Abstract

This paper focuses on a new generation of companies which use the mobile platform for providing a wide variety of services. Such companies represent a further development in redefining the optimal paradigm for innovation on the mobile platform in that they have partly succeeded in shifting the balance of power away from the carriers and toward the users. Moreover, they have adopted a more global stance.
Field research was conducted on Upoc, a New York City based mobile services company which is a subsidiary of Dada, an Italian-based provider of web and mobile entertainment services. Upoc hosts social networking groups for New York City based users, as well as provides ISP services on the mobile platform. Initial findings indicate that Upoc represents the leading edge of a new kind of hybrid mobile content company which provides a platform for locally generated user content as well as global service provisioning. This paper focuses on the changing roles of a locally-based mobile services provider, its business model and the challenges faced by the company in a global context.

Abstract

With the evolution of the mobile platform and the rapid adoption of mobile devices such as cell phones and other handheld devices,, social networks, which began as web-based applications, have migrated onto the mobile platform. This paper focuses on the development of these networks and how users of these networks have become a prime source of innovation on the mobile platform. Mobile social networks are the impetus for the creation of an entirely new sub-industry in the wireless sector, thus representing a new aspect of wireless innovation, and increasingly are providing a platform for content and technological innovation in the business environment. The paper discusses the implications of mobile social networks for the wireless sector, content providers, technology companies, and the users of the mobile platform. A case study on Dodgeball, a New York City based mobile social networking company, is presented to exemplify usercentric innovation on the mobile platform.

After having entered the club, there was a suggested donation of $10, in order to help support Green Drinks with tasks such as daily operations, web-hosting, managing mailing lists, publishing a monthly newsletter, customer service, finding venues and marketing. I searched my pocket and found two crumpled 5’s and made my way into the main bar area and floor. I was instantly surprised to see the number of people in attendance- the place was packed wall-to-wall with people sipping over-priced drinks ( places which charge $8 for a Heineken is not usually my style). Margaret Lydecker who founded New York City’s Green Drinks back in 2002 was as usual her charismatic self and was perched on the podium trying to get people’s attention for a few announcements. She came across as someone who was extremely personable and friendly and she eventually succeeded in getting people to lower their voices and pay attention to the announcements being made.

Margaret’s passion for this event was evident- after all she had watched it grow into the largest chapter in the world. At the first NYC Green Drinks, there were just three people, Margaret Lydecker and two others. That number grew exponentially and as of November 2007 NYC green drinks had over 7,000 members and between 300 to 500 attendees at each event. She was the common link who almost everyone knew and everyone wanted to speak to.

As I tried to network with a glass of white wine in hand (apparently, beers and shots won’t do when impressing someone is your purpose!) , I stumbled across several people- some interesting, some weird and some downright creepy. I met a student from Columbia University who was involved in the SIPA Sustainability workshop and the Earth Institute; a partner who worked for a major energy firm who was very interested in learning more about some of the initiatives I am participating in as part of the Brooklyn Enterprise on Science and Technology (BEST) at Polytechnic University (more in a later blog) and an employee of GreenDepot, an organization which provides a wide selection of environmentally friendly products to a world where sustainability is an overriding concern. It was fascinating to meet these people all in one place. I also happened to met a woman who asked me if I was also a “foot model”, while commenting that she would really like to see my hands in action! (yes, that was creepy and I was quick to move on, hoping my girlfriend who was also attending had not noticed).

It was now around 9:30PM and the place was slowly opening up to the general public. The remaining attendees had moved on to exchanging phone numbers and business cards and in some cases enquiring whether and when they could rendezvous again with their new connections. Having made some interesting contacts and had a good time in general, I left with my girlfriend and a friend to eat Mexican next door at El Rey Del Sol (try the Chimichanga).

A little history about Green Drinks- Active in over 285 member cities around the world, the networking event serves as an excellent platform for people from diverse fields and areas with a mutual interest in environmental issues to come together, cross pollinate, meet and drink in a low key social environment at a different venue every month. It functions as a common meeting ground for people who wish to connect, not just within their own fields but also to find out what people in other fields are doing—in the fashion world, media, real estate, finance etc. The groups try to keep each meeting simple and unstructured, so that conversations—and ideas—flow.

The idea was originally founded in London in 1989 by Edwin Datschefski in a small pub called ‘The Slug and Lettuce’. It started out when Datschefski and a few of his green design colleagues were having drinks at the bar. They noticed that an environmentally minded acquaintance and friends were sitting at a nearby table. The tables were soon pulled together, and the Green Drinks movement was born.

Green Drinks is a very simple concept; but it has now evolved into a global phenomenon. What started out as a group of friends gathering in a London pub 19 years ago has quickly snowballed into a massive international coalition. Local chapters of Green Drinks groups are everywhere, from Warsaw to Capetown, from Boulder to Beijing. These events are positioned as amorphous social mixers where people exchange “green” ideas and make the “green community” more connected and collaborative. It is proposed that part of the reason for the exploding interest and fast-growing membership is due to the fact that people are increasingly being exposed to environmental issues and the dangers of global warming, peak oil and water depletion. Green Drinks provides a way for people who normally would never meet to get together and to bond with others regardless of age or profession. Everyone is free to make his or her own connections, business-related and social. There have been several instances of people finding jobs, apartments and even dates at these events. The NYC event occurs every second Tuesday of the month. In order to receive periodic newsletters and announcements on the networking events, all one needs to do is send an email to nycgreendrinks@gmail.com to get on the Green Drinks mailing list. Hope to see you at the next one J