IDIA 620: Information Culture - Ecommerce

Melda M. Washington

Information Culture, November19, 2012

“Silicon Cottage Industry”

Overview

Introduction The Manifesto Examples Conclusion

Introduction

Frugal Digital is a research group at Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) that focuses on researching methods and practices that center around creating digital solutions in low resource, economically developing locations.

The Frugal Digital Manifesto

Cost is the starting point, social impact is the goal, technology is the medium. Make it economically worthwhile for all

stakeholders – create direct economic benefits Source locally – Use what is readily available Re-purpose available technology Upcycle if possible – recycle if not Make it serviceable, dismantable and reusable Its not enough to make it open source – try to

embed know-how in the design.

The Frugal Digital Manifesto cont.

How do we create tools for an emerging digital cottage industry?

How do we create methods to spark creativity within constrains?

How do we create appropriate tech with high impact?

How do we create an unsubsidized, demand-driven approach towards social innovation?

Snapture Labs LLC

Snapture's co-founders work on their iPhone business in their free time from one of their apartments

New cottage industry is thriving even as other businesses in the area cut back in the recession.

LoVoCo Mobile

LoVoCo Mobile is a low cost mobile radio station running from a cellphone.

It is possible to call it from anywhere in the world and be broadcasting live – wherever it goes.

You can broadcast by playing audio files from the phone or by speaking into the microphone of it.

Standard earphones can be connected to the cellphone, enabling the broadcaster to verify what goes on-air.

BodaPhone

Cellular payphones. This one is in Uganda. 200 Shillings equals roughly

11 cents US. The phone doesn’t charge

from a bike generator, but that grey slab is a spare battery

Conclusion

We can change the way the economics of public health care, technology, local businesses works

Thus, it changes the way systems actually function, not just on a systematic planning level, but in a grassroots, bottom-up level.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prediction_market

http://blog.tmcnet.com/digital-swarm/

http://www.kk.org/newrules/blog/