
Other potential scripts can be written for want-adds, fix-it requests, and generalized “wishes.” For example, an agent writes: “wish: air pump for a soccer ball so our children can play. location: Mazarhbad katchi abadi, Rawalpindi” The message is then automatically directed to all available members in a one mile radius of Mazarhabad with the add-on, “can you help?” The PULS member that replies “y” then gets an additional msg with a more detailed request including the agent’s exact location and phone number. This is all quite theoretical at the moment but all is possible. We’re going to start writing sample scripts this week.
Regarding the incentives for obliging random wishes and requests, Joe Edelman writes:
In Groundcrew, “posx” stands for “positive experience”. Players accumulate posx points whenever they are involved with someone else having a positive experience—for instance when they give someone an assignment that’s appreciated, or participate in an assignment that makes a wish come true. Posx points cannot be “spent”–under normal conditions, a player’s posx will only increase as they continue to play. This makes posx a kind of reputation currency, similar to the seller point system on eBay. Groundcrew is a reputation economy or gift economy.
POSX gives players an incentive to be honest and to help each other out. Players with high posx enjoy certain advantages in the community of Groundcrew. First and foremost, any wishes/desires/challenges from high posx players are prioritized when presented to dispatchers to be made real. Secondly, more agents and physical resources become available to high posx players. When a new player is dispatching, they can only see a small subset of the players and objects available on the map. As players gain a track record of generating positive experience, they are allowed to see more and more, including more high value / high risk shared objects like donated automobiles, shared swimming pools, etc, which are not revealed to beginners.
sounds very exciting that things are progressing! i love the pictures.