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There is nothing more annoying or frustrating when you are a tourist or behind a tourist using our unbeloved, outdated ticket machines. This mammoth pay station from the 70’s is far from simple, don’t let the 3 “simple” steps fool you. When you have a moment, watch people straining to read the fares, attempting to read the screen or even guess where to start when trying to get a metro pass. This machine is not friendly to small individuals, handicap, or people that speak English as their second or third language.

Unlike DC, today's global cities like Paris, New Dehli, Rome, Tokyo, London, and New York all use touch screen vending machines to purchase metro tickets. This allows the person to push updates easier, target machine issues, accommodate different languages, and provide a familiar use of the digital generation.

Why didn’t we already do this? Instead of rolling out new machines that are up-to-date with the digital era we live in, the DC Metro has been forcing their new technology into a past old broken systems. As a result, you are waiting behind a lost tourist, a local tweeting about a broken machine, or missing your train because you can’t load your card fast enough... It's time to unsuck our ticket vending machine.
Question is.. Who Rides the Metro?

Locals
These are the 658,000 D.C. residents that are using the metro as a way of travel to get around the city. They are constantly reloading their SmartTrip cards since they take the bus as well and more likely to purchase a monthly pass.

Daily Commuters These are the 129,000 commuters that come from the DMV area Monday through Friday. They are using the metro as their primary travel going to and from work. They are reloading their cards with large values in hopes of not needing to reload their cards as frequently. This group of metro riders are interested in monthly passes.


Occasional Riders
This group is a mixture of DMV commuters and visitors that have taken the metro on special occasions. They are not likely to know what the balance is on their card, or placing just enough money needed.

Tourists These are the 20 million domestic and international travelers that come to visit Washington, D.C. each year. These visitors are using the metro for one trip, round trip, one day, or even one week. They care more about where they are going and how much but this is for the short term since they are visiting versus the folks that live in the area.

How Might We:
Create a faster reload time for the daily commuter?
Check your balance quickly with no hassle?
Allow to purchase daily, weekly, and monthly passes?
Make the checkout process quicker?
Able it to translate into different languages?
Help tourist figure out the value they need on their card?
Build a machine that is handicap assessable?
Make the payment process easier to understand?

Seeking inspiration from around the world... any suggestions??? 

 

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Monte Jade DC has recently announced that they have nominated Mobomo’s President, Ken Fang, as their Chairman of the Board. Ken has been on the Monte Jade DC board since 2013.

Ken Fang

“It is indeed a great honor to be nominated to lead this great organization. Over the past few years of involvement with Monte Jade, I have seen incredible relationships grow as business owners connect, students and mentors learn from one another, and professionals network to build bonds with one another. It is a fantastic connection for the Asian community in DC."

Monte Jade is an organization that aids in resources for starting, funding and growing high technology businesses. Their commitment is to assist future entrepreneurs, students, researchers, scientists, scholars and business people to advance their careers in becoming leaders and executives in their organizations or assist those that have interest in becoming entrepreneurs and business owners. They accomplish this through the experience and knowledge our prestigious board and other key members that include C-level executives, managers, and directors leading, operating, and developing some of the most successful science and technology firms in the Greater Washington area.

Ken Fang is the President of Mobomo, primarily overseeing the strategy and operations of the company. He works closely with clients to create mobile solutions to meet their strategic needs, and is adept at developing apps on all major mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and mobile web. In addition to running Mobomo, Ken is the founder and chairman of Altum, Inc., the market leader of enterprise grants management and performance management solutions for federal and philanthropic organizations. Ken has published a number of titles and articles in educational software and advanced computing technology. He holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Computer Science from Pennsylvania State University, an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a certificate in Bioinformatics from Stanford University.

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We were particularly proud to see one of our favorite clients, Peter Dewar, Chief Technology Officer at the District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB), participate in a thought-provoking panel on Wearables and the Internet of Things. The session's description as a “visionary panel” proved to be true, as all of the participants outlined the groundbreaking mobile capabilities they foresaw as feasible within the next five years.

Dan Mintz introduces Peter Dewar and other panelists

Mr. Dewar described his vision for implementing Google Glass in the office, at conferences—even for pension fund participants, staff, and Board members. Taking the idea of “smart rooms” even further, he also described a futuristic conference room, which would be able to set up a meeting’s required media (think dial-ins, projectors, etc.) upon the meeting organizer’s entrance or (biometric) authentication.

We from Mobomo were on the edge of our seats thinking about the possibilities, and excited about building them—especially for our government clients. Congrats to Peter Dewar for a great panel session, and thanks to Tom Suder for hosting yet another fantastic summit. We’re looking forward to next year’s—and to the future of mobile (in the government!).

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Previously, we mentioned that NASA won a Webby, and we were delighted to accompany them to New York City to receive it. With a packed schedule of events, the Webbys pulled out all the stops with a star-studded, wildly entertaining night to remember. Award recipients and attendees were treated to a cocktail hour, followed by a fun, fast-paced ceremony at the famed Cipriani Wall Street.

