Hi, my name’s Gabe and I am over-caffeinated. Why am I over-caffeinated you might ask? Because I’m working with OpenSignal and TechHive to collect some standardized data across the U.S. of A. Part of that data collection is finding out how well different carriers work in all the places you might use your phone, including inside buildings.

And what better place to pop inside to run some tests for a minute than your local coffee shop? I just started collecting data a few days ago, but so far, it’s taken me to at least ten different Starbucks locations in San Francisco (as you may have suspected, they all look the same, with the fascinating exception of the large-unstealable-item-that-the-restroom-key-is-attached-to).

I’m taking along eight phones, four iphones and four android devices, each with service from one of the four major US carriers.

I’ve already found out that standing around downtown with a bunch of phones in a portfolio will invariably be met with generous and not-so-generous offers of cash. I’m guessing that if you’ve ever had a phone lost or stolen, this is probably how it found its next home. I won’t single out a specific city for this, because it has happened literally in every downtown stop of every city so far. I’ve also come across a few shop owners who wanted to be reassured that I was not there to do some kind of strangely conspicous surveillance. I can only wonder about what is there to be surveilled.

At each testing location I’m using a modified OpenSignal app to collect all the data we can about things like signal strength, tower location, and upload and download speeds.

Aside from the fact that I find this raw data totally fascinating, it’s important for OpenSignal to have a baseline for the kind of data we’re crowdsourcing as well. Because I’m using the same devices in each area and tightly restricting any other variables, we can get the kind of unbiased scientific information that can be used to check the crowdsourced information as well as truly quantify claims like “best nationwide network” and “best 4G coverage” that marketing departments tend to toss around. We’ll also be comparing it to similar data collected in previous years to see what has changed.

In the coming weeks I will be in about 18 more cities, and many, many more coffee shops. As much as I appreciate the amazingly consistent Starbucks atmosphere, I appreciate a bit of variation. This week I’ll be in San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Are there local cafes you like? Tell me, dear reader, where I should go.

You can also see where I am by following me on Facebook (OpenSignal Gabe), FourSquare (OpenSignal) where I’ll be checking in periodically.

(X-posted from my own article on TechHive)

Many, if not all, primates share food. The extent to which they share outside of their immediate offspring (a behaviour known as parental investment) is varied and there is much speculation as to what complex social hierarchies are at work. According to Jaeggi and Van Schaik’s research, there are two key factors that have been identified that encourage proactive food sharing. Firstly, primates who are using “extractive foraging” are more likely to share. Essentially, tool use encourages sharing. For example, if I have a tool or a skill with that tool - perhaps I am a chimpanzee with a stick to extract termites - that you do not, I am more likely to share my termites with my offspring or other members of my group. It might be easy to overlay a very human feeling of pity or “feeling sorry” for the individual without the tool on the situation, but that would be a very human centric oversimplification. Contrary to initial logic, they also found that it doesn’t matter how high quality (nutrient rich, etc) the food is, just how comparatively hard it is to get. 

Secondly, and possibly less surprisingly, adults shared food with each other “in exchange” - though I think this term is an oversimplification - for companionship and to increase mating potential. Romance via fruit exchange. Though, as with humans, reciprocal altruism is not just about sex. On a broader level it helps to form coalitions and support among non-mating individual as well.

When we get over to the idea of humans-as-primates there are many more complexities that we, as humans, are privy to. As an academic I see the contents of JSTOR as some very hard-won academic brain food. Just one of the above referenced primate studies had Andrew King and his team following a group of 14 baboons through the Namib desert for almost two years. That is what I call one hell of a termite stick that most of us don’t have. It is easy to understand why one would want to share the results of a study that takes such an investment of time and resources. I also feel that sharing research like this helps bring us all together in our global understanding of ourselves and our world, or in other words, “form coalitions and support among non-mating individuals.” I believe Aaron Swartz did too.

I don’t know enough about Aaron as an individual to comment on the sad circumstances surrounding his death. I’m happy though, that this terrible news has sparked anew questions about internet piracy and access to information. There are plenty of good social and economic arguments for the widespread access to academic information. The most logical of which (to me) stems from the enormous investment governments make in their institutions of higher learning. Surveying the bylines of academic articles, you would be hard pressed to find an individual or institution who has not benefited from access to public or tax-based funding. From small subsidised student loans to large research and development grants, so much is aided by We the People, with a capital P, only to be put under lock and key in it’s metaphorical ivory tower, accessible only to the small-p-privileged to have access to it. By making millions of academic articles widely accessible, Aaron Swartz was practising his very own primate reciprocal altruism.

