Power of the Internet for non Digital Natives

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the internet and smartphones have become indispensable tools for connectivity, information, and daily convenience. However, a significant portion of the global population—specifically, baby boomers in the developing world and digitally underserved individuals—remain on the periphery of this digital revolution.

Baby Boomers in the Developing World

Baby boomers, encompassing the parents and grandparents of our primary audience, represent a generation that is often retired or nearing retirement. While they possess the ability to read and write, they frequently find the internet and smartphones daunting. Their needs typically revolve around staying connected with family, managing their health, accessing entertainment, and simplifying daily tasks.

Digitally Underserved Individuals in the Developing World

This group comprises people who lack formal education and literacy skills but have leapfrogged to smartphone usage. They navigate technology through visuals, voice commands, and intuitive interfaces. Their primary needs include accessing information, enhancing their livelihoods, communicating with others, and obtaining essential services.

Enhancing Lives with Mobile Phones and the Internet

For baby boomers, smartphones and the internet can be tailored to significantly enhance their quality of life. Communication apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger enable them to stay in touch with family and friends through text, voice, and video calls. Health management apps like HealthifyMe and MyFitnessPal help them track health metrics, manage medications, and receive fitness tips. For entertainment, streaming services like YouTube and Netflix offer a vast array of content tailored to their interests. Additionally, simple tutorial apps, such as Duolingo for language learning or YouTube for hobby tutorials, can help them acquire new skills.

For digitally underserved individuals, the focus shifts towards leveraging visual and auditory tools. Visual communication platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, which support voice notes and video messages, facilitate easy interaction. Educational platforms such as Khan Academy, with video-based learning, can provide valuable knowledge without requiring literacy. Marketplaces like OLX or local equivalents allow users to buy and sell goods using pictures and voice descriptions. Furthermore, government or NGO apps that provide services such as healthcare, banking, and legal aid through voice and video support can make a profound difference.

Business Ideas to Leverage the Power of the Internet and Mobile Phones

For Baby Boomers:

1. Virtual Companion Service: This app would offer virtual companionship by combining video calls with interactive activities such as games, storytelling, and guided exercises. It could also feature health monitoring and emergency alert capabilities, providing a sense of security and engagement.

2. Smart Home Integration: Developing a simplified smart home system that integrates with smartphones would enable baby boomers to control lights, security, and appliances with easy-to-use voice commands and large icons, enhancing convenience and safety.

3. Senior Travel Concierge: An app catering to the travel needs of seniors, offering easy booking processes, tailored travel packages, and support services like medical assistance and mobility aids, would enable baby boomers to travel confidently and comfortably.

4. SME Portal: Every one has a skill, some people continue to be subject matter experts at a global level even after retirement. It is a human desire to feel needed and valued. Creating a market place where retired individuals answer questions based on their subject matter expertise is a great way to build global connections and create supplemental incomes using a double sided market place concept.

For Digitally Underserved Individuals:

1. Voice-Activated Marketplaces: This marketplace app would allow users to buy and sell goods using voice commands and image-based listings, making it accessible to those who cannot read or write.

2. Visual and Voice-based Learning Platform: An educational platform using video lessons, voice instructions, and interactive visuals could teach essential skills like farming techniques, artisan crafts, and basic business skills, empowering digitally underserved individuals to improve their livelihoods.

3. Community-Based Services App: Creating an app that connects digitally underserved individuals with local services such as healthcare, legal aid, and micro-financing through simple icons, voice guidance, and community feedback would ensure usability and accessibility, addressing critical needs.

The power of the internet and mobile phones is immense, particularly for non-digital natives like baby boomers and digitally underserved individuals in the developing world. By understanding their unique needs and leveraging simple yet powerful mobile tools, we can create impactful solutions that enhance their lives and open new business opportunities. The ideas presented here are merely the beginning—by thinking creatively, acting empathetically, and harnessing the potential of technology, we can make a significant difference in these communities and unlock a wealth of entrepreneurial potential. In a world dominated by SaaS and AI, there is a huge potential to bring the other billion people online in a way where their immediate needs are served vs trying to just build for the sake of building.

There is an entire generation that has not heard and wont know about Sears. Build with conviction but challenge all assumptions. But every one knows about amazon. Almost every thing new is some thing old. For you to have fantastic outcomes, study business history. Here is the story of Sears.

One man, William Whewell, coined the words “scientist”, “physicist”, “linguistics”, “electrode”, “ion”, “anode”, and “cathode” among others.

Here is more about him https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/whewell/

Public Libraries: The Solopreneur’s Dream Coworking Space

In the world of entrepreneurship, the journey from a nascent idea to a fully-fledged startup often demands considerable resources, time, and a conducive environment. For solopreneurs—individuals who manage their business single-handedly—finding a cost-effective yet productive workspace can be particularly challenging. However, a hidden gem lies within reach: public libraries. These community hubs, traditionally known for lending books, are evolving into vibrant coworking spaces, making them a solopreneur’s dream for building a bootstrapped startup. Here are my thoughts on how public libraries can serve as ideal coworking spaces and promote innovative business ideas.

The Evolution of Public Libraries

Public libraries have long been bastions of knowledge and community engagement. In recent years, many libraries have transformed to meet the needs of a digital age, offering more than just books. They now provide high-speed internet, computer access, meeting rooms, and a quiet, focused atmosphere conducive to work. This evolution positions public libraries as excellent alternatives to conventional coworking spaces, especially for budget-conscious solopreneurs.

Benefits of Using Public Libraries as Coworking Spaces

1. Cost-Effective Workspace

One of the most significant advantages of using public libraries is the cost savings. Most libraries offer free access to their facilities, which include not only seating and workstations but also amenities like Wi-Fi and printing services. For a solopreneur operating on a tight budget, these savings can be redirected into other essential aspects of the business, such as marketing or product development.