During a delicious, four-course meal, guests were regaled with a stream of acceptance speeches by all of the winners. All speeches had to be 5 words or less, which left little room for rambling, but lots of room for wit. A crowd favorite? A speech that wisely stated: “As my favorite song says—”

NASA astronaut, Mike Massimino, wasn’t the only powerhouse in the room: guests rubbed elbows with Orange Is The New Black’s Taylor Schilling; Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player; the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled team; De La Soul; the co-founder of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee; and one of Mobomo’s all-time favorites, George Takei (who presented NASA’s award!). And for those who want to know exactly what the Fox says, we can tell you, but we’ll have to charge: he sat right next to us during the ceremony, and as you’d expect, had a lot to say.

After an exciting night, the Webbys closed with one more after-party, where guests celebrated their Internet wins. Congratulations, again NASA! We may be biased, but you were the most stellar winner in the room.

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We love all of our customers, but working with a world-renowned, chocolate company makes everything a little bit sweeter!

While building mobile solutions to help Mars’ global sales teams, we were invited to visit the company’s main North American candy campus. There we took a private, guided tour around, and saw exactly how all that Mars magic is made.

We’ve been on a lot of tours, but none as colorful and sweet! We got to see the magical center of an M+M, giant vats of gooey chocolate, and even some of our favorite candies being made. Willy Wonka himself would have been awed.

We couldn’t be more…satisfied to call Mars one of our clients—and we certainly couldn’t be more full! Thanks for the tour and treats, Mars! We’ll happily come back (and taste test!) any day.

 

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For Mobomo, the media coverage just keeps rolling in. This week, we are honored to be the feature of In The Capital’s latest tech profile!

The DC-based blog interviewed our very own founder, Barg Upender, to discuss our position at the forefront of the Mobile-Federal IT space, exactly what spawned Mobomo, and the various feats we’ve accomplished since our inception not long ago. Additionally, Barg gives some insight into our mobile development model, and what he predicts happening in Federal IT.

Head over to In The Capital for the full article!

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Have a great idea? Do you daydream about founding a startup? Do you have the entrepreneurial spirit but don't know how to kickstart your vision?

Then join us on May 12th at the Artisphere in Arlington, Va for "A Day of Foster.ly" - an engaging event led by DC, Maryland and Virginia entrepreneurs, designed to empower startups, visionaries, innovative students and other aspiring entrepreneurs like yourself with the resources and information needed to get started and to succeed.

The event kicks off with a morning Study Hall session, (Study Hall is a collaborative co-working environment for entrepreneurial-minded people) and follows with an Entrepreneurship Research Expo, informative panels and demos, mentorship sessions with Angel investors and an exciting keynote from Aneesh Chopra, the first Chief Technology Officer for the United States. Finish the night with a seriously good after party in the ballroom featuring live music from Two Car Living Room and FatBackDC DJs Philippe & Steven, and exclusive movie screenings.

For those of you who may be interested in the nuts and bolts of running a web development company you won't want to miss the 4:30 pm panel, "Development & Design" in which Jurgen Altziebler, Managing Director of UX at Intridea, will be discussing tactics and sharing personal stories alongside other local industry-leading moguls like nclud, Sisarina, Viget and Whitmoyer.

Tickets are selling quickly, but there are a limited number still available for A Day of Foster.ly. Register today and set your future as an entrepreneur in motion.

Intridea partnered with Foster.ly this year to help bring events like this to the growing community of entrepreneurs in the DC area. We're excited to be a part of the work that Foster.ly is doing and we're looking forward to talking with many of you about design, development and strategy at A Day of Foster.ly and future Foster.ly events.

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At the beginning of every week, I receive an email with the subject line, "BUILD Update." I open it immediately so I can learn what the teenage entrepreneurs I'm mentoring will be working on next. BUILD (Businesses United in Investing, Lending and Development) is an in-school elective program for 9th- thru 12th-graders. It targets students in under-served communities with the goal of helping them start their own businesses and attend college. It began in California, branched out to D.C. a few years ago, and has plans to keep expanding.

As soon as I read about BUILD this summer, I knew I wanted to get involved. I had a small business when I was a teenager, and at the risk of sounding cliche, it was a really valuable experience for me. I got a permit to set up a booth in an outdoor market near the University of Texas and I sold T-shirts I had decorated and clothes and accessories I had sewn. I didn't make a lot of money, but I did learn a lot, and my venture was markedly more successful than the "selling rocks to the neighbors" and "selling stationery to my mom" startups I headed that crashed when I was 7 and 10, respectively. Some BUILD students' businesses are similar to mine, some different, but all BUILD students receive huge amounts of professional and academic support so they learn they can do anything they put their minds to.

