Google recently launched a beta verison of a new knowledge-sharing software called Google Noticeboard in India. Noticeboard can be installed on a shared computer which can be accessed by a village’s farmers.
Users can then either record a voice message or write a text message which they can publish for others to see at a later time. The software thus allows a relatively remote, distant, non-tech savvy group of people to share information that is relevant to all of them. This is how Google describes Noticeboard:
Typically each digital noticeboard carries publicly accessible messages. Compared to the notion of personal communication using email accounts, the Noticeboard metaphor allows user to engage in public communication with communities. Noticeboard is designed to be usable by all, even people with no prior computer experience. Since messages can be voice based, even literacy is not a pre-requisite.