Paper short abstract:

We seek to elicit the discursive modes and codes in conflict-preventive, crowd-sourcing social media, comparing data on initiatives in Kenya (Ushahidi), Tanzania (a.o., Mzumbe U) and South Africa (a.o. UWC).

Paper long abstract:

Given Garfinkel's position that sensemaking is essentially a moral phenomenon, we look into how information technologies impact on people's accountability frameworks and how mobile communication (e.g. via cell phones) alters the moral landscape of users. The evidence on which we draw is collected from Ushahidi ('testimony' in Kiswahili), an open source project that allows users to 'crowdsource' crisis information sent via mobile. The project is an internet-based initiative that started in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election. An application was developed that (1) enabled local observers to submit reports of violence using their mobile phones (text message) or the internet (email) and (2) brought together these eyewitness reports on Google Maps, thus creating a temporal and geospatial record of acts of violence. Soon thereafter, similar sites were set up for other regions affected by crisis and civil war. We seek to elicit the discursive modes and codes, adding and comparing data on initiatives in Tanzania (a.o., Mzumbe U) and South Africa (a.o. UWC).