What's in your mobile wallet Chicago?
It's not that I was lazy or didn't want to apply for the SeedCon Pitch Contest by the midnight deadline last night, but I was very busy trying to connect the dots between an app intended to help middle class and low income Chicagoans get quick access to food,medical and medical resources and breakthrough technology that aims to disrupt the way we buy things.
The google wallet was launched a few months ago with plenty of fan fare but a recent NPR article got me thinking about the intersection between a mobile wallet and people on the other side of the digital divide. If you aren't familiar with the mobile wallet, you can read more in the NPR article Mobile Payment Apps Put Wallets In Phones, Not Pockets
article published today. The google mobile wallet allows shoppers with Android smartphones to pay at the counter by waving their phone. What's the big deal? No money is exchanged, no fumbling for debit cards, keying in codes and for those who hate pennies...no change in your pockets. Convenience and additional savings are two obvious benefits. What's in it for retailers? faster transactions, faster data on your purchases, and a cut of the business for credit card companies.
What does this have to do SeedCon? Contests like SeedCon stimulate breakthrough business concepts and showcase contrarian ideas that may not have the most sound monetary model but can be further developed into the next groupon, or facebook. Viva Chicago start up contests. Who knows what we'll see coming from these contests in the near future. In the meantime, thank you to the Booth School, Groupon, SmartBox, CEC, and EVC for putting resources behind a contest that will further promote innovation in Chicago.
Join the conversation, would love your thoughts on the topic of mobile wallets and the digital divide at ifinditChicago.com or on facebook.
What is ifinditChicago? An android app that helps low income residents connect to critical resources such as medical clinics, food pantries, shelters and more. 1st place winner AppsforMetroChicago Community Round App Contest, and State of Illinois Prize. Contest sponsored by MacArthur Foundation, IBM, Motorola Mobility and RIM.
Interested in applying for the open gov app contest? The Grand Round Challenge is just around the corner. Deadline December 2, 2011. Rules can be found on the Apps4Chicago site. http://www.appsformetrochicago.com/rules
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