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"In 1999, half of the world had either never used a phone or had to travel more than two hours to reach the nearest one. Years later, mobile devices are being used in extremely innovative ways to connect and empower people around the world.\n\"It's not about being connected,\" said Larry Irving, co-founder of the Mobile Alliance for Global Good, at the 2012 Social Good Summit on Sunday. \"It's about being connected with a purpose.\"\nThat purpose is to solve the world's most pressing problems. Irving referred to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and how many people sent money through text messaging, but said that that was just the tip of the iceberg. People are monitoring climate change in arctic areas, taking pictures of the degradation of nature caused by oil spills in the Gulf region and conducting blood analysis \u2014 all through mobile devices.\n\"The solutions are hard,\" Irving said. \"It's very hard to make mobile technology work well in a non-profit [mode]. You're not just talking about a technological solution. You're talking about changing business models. You're talking about changing cultures. You're talking about changing operational models. And we have to sit down together and figure out how this is going to work.\"\nIt's interesting to think about how there has never been one technology that has reached all 6 billion people in the world. Is mobile technology getting there?\n\"This is the most important device ever for changing the world, but we have to work together to make it work the way we want it to work,\" Irving said. He stressed the importance of people with different experiences and expertise coming together and discussing global issues in order to find solutions.\nTo optimize these mobile solutions, Irving said we need to:\n\nMake hackathons more about pressing social needs and the process of meeting them, and less about a technology event\nBring impact investors together with social entrepreneurs\nCreate the MAGGIES, awards to celebrate individuals and groups who use mobile solutions for social good.\n\n\"We need to be focused on outcomes. That's the most important thing we can do,\" Irving said.\nHow do you think mobile can change the world? Let us know in the comments.\nAbout Ericsson\nRead more of Mashable's coverage of the 2012 Social Good Summit:\n\nDay One:\n\nHillary Clinton Opens the Social Good Summit [VIDEO]\nHow the U.S. Chief Technology Officer Is Making Data Awesome\nCan Mobile Phones Help Fight Pediatric AIDS?\nHow Is Social Media Changing Diplomacy?\nPeter Gabriel Makes Case For Internet Freedom\nITU Secretary-General: OK to Make Profit When Helping Developing Nations\n8-Year-Old YouTube Sensation Performs at Social Good Summit\nSocial Good Summit Day 1: Highlights and Pics\n\nDay Two:\n\nShoutAbout Aims to Inspire Social Action Based on News Stories\nTim Pool, Guerrilla Journalist of the Digital Age [VIDEO]\nU.S. Ambassador Susan Rice: Twitter Crucial to Her Mission\nHow Social Media Is Empowering Women in Haiti\nHow to Use Mobile Devices to Solve Global Problems\nHow Forest Whitaker Is Using Technology to Spread Peace\nSocial Good Summit Day 2: Highlights and Pics\n\nDay Three:\n\nNapolitano: Congress \u2018Got Stuck\u2019 on Cybersecurity\nU.N. Foundation Challenges the World to Take Action\nNick Kristof Takes Social Good Gaming to the Next Level\nWhy Tech and New Media Can Help End Modern Slavery\nUNICEF Launches Online Campaign to Reduce Child Mortality Rates\nWhat It Means to Be an Advocate in the Digital Age\nWhat Non-Profits Can Learn From Cat Videos\nWikipedia Founder: Online Connections Foster Real Change\nDeepak Chopra: Social Media is the Next Phase of Humanity [VIDEO]\nHow Social Good Summit Sparked the Largest Conversation on Earth\nSocial Good Summit Day 3: Highlights and Pics\n10 Inspiring Quotes From Mashable\u2019s Social Good Summit\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/09/23/mobile-global-problems/>