NYC Archive

Earlier today I posted our weekly job openings from the CN Job Board. There’s been some discussion about a couple of job openings at the NYC MTA (that’s the transit authority) that I thought were worth highlighting