awaaz.de: giving communities a voice using voice social media

Awaaz.de is a voice-based question and answer service, information portal, forum, asynchronous call centre and low-cost radio platform. They help organizations engage communities in any language, leveraging the power of voice and mobile phones to make social media accessible to everyone.

An interesting way it is currently being used in agriculture is it’s use by Development Support Centre (DSC). DSC uses Awaaz.De to make announcements, answer questions, and to narrow-cast their weekly radio program. Farmers call the number and navigate a simple phone tree to listen to announcements, programs, questions, or to leave their own question. Each question is received by a community manager, who approves it, and refers it to an expert(s). The expert receives an automated call playing the question and prompting for a response. Once he / she answers, the farmer is notified, and can respond with further information and so on. Other partners are using Awaaz.De to connect extension workers, and to buy and sell organic produce.