Ploto: A SMS & Web Based Framework for Crowdsourcing Data Collection

Data collection is vital to the creation of intelligence.  Advances in mobile technology, internet accessibility, and SMS messaging have resulted in an additional channel of connection for reporting information.  When someone sees something, they need to be able to say something easily. Using text messaging for reporting information is discrete and encourages participation because of its ease of use. It also removes the friction and stigma of downloading an identifiable application to a mobile device, which also takes time.  The ability to collect a report, record and visualize the data collected in real-time and retain the information for integration with other software is valuable in a multitude of use cases for NGA and the DOD.   Crowd-sourcing data collection for a specific campaign’s needs using text messaging and the internet can serve as a supplementary resource for the collection of information. Consumer behaviors have evolved from downloading mobile applications. Text messaging and inputting information into websites from one’s phone is a validated, normalized consumer behavior. While SMS messaging has a +90% open rate within the first 3 minutes of receiving a message, the transmission of an image or video through text results in two passes of compression deleting valuable metadata.   Ploto has developed a dynamic, web-based framework where operators can design and deploy mobile campaigns that operate between text and web to optimize data collection, and maintain the data fidelity of any uploaded digital media assets (including photos or video).  Maintaining uploaded media’s data fidelity allows for the collection of valuable metadata, including location, time, and device information. Operators and analysts can access collected data and more from Ploto’s dashboards, which includes a media gallery (with object tagging and categorization tools), rewards issuance and management, and data analytics for each submitted report with a proper digital chain of custody (including timestamp and user location).  The data analytics dashboards display user specific session data associated with a Persistent ID, and provide data portability for all collected data in a machine-readable format.