Using & Teaching Educational Technology
An interview with Limor Garcia, inventor of Cellphedia
By Terry Freedman
Tue, 9 Aug 2005, 10:22

First there was Wikipedia, the web-based collaborative encyclopaedia, and now there is Cellphedia: the mobile phone version of the idea. In this interview, Limor Garcia, the inventor of the idea, talks about its origins, its strengths and weaknesses, and her hopes for its future.

1. How and when did the idea originate?

Limor Garcia

I came up with the idea for Cellphedia at around March '05 for a
social applications class project. At the Interactive
Telecommunications program at NYU we were drawn to develop
artistic projects and I had always wanted to create a useful
tool. A project that lives beyond the course of study. Something
that I wanted other people to benefit from as well. As a child of
a books salesman (Encyclopedias actually), I always sought for
the fastest, most efficient ways to reference search. It was
natural for me to turn this desire to my grad-school thesis
project.

2. Does the reality of how it works in practice match the vision
you had? (And how does it differ if not?)

It definitely transcends anything I ever thought it would be.
Cellphedia is not a stand-alone application. It only exists if
people are registered, using it and "sculpt" it. It is amazing to
see the patterns created as people learn how to use it. I adopted
the whole concept as my research of social patterns that form
when people use mobile devices in ways they never used before,
and It has been a great learning experience for me so far.

3. How do you "police" the service, and is your method
sustainable and scalable (ie able to hold out if the service
grows)?

Wikipedia was my main inspiration for this project. I was
fascinated by the generosity of people to contribute information
and to the service at large. I realized that when people are
provided with a service they can regularly benefit from, they
cherish it and have the desire to nurture it for the most part. I
am planning to gradually open up Cellphedia for people to be able
to control the database and correct wrong answers, create their
own groups of interests etc. I want to build a reputation system
(i.e. ratings for speed and accuracy), so the Cellphedia
community will be built upon trust amongst it's users.

[I pressed Limor further about this issue, and she responded as
follows:

Well, vandalism will always be present, but thankfully it is
usually only a small portion of the community. For the most part
users want to share and care about the service. And once I open
the service up for corrections of answers, I will get the help of
the community in monitoring.

4. How would you advise users to check the veracity of the
information they find? W

ell, since I am planning to open it up for users to correct each
other's answers, this will be less of an issue. For now, I would
advise users to check answers against a google search.

5. How does its function differ from, say, tha of Encyclopaedia
Brittanica?

It keeps definitions alive. It keeps them current. That's why I
refer to it as an "organic" application. I always felt, esp. with
the internet in our lives,  that printed encyclopedias can't keep
up any more. They are probably the most accurate, as they are
created by professionals and researchers, but probably too
tangible for todays need of reference search. With the rapid
advances in technology, inventions and more emerging new concepts
then ever, definitions are changing constantly and new terms
emerge at times on a momentarily basis.

6. Can you suggest 3 strengths/benefits of the service?

It is ubiquitous  / It is current / It is based on social
interactions, thus it brings a new dimension into the usually
isolated reference search.

7. Can you suggest 3 weaknesses of the service?

Trust accuracy of answers / cost of SMS service (charged by
providers) / repetitive questions - This is a tough one. I can
write a code that checks the database for each incoming question
to find if it's been asked before and retrieve it's answer
without bothering user with duplicate questions, but then it will
slowly drift a way from the social concept which is the key in
this project. I'll have to dwell on this for a while.

8. How is the service financed?

By me! Doesn't require large expenses for now. Just a hosting
service, and my time for maintenance (which I enjoy very much).
When/if it grows I may have to think of ways to finance it.

9. How will the service be developed/extended?

As I mentioned in question 3. I would like to open it up as much
as possible for users to use Cellphedia and built it as they find
suitable. I will also focus on building a stable reputation
system, for users to be able to trust each other better, or
detect vandalism more rapidly. Many of my ideas for development
accumulate through my tracking of usage and patterns created.
More ideas will arise according to service growth and patterns of
usage.

10. Was this an idea whose time had come?

I believe so. There is an emerging trend called MoSoSo (Mobile
Social Software). Some applications had been created to explore
and promote the usage of mobile devices for social purposes. With
the constantly increasing number of mobile device users, more
activities are migrating into the mobile world, and reference
search is one of them.

Why not visit the Cellphedia website at http://www.cellphedia.com/?
Unfortunately, the service operates only in the USA at present.
If anyone would like to share their experiences of using Cellphedia,
please let me know by clicking on the "Email the author" link below.

Look out for an article exploring some of the issues
raised by collaborative communities like these.

Finally, if you are interested in exploring a different (but not mutually
exclusive) means of collaborating, look here:

http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/artman/publish/article_367.shtml

© Terry Freedman Tue, 9 Aug 2005