What is it about?
In the Philippines, informal income-generating activities, known as "rackets" or sidelines, have emerged as a response to high unemployment and limited formal job opportunities. This study introduces "LocalLink," a mobile-based application designed to address these issues. LocalLink aims to connect service providers and users, formalize the informal economy, and enhance marketplace transparency. User feedback and testing, involving 55 participants, reveal a strong grand mean rating of 4.87, indicating that LocalLink effectively meets user needs and fosters community connectivity. This strong user response establishes LocalLink as a key player in advancing the informal economy and addressing unemployment challenges in the Philippines.
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Why is it important?
The creation of LocalLink as part of this study aims to harness technology to revitalize and enhance the concept of "rackets" and informal jobs. It recognizes the value of existing practices while leveraging new technology to provide a more accessible and reliable platform for these activities. The utilization of prototyping as a methodology has proven effective in showcasing the expected results and allowing users to identify areas for improvement before implementation. Through this approach, the study has successfully identified the key features of LocalLink, as described earlier, and tested its acceptability and usability.
Perspectives
In summary, the comprehensive results and feedback from users emphasizes the exceptional performance of LocalLink in delivering a user-friendly, efficient, and highly effective platform for discovering and engaging with local service providers. The uniformly strong desire to continue using the app, as reflected in the high grand mean rating of 4.89, indicates the app's success in meeting user expectations and fostering a strong connection with its user base.
Ysabela Marie Odchigue
Mapua Institute of Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: LocalLink: A Mobile-based Application for Local Services in a Barangay Community, January 2024, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery),
DOI: 10.1145/3647782.3647816.
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