By Karsten Strauss
Forbes
The continuing explosion of smartphone sales is putting internet devices in the hands of, well, everyone, and the global app-developing market is growing because of it. So it only makes sense that governments and government agencies would use mobile technology to reach out to people everywhere.
The US Department of Agriculture has its Ask Karan information app, the PTSD Coach app helps veterans cope with post traumatic stress, and even FEMA offers a mobile program that provides information on emergency preparedness and the locations of shelters.
Now the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) has some help from an app—but not its own. The organization has partnered with Swedish developer, FishBrain, to glean information on the whereabouts of endangered animals from the app’s 1.3 million users—most of whom (1 million+) are avid fishing enthusiasts in the U.S. who use the app already as a social network where they can discuss fishing, exchange information on fishing locations, exchange pics of their catches and report on the species they’ve come in contact with.
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