innovation in crises - 'making your own Internet' in Hong Kong

ON sunday more than 100,000 people in Hong Kong  downloaded a free app: firechat
which allows mobile phone users to message people nearby without mobile or wifi network connections. If there is no wifi or mobile signal, Firechat uses bluetooth to create a mesh network. “Usually, the more people there are in the same location, the less connectivity you get,” says Micha Benoliel, one of the app’s creators. “But with our system, it’s the opposite.” he told the Guardian on Tuesday.  This has proved very useful in the Hong Kong Occupy movement in a context where the Internet and mobile connectivity is highly managed.

This is an example of how need drives adoption that developers need to understand much more deeply. Is your app really addressing a (really big) problem?