Developing voice-based information sharing services to bridge the information divide in marginalized communities: A study of farmers using IBM’s spoken web in rural India

Abstract

Farming communities in developing countries like India are victims of the information divide. Voice-based information sharing services (VISS) can bridge this divide and help farmers address a range of challenges by exchanging knowledge with their peers. An analysis of in-depth phone interviews with farmers in remote, rural Gujarat, India, reveals four stages for developing a VISS for marginalized communities in developing countries. The four stages are: identify gatekeepers to seed the VISS, expand the VISS by building on existing communities of practice, share information, and incentivize members to sustain the VISS. The VISS in this study is based on IBM’s Spoken Web platform, which enables even illiterate and semi-literate farmers to seek, share, use, and benefit from information using feature mobile phones. Research contributions and practical implications of the study are discussed at the end.