2. Access to Resources and Technology

Public libraries are equipped with a wealth of resources that can benefit solopreneurs. From access to a wide range of books and research materials to databases and online journals, libraries provide invaluable information at no cost. Additionally, many libraries offer technology services, including computer access, software tools, and even tech support, which can be crucial for startup operations.

3. Networking Opportunities

Libraries are community centers that attract a diverse group of people, including other entrepreneurs, freelancers, and professionals. This environment can foster networking opportunities and collaborations that might not be possible in isolation. Solopreneurs can connect with like-minded individuals, share ideas, and even find potential partners or clients within the library setting.

4. Professional Development and Learning

Many public libraries host workshops, seminars, and events focused on professional development and skills enhancement. These programs can range from business planning and financial management to coding and digital marketing. Solopreneurs can take advantage of these learning opportunities to gain new skills and knowledge that can drive their startup forward.

5. Quiet and Productive Environment

Libraries are designed to be quiet and distraction-free environments, making them ideal for focused work. Unlike bustling coffee shops or noisy coworking spaces, libraries offer a serene atmosphere where solopreneurs can concentrate on their tasks, brainstorm ideas, and work efficiently without interruptions.

Building a Bootstrapped Startup in a Library

Using public libraries as a base for a bootstrapped startup requires strategic planning and effective utilization of available resources. Here are some innovative ideas to maximize the potential of libraries for startup success:

1. Virtual Team Collaboration

Even if a solopreneur is working alone, they can still collaborate with virtual teams using library resources. High-speed internet and meeting rooms equipped with video conferencing tools enable seamless communication with remote team members, mentors, or clients.

2. Market Research and Validation

Libraries provide access to extensive market research databases and industry reports that can help solopreneurs validate their business ideas. Utilizing these resources can inform product development, marketing strategies, and competitive analysis, ensuring a well-informed approach to building the startup.

3. Community Engagement and Feedback

Engaging with the local community through library events and programs can provide valuable feedback and insights. Solopreneurs can conduct focus groups, surveys, or informal discussions with library patrons to refine their products or services based on real-world input.

4. Skill Development and Training

Taking advantage of library workshops and online courses can help solopreneurs build essential skills needed for their startup. From learning new technologies to improving business acumen, continuous learning is vital for staying competitive and innovative.

5. Leveraging Library Partnerships

Many libraries collaborate with local businesses, universities, and organizations to offer additional resources and support. Solopreneurs can explore these partnerships to access mentorship programs, funding opportunities, and other entrepreneurial support services.

A mobile phone is sold every 57 seconds meaning that there are now more mobile phones on the planet than toothbrushes. We investigated the shameful secrets of the multinationals who produce our mobile phones. They are the big winners of the mobile revolution as their profits explode but what is the human and environmental cost in the production countries of China and the Congo? This documentary brings exclusive footage from inside Chinese factories where scores of children are working long hours under arduous conditions.

The multinationals claim they are doing all they can, but these shocking images say otherwise. In Africa the mines that retrieve minerals essential to components in our smartphones are dangerous and unregulated. Injuries and deaths occur regularly amongst workers just desperate to support their families. Whilst in China the environmental damage has scarred the landscape, emptied a village and possibly caused severe illness among the population. This is an eye opener on our desire for consumption.

By identifying sources where you can learn and earn. Small projects, side hustles and more. Here are the ones I saw this week.

Customizable search input using AI. Wait what?

I have been toying with the idea that the biggest impact AI will have is actually for search. Most websites/lists/content is really hard to search. Every one searches differently for different outcomes.

For instance if you go to realtor.com or zillow.com in the house search market, why should you be using generationally tired search criteria to find a listing?

Let me elaborate. You typically define and lower and upper price limit, input rooms and bathrooms, you select from a check list the area or input it, yet you spend hours cycling through listings. Yet the search criteria is not a sure fire way to get to the end outcome. Imagine if you wanted a house in certain zipcode with 3 full bathrooms vs one powder room and wanted exactly 4 bedrooms not 3+ or 4+ and you wanted a fireplace on the first floor vs the basement. Would it not be easier to have free from AI supported search? This is just one industry. Any other consumer industry that has oodles of data where their sales depend on searching, selecting and filtering would do tremendously well to present results that the user actually wanted or needed vs limiting their ability using standardized search inputs.

Any one who can build to solve for this, will unlock what agencies are to paid advertisements, the go to people for providing support to unlock a new breed of buyer who has high intent to purchase and higher intent to do it now.

Bonus! Thought of the week

An Easy Button for Bank Statements..(Think IFTTT)

What is IFTTT?

If this then that (IFTTT) is a tool that allows you to automate tasks between different apps and devices without any coding knowledge..

Easy Button what?

Every one gets bank statements. Some banking apps split the charges by type, industry and other identifiers. But every ones needs are different. Imagine if im a family of 5 and my Bank is linked to

1)Phone payments for 2 members

2)Gym membership for 3 members

3)Allowance auto deposit for 2 members

4)Multiple Linked ATM/Debit cards

Why does my banking app not allow me to:?

1)Customize Alerts based on conditions I/the user set at intervals I choose

2)Setup conditions where I mark and track certain charges for certain family members

3)Get monthly reports on spend tagged by type of charges I define or geographies or thresholds

4)Set limits on spend throughput by transaction, medium or person

For so many companies and banks wanting to play in the fintech space, why is there no easy button to automate my spending and savings? Empowered customers need self help tools to enhance their outcomes. Instead of over engineering what each customer wants, give them a blank canvas to manage their own outcomes. Better tools are better for business as well. I feel the first bank/card/fintech that follows this mechanism will hit it out of the park.