SatLav??
How does one say “Where is the nearest bathroom?” in cyber? This seemingly absurd question actually has an answer.
According to a press release it issued last week, “Westminster City Council is today launching the UK’s first ever text service to help people find their nearest loo using pioneering ‘SatLav’ technology.” By sending a text message, a reply will be sent to one’s mobile phone detailing the location of the nearest public bathroom.
Though the uses of information, satellite and digital technologies are growing by leaps and bounds, this was not an application that would have immediately come to mind. Although, admittedly I rarely am so far from home, office or school that finding a bathroom has been all that much of a problem for me. Were I to be traveling abroad, or with young kids in tow, my appreciation for this service might be different.
It appears also that there may be a different culture about the loo across the pond that I’m just not familiar with. Westminster reportedly spends 3 million pounds a year maintaining toilets. A local councilman is quoted stating: “Westminster already has an unrivalled, award-winning provision of public toilets, placing us far ahead of any other local authority in the country.” Cheerio.
What does this mean? Well, though there are myriad applications for digital, mobile and information technology to improve living standards, grow economies and spur innovation, seemingly small, local needs will always be a prominent sector. Politicians can plug small programs, such as SatLav, to gain parochial favor, even if the benefit is marginal. Firms can capture markets with ‘gadgets’ and frivilous services. The balance, or digitial divide, between engineering the ‘wants’ of the North versus the ‘needs’ of the South needs examination.
Having the greater forsight and vision to apply technologies more broadly takes a different, and more selfless tact. Economics and markets alone will not solve these challenges. While there is nothing wrong with deploying a technology that helps well-to-do westerners find bathrooms, there are much more pressing needs in the world today. In the developing world, finding health care services, identifying water sources, accessing markets, creating communication links between feuding groups - these are the real challenges for ICT innovation. Let’s hope that the pursuit of western convienence does not force these more pressing needs to be, well, flushed down the toilet.