In their first year, BUILD students learn about business, come up with ideas for their own companies, and work in teams to create business plans. As sophomores, they work in the same teams to refine their business plans and present them to a venture capital adviser. If the adviser thinks their plan is solid, the team receives the funding they need to make their idea a reality. During junior year, students continue to operate their businesses, go on college tours, and prepare for the SATs and college applications. As seniors, the students shut down their businesses and focus on applying for scholarships and getting into college. In addition to entrepreneurship and college prep, there is a strong academic component to the program. BUILD students receive tutoring to help them maintain the minimum GPA they need to stay in the program. This minimum GPA rises when students move up a grade, so students must perform at higher levels as they move through high school.

The team I am mentoring consists of two sophomore girls. Talia and Jacqueline (not their real names) are assembling and selling manicure/pedicure kits targeted to teens and pre-teens. They have worked hard this semester to research the products that go into their kit, find the best deals, and create a specific and realistic plan for their business. Their work has begun to pay off, as they recently received funding from their venture capital adviser to put their plan into action. They were able to order the parts for their kit last week, and we are now working on branding and marketing in preparation for their first selling event on December 9th.

It's clear to me from working with my team that starting a business is good for high school students. It builds a lot of self-confidence and helps them learn initiative and skills that will serve them well in the future. If you told some high school sophomores they were about to learn how to calculate gross profit, they might not be very interested. But when you ask, "How much money can you take home after you sell your products this winter?" they're engaged. They immediately start figuring it out because they can see how the question is relevant to them, and they're confident they can find the answer. I hear students arriving at BUILD end cell conversations by saying, "I'll talk to you later, I'm at work." Given a supportive network of adults and peers who take their ideas seriously, students work hard to ensure their businesses will succeed.

Aside from the more specific things they need to know to start a business, like how to calculate profit, something I've seen Talia and Jacqueline learn this year is how to break a big goal down into manageable, actionable steps. When we first started reworking their business plan, I remember asking what their goals for the next couple of weeks were, and they said, "Sell our kits."

"So you have your kits assembled and ready to go?"

"Well, not yet."

"Do you know exactly which materials you're purchasing for the kits?"

"No."

So they researched products and vendors and chose supplies. Once they had done that, they realized the numbers in their business plan were no longer accurate. So they calculated how much each product would cost with sales tax and shipping, how much money they would ask for to get their business started, how much each kit they assembled would cost them, how much similar products sold for, how their kits would be priced, how much profit they would make on each kit, and at what point they would be able to pay the startup money back to their venture capital advisor. Each week, they accomplished smaller goals they needed to reach to get to their big goal of selling their kits.

Although Talia and Jacqueline have done a lot of the hard work already, they are a little nervous about selling their kits for the first time at the BUILD sales bazaar on December 9th. So if you work in D.C., please come do some of your holiday shopping with BUILD businesses, support young entrepreneurs, and pick up a manicure/pedicure kit for the low, low price of $12! The Metro DC Sales Bazaar will be at the Washington DC Economic Partnership (1495 F Street, NW) from 5:30-8:00p.m. on December 9th (closest metro McPherson Square or Metro Center). Please RSVP to BuildMetroDCevents@build.org if you'd like to attend. If you can't make it but are interested in getting involved, please visit BUILD.org. There are many ways in which you can help: mentor a team, be a tutor, be a guest speaker, host an event or business field trip at your office, or make a monetary or in-kind donation.

That's my elevator pitch for Intridea's blog audience. You'll need to come by in person on the 9th to hear which pitch my team is using for pre-holiday sales events!

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This month, I started teaching at the Washington, DC campus of Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Arts.

Specifically, I am introducing aspiring web designers to HTML forms, JavaScript, PHP and MySQL — the technologies that will make their websites do something.

The consequences of techies not understanding design are humorously well-documented.

Less well-known, though, is the equally unfortunate phenomenon of web designers who don't understand the underlying technologies that make websites possible. It may not receive the same mockery, but I know I am not the only engineer who is frustrated when designers hand off a Photoshop file, instead of HTML/CSS.

CDIA believes this sort of cross-training should be part of every designer's education, and I wholeheartedly agree. Here's a partial list of why web designers really should know how to code:

  • Curiosity: The first reason is probably the most obvious — education is, in and of itself, a worthwhile endeavor. Software development requires a certain mindset and will teach you to approach problems from a new angle.
  • Communication: A great deal of the perpetual conflict between designers and developers can be attributed to a communications problem: the two groups often don't "speak the same language." By understanding web technologies, you will be better equipped to understand what your techie colleagues are saying, and more able to communicate your needs to them.
  • Respect: "Wait ... you're a designer, and you know how to hack?" Rest assured that engineers will feel more confident you understand their concerns.
  • Self-Reliance: Often, it's quicker (and cheaper) to do some things yourself. Adding a "contact us" form to your website shouldn't entail hiring a software developer.
  • Career: It's important to differentiate yourself from your peers, especially in a down economy. By being a designer with scripting skills, you will stand out from the rest of the pack.

And, who knows? Maybe one of the students will be inspired enough to change their focus from design to development. (Hey, a man can dream!)

So, when offered the opportunity to teach web designers some client- and server-side scripting, I jumped at it.

And I'm similarly excited for the upcoming training Intridea will offer in 2009. Stay tuned.

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