Africa is book-poor but mobile phone-rich, so
m4Lit‘s idea to use phones as a way to get teens to read and write is an innovative one, right? No. Applying Parvathi’s points to m4Lit: for our
readers the innovation isn’t reading and writing on mobile phones. It’s
reading kick-ass stories, affordably, easily (they always have their
cellphones with them, they
don’t always have books or magazines with them), and being able to make comments and have the world see them in near real time (beats writing a snail mail
letter to the author). These are the “layers” that make up the innovative proposition. The mobile phone simply enables all of this. Key to realising the innovative proposition is telling readers that the stories are there — so need to
market effectively (and innovatively) — and quickly moderating readers’ contributions.