Smart Clicking in Batanes (part II)
April 11th, 2006 | by ka edong |Community E-Centers
On a related note, there are a couple of local and international projects that aim to setup community e-centers in rural areas. There have been a couple setup by … DOST or TELOF, I believe. It wasn’t a rousing success. To say the least, it wasn’t rousing at all.
On the International scene, I know of a project by the USAID which aims to establish 20 Internet centers in rural areas.
Smart Click should take some lessons from the mistakes from the past. At the same time, Smart should coordinate with USAID so that the initiatives complement each other instead of compete within such a focused market.
Relevant Content & services
I wonder what kind of content the Smart Click vans will have.
At the onset, I’m sure they’ll be surfing and chatting and network gaming all around the place. It’s all good, if only to introduce a local community to the internet and teach them the basic motor skills needed.
But after that, I hope that they begin to deliver more relevant content and services. Content such as:
- Market prices
- Marketing of local goods nearby towns or to the international community
- Communications with OFWs
- Job applications
- Medical information (telemedicine)
- Legal consultation
- Government services
This is just a short list. The possibilities are limited only by our imagination.
I especially like the last item: Government services or “e-governance”.
I imagine rural-based Internet shops as extensions of Government agencies through e-Government services. For example, people in rural areas can use the internet shop to apply for NSO birth certificates. Smart Click should facilitate payments for the customer on behalf of the government services.
So many ideas, so little time.
Feedback
I asked my friend, Mr. DoN from Batanes what feedback he has about Smart Click in Basco Batanes. Although DoN hasn’t tried it, the feedback he hears about Smart Click is all good.
I have to give it to Smart. It is a noble idea.
Keep those ideas clicking.
ka edong
smart clicking
Incidentally, back in 2000 when I was working with Philippine Industrial Automation (PIA), we already used the term “Smart Clicking”. It referred to intuitive navigation of our proprietary software. Smart Clicking meant that you should be able to troubleshoot a problem by navigating through the menus and tabs to find a solution … just by smart clicking.