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, under which Aaron was being prosecuted, was put in place in a vastly different era and under entirely different circumstances. While the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was being passed through Congress in 1986, I was playing Oregon Trail on my Apple IIe. In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined the global state of computing today. Information is no longer something to be regulated through the machine on which it exists, computers are now merely the tools we use to form our world community and all the complex information in it. It is one hell of a termite stick, now lets start sharing.

Gabe Scelta is the Innovation Director at Ethicodes. A fellow at the Emerge Venture Lab, Gabe’s deep knowledge of the technology industry keeps Ethicodes pushing the frontiers of the fair trade industry. He holds a master’s degree from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University. He lives in New York City.

Related articles

• Anonymous attacks MIT websites after death of internet activist Aaron Swartz (guardian.co.uk)
• Academics Tweet Tribute To Aaron Swartz, Share Research With Internet In Honor Of Activist (huffingtonpost.com)
• MIT Probes Role in Case Leading to Web Activist’s Death (bloomberg.com)
• Aaron Swartz, freedom fighter (salon.com)

I think Laura Agustín’s post about Nicholas Kristof’s Half the Sky documentary (trailer below) is an interesting read. Read it here: “Kristof’s Paternalistic Smarm: the Soft Side of Imperialism redux”

I also had a hard time watching the PBS documentary. Aside from my general uneasiness when men talk to women about “how hard it must be for you,” media is a tricky thing. On one hand I think it’s a good thing that anyone (Kristof or Agustín) is telling that story, as skewed as the perspective may be. On the other hand… all the things she wrote about. 

The key is promoting discussion, which posts like this prove it accomplished, in some small way. What I really wish is that writers like Kristof were more explicit in their framing of the debate and that consumers of media would see documentaries as jumping boards for larger conversations, as opposed to passive media to be consumed and filed away as unbending truth.

There are bigger issues at play about how we (the west, white people, media spectators, the internet) can participate in helping the people who want to be helped (from poverty, sex work, disease, low wages, you-name-it) without falling into centuries of our own unpleasant cultural muck in the process. In Epstein’s “The Invisible Cure,” she talks about the gross misuse of AIDS funding spent in eastern Africa creating western style hospitals, overhead, travel, and buying state of the art equipment - when the best care was given in homes and small scale centers with budget-limited control measures. It’s a similar problem faced with trafficking. How to help without some kind of culture translation? And who’s translation to trust?

Gabe Scelta is the Innovation Director at Ethicodes and Research Associate at the Ethiopian Global Initiative. A fellow at the Emerge Venture Lab, Gabe’s deep knowledge of the technology industry keeps Ethicodes pushing the frontiers of the fair trade industry. He holds a master’s degree from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University. He lives in New York City.

Related articles

• ‘Half The Sky’: Meg Ryan, America Ferrera & Olivia Wilde Tell Pain, Hope Of Exploited Women (huffingtonpost.com)
• ‘Half the Sky:’ Series on exploited women looks to empower (csmonitor.com)
• Voices to the Voiceless: Confronting Sex-Trafficking and Other Gender-based Issues Worldwide by M. Pitter (inparenthesesmag.com)

I was talking with a friend earlier this year (recently returned to the UK from Central and North America) about the potential for tracking supply chain information with QR codes. “Ah”, she nodded knowingly, on being shown an example of the 2D barcode, “we used to call that the sign of the beast.”

This is somewhat discouraging to hear when you are, as I am, convinced of the usefulness and potential of these little codes to contribute to positive social change. However, it connected a few disparate things that I’ve heard and read about QR codes, and technology more generally - some ideas that are specific and recent, and some broader themes that they refer to.

To start with, the specific - I was lucky enough to hear what Unltd’s Chief Executive, Cliff Prior, thought about QR codes - he voiced concerns over exactly the kind of sentiment that many people may have to QR codes. Essentially, the worry is that people like my friend are not in the minority in (correctly) identifying that the codes are mostly used for advertising or some other form of marketing. The unimaginative ways that they have often been used (or, indeed, completely unusable, such as on the side of a bus or in places with no internet connection, as documented variously here, here and particularly here) also don’t set inspiring precedents. Those most motivated about changing attitudes to consumption are (presumably) least likely to be engaged by marketing gimmicks.

