Top

Mark West They’re Giving Us The Opportunity To Work

March 28, 2012 by · Comments Off on Mark West They’re Giving Us The Opportunity To Work 

Mark West They’re Giving Us The Opportunity To Work, It sounds like a headline from the The Onion, but it’s true: A project called “Homeless Hotspots” is turning homeless Austin residents into mobile wireless hotspots outside the South by Southwest convention center.

It’s part marketing stunt, part genuine charitable initiative – and it’s generating lots of double-takes and chatter from those who pass by.

“I’m Melvin, a 4G hotspot,” reads the T-shirt of participant Melvin Hughes. “SMS HH Melvin to 25827 for access.”

Hughes is carrying a Verizon MiFi 4G hotspot. Texting his code sends back his network password, which the recipient can use to suck down a few minutes of fast broadband access – a scare commodity at SXSW, a tech/film/music gathering that has drawn more than 20,000 visitors to Austin.

Access is pay-what-you-want, though $2 per 15 minutes is the suggested donation, payable through Paypal or Venmo. BBH Labs, the project’s organizer, says it will pay all the proceeds directly to the participant who made the sale.

Reactions are definitely mixed, Hughes says. He’s handed out hundreds of cards explaining the project, and says a few dozen people have actually logged on.

Saneel Radia BBH Labs

March 28, 2012 by · Comments Off on Saneel Radia BBH Labs 

Saneel Radia BBH Labs, It sounds like something out of a darkly satirical science-fiction dystopia. But it’s absolutely real — and a completely problematic treatment of a problem that otherwise probably wouldn’t be mentioned in any of the panels at South by Southwest Interactive.

Homeless Hotspots is “a charitable experiment” by BBH Labs, the skunkworks wing of marketing firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty. In Austin, BBH Labs is partnering with Front Steps Shelter to equip people from Front Steps’ case management system with 4G MiFi devices to serve as pay-per-use hotspots for attendees at SXSWi. People in the program wear T-shirts reading:

I’M [FIRST NAME],
A 4G HOTSPOT
SMS HH [FIRST NAME]
TO 25827 FOR ACCESS
www.homelesshotspots.org

The recommended donation (according to shortformblog) is $2 for 15 minutes of Wi-Fi access, but BBH Labs says it’s officially pay-what-you-wish. Whatever is paid goes to the homeless MiFi manager — either directly if you pay cash, or every two weeks if you use PayPal. BBH Labs gets exposure for its program as well as data for how it might scale — potentially acting as a replacement for newspapers sold by the homeless today. “We’re believers that providing a digital service will earn these individuals more money than a print commodity,” writes BBH Labs’ Saneel Radia.

Bottom