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Panic Button: Lessons for the Tech-for-Good Sector
- sametmax 9y agoOpen source : https://github.com/PanicInitiative/PanicButton https://github.com/PanicInitiative/PanicButton Donc si c'est vraiment utile, ca ne disparaitra peut etre pas
- 7ewis 9y agoWhen it said: > help us use technology to prevent unlawful detentions I thought they were talking about the Firefox Extension called Panic Button from ~10 years ago that we used in school to hide games and show an education site 'Preventing detentions'!
- TekMol 9y agoI don't get it. The reasons they give are: 1) Only had £100,000 2) Would need more money to make the app deal with false alerts. 3) Would need more money to "keep up [...] our engagement with users." What does this mean?
- amptorn 9y agoIt means they need more money
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- ballenf 9y agoThis was a design-by-committee project that didn't have a clear singular problem it was trying to solve. Reading their goals they intentionally mixed the simple aspect of a "911" for human rights workers with a mishmash engagement-type soft goals. Just looks like a recipe for failure regardless of funding. Another way to look at it, it was a success if measured in terms of raising awareness of the problem.
- melloclello 9y agoIt also seems like they were trying to abuse/repurpose OS level functionality (the power button). I imagine that was difficult on Android, and the article completely fails to acknowledge that this is actually impossible on iOS.
- wpietri 9y agoI really appreciate it when people produce thoughtful looks at project failure like this. If I had Too Much Money, I'd definitely fund an annual prize for the best startup-ish project failure reports. There's no better source for information on advancing the state of the field, but so much is lost when companies just quietly shut down.
- wpietri 9y agoThe followup article has much more useful detail: https://www.theengineroom.org/panic-button-lessons-learned/ https://www.theengineroom.org/panic-button-lessons-learned/
- seltzered_ 9y agoThis. The follow up article notably discusses how newer Samsung / apple OSes are including SOS features.
- dang 9y agoChanged to that from https://www.theengineroom.org/panic-button-retiring-the-app/ https://www.theengineroom.org/panic-button-retiring-the-app/. Thanks!
- mcguire 9y ago"Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to secure any substantial external funding for the project since being awarded £100,000 as runners-up in the Google Global Impact Award in June 2013. In part, this is due to what in hindsight was a short-lived boom in funding and excitement around “tech 4 good.”" There's a lesson here somewhere for those who are optimistic about changing the world.
- rocky1138 9y agoYup. Make money first. Once you have stable income, you can use the excess to effect as much change as you want.
- zython 9y agoWhen has that worked out for the greater good ? Not trying to sound snarky but I'm really trying to think of an example but can't find one.
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 9y agoGates Foundation
- Trombone12 9y agoSo now the anti-trust of 90 Microsoft and IE 6 counts for nothing it seems.
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 9y agoYep, in the grand scheme of things, saving actual kids lives counts for more than killing a rival browser.
- Sophistifunk 9y agoNot just Gates, but on the off chance Musk actually makes it to a permanent Mars settlement, it will be the best thing that's happened to humans since the printing press, if not fire.
- 5_minutes 9y agoAlso to note is that organisations like Amnesty are incredibly inefficient and big money wasters. Paying mid level employees 5000k net + 2000 for rent is not exceptional. So I'm skeptic when they need "more money".