With that in mind, below are some of the ways that QR codes (and barcodes in general) have been used for more interesting and noble causes.

(On a general note, the idea that barcodes can be used to contain ethical information on products has a history which predates the recent spread in the use of QR codes: between 2007 and 2010, the Fair Tracing project (which was an early contemporary of GoodGuide in the Ethical Consumer Information Network) looked into using barcodes to contain supply chain information, using case studies of both Chilean wine and Indian coffee.)

In the interim, a number of organisations have picked up the challenge, with Goodguide being the obvious leaders in the US, and Barcoo providing a more crowd-sourced version in Germany (although with a number of users from the UK continually adding content).

Last year, the idea was picked up again but with eco-intentions by Canada’s inaugural Clean50 Tech summit.

Here is another kind of use - linking QR codes on museum exhibits in Derby to wikipedia articles and further information.

And then there are those which are less about information persay, but the lighter side of life. Aside from sites like QR code art, which offers a continually refreshed catalogue of new and innovative uses of the codes, I thought this little gem really stood out for me in terms of creating a more interesting urban landscape.

But to dip back into the world in which Gabe and I entered when we started the Bunna Bet Project in 2011, there are mixed signs that QR codes,  transparency and ethical consumption can go hand-in-hand-in-hand. Firstly, since the whispers of what we are up to and/or the same ideas have occurred to others, we’ve seen QR codes in use by Starbucks and Sainsbury’s supermarkets to link to information about geographic areas and FairTrade, respectively.

Secondly, there are a number of projects which are involved in using the technology to provide information related to ethics in some direct way. These are my top 3:

1) http://www.talesofthings.com/

 - A university-led project using the power of QR codes as a “quick and easy way to link any media to any object”, specifically aimed at telling the stories and histories of objects.

2) http://iouproject.com/

- Direct trade at its finest. A real text-book study in transparency and definitely one to watch for all those interested in how the principles work out in the practice of business.

3) http://traceandtrust.com/

- The latest incarnation of a number of efforts using QR codes to trace fish, these guys share a belief I hold for coffee: that greater levels of transparency promote higher quality, fresher products.

The real question remains whether the fad-obsessed world of marketing will kill these codes in the public’s perception, or whether there will be enough other, better-implemented uses to create a lasting association of usefulness and value with QR codes. There will be some tasks that Augmented Reality, or other forms of Near Field Communication, are better equipped to manage. However, the problems with getting machines to recognise the intricacies of images in the real world means that QR codes will retain an unmatched usefulness for some kinds of links. The real challenge - as with all implementation of new technologies - is to use the most appropriate tool to make the greatest positive impact; my hope is that the inherent neutrality and usefulness of the QR code itself allows more creative and beneficial uses to emerge and dominate over the poorly implemented and pointless uses. For this to happen, those in the fields of transparency and sustainability would be wise to avoid the pitfalls of the fad-crazed marketeers, and must be careful to differentiate how interacting with their code is more rewarding than accessing a mobile version of an advert.

Related articles

• Barcodes of the Next Generation: London Takes QR Technology to the Streets (smartsign.com)
• QR Codes? Don’t Bother. 5 Reasons (inc.com)
• Should Your Resume Have a QR Code? (sloanreview.mit.edu)

This is part two of “Pizza, Beer & Stock Options Don’t Cut It Anymore: Technologists and Social Entrepreneurs” - part I is here. 

In my role with Ethicodes I’m designing a mobile game-type app for ethical and sustainable consumption. In my professional life, I’ve been a designer and programmer for web and mobile. That means I have the unique experience of having been on both the management / programmer table. The work I do for Ethicodes can’t be done alone, and I’ll admit, there are (many) elements of programming that are better left to the specialists. In my juggling of these two worlds, I’ve come across the paradox of social enterprise technology. Most often it comes down to money, understanding and respect. Here’s some advice from both sides of the table.

Part II: Tips for Developers

• No Eye Rolling. Sometimes opportunity is about showing up. We understand everyone from your grandmother to your boss is asking you to fix something. But please be open to the possibilities and try to leave the jaded personality at home. It takes a certain type of person to be a programmer—some say it is a cynic’s exterior over an incurable optimist inside—after all, it is your job to constantly find ways to break your own code, with the expectation that there is a way to make it logically perfect eventually. I suspect the social entrepreneur is the exact opposite—incurably optimistic on the outside (we can fix the world!), with a constant cynicism on the inside (because the world needs fixing badly).
• Consultation Fees. An interview is not a consultation. Everyone understands you are in high demand, and your time is valuable (at least they do if they read the above). However a 1/3 of a total standard consulting fee should be business and overhead related. That means $50 of your $150 fee is there to account for this initial meeting, as well as computer upkeep, and the time it takes to invoice clients. I recently had a very talented developer request a consultation fee before even discussing their skills. They were off the list immediately, but a little further research revealed their skillset wasn’t the greatest—which could have been a costly mistake for me. On the other hand, if they had agreed to an initial discussion, they would have gotten the opportunity to convince me otherwise.
• Understand business etiquette. As a programmer you have a lot of wiggle room as far as business attire goes. In fact, I frequently feel like the older the t-shirt I wear, the more I am assumed to be a talented programmer. Very few people expect you to show up in a suit (and if the above is true, it might actually work against you). So when I say business etiquette, I am not primarily talking about attire (though sweatpants might not be the best idea). Despite what you learned from your brilliant CS professor, some basic social and conversational skills are necessary. Texting and muttering during a meeting are not looked upon favorably by anyone. Inability to manage your own schedule and terse, incongruous and borderline rude emails (despite a footer that says “sent from my iPhone”) are also not working in your favor. You will need to be able to work with other people in some capacity for the rest of your life regardless of how talented you are.
• Be clear about your skills. We all know you can learn as you go along, and too often that is what must happen as new technologies and languages arrive. Hiring managers should understand this. That said, be clear about what you know now versus what you can learn. When I worked at LiveJournal, all the programmers had to learn BML (Brad’s Markup Language - which only existed in Brad Fitzpatrick’s work). Obviously, no one came to the company knowing how to do this (aside from Brad of course) and all of them learned. However, there are always going to be programmers who know Ruby, C+, and all of the main languages better than you. Managers just want to know what they are signing up for in the skills department, so be honest and clear about what you know now and what you would be happy to learn in the future.
• Invest in future employers. You undoubtably will come across social entrepreneurs who are hoping that you can “share their vision.” Sometimes this means working at a discount or being available for questions when otherwise you would not. You shouldn’t do all of their work for free or let them stomp all over you. Make this clear from the start, but also let them know how interested and invested you are in their vision. Try “I {am;am not} really into the goal of {fixing the world;helping the poor;educating children} so I {can help;cannot help}. However I think it would be a good business decision if you hired {me;a specialist;a team} to do x, y, and z.” Knowing your investment level from the start will help them gauge how much they can lean on you when the going gets tough, and will prevent any misunderstandings for both sides.
• Don’t steal ideas. This should be another obvious one, but isn’t. You may have the CS talent to bring an idea to fruition with little help. However, social entrepreneurs likewise have talents that you don’t have, usually business and field-specific ones. They also (hopefully) had legal agreements, copyrights, and precedent over an idea long before they brought you in on a project. It is a much better option for both of you to work together for a common goal than get into messy legal battles later.
• Agree on Baby Steps. Entrepreneurs want a perfect product, and often don’t yet have the backing or technical process-knowledge to make it bulletproof. And you might not be sold on their product or time commitment. A good way to start off is to both agree to a minimum viable product - meaning the smallest commitment you as a programmer can get a way with while still testing some of their business and usability assumptions. It might be as simple as a programming diagram, a series of mobile web pages or a pong-level app (free of fancy graphics or complex engagements).Taking a small first step will help everyone figure out if they work well with one another and how on board everyone is. After that, you can throw in the towel or figure out the next small step.

Just like last time, I’d love to hear from other management / developers about experiences, tips, and frustrations in the comments.

Gabe Scelta is the Innovation Director at Ethicodes and Research Associate at the Ethiopian Global Initiative. A fellow at the Emerge Venture Lab, Gabe’s deep knowledge of the technology industry keeps Ethicodes pushing the frontiers of the fair trade industry. He holds a master’s degree from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University. He lives in New York City.

Related articles

• What is a Social Entrepreneur? (fiwal.org.uk)
• Entrepreneurship and the Social Entrepreneur (ruralstops.blogspot.com)
• Four Business Tips for Social Entrepreneurs (bayintegratedmarketing.wordpress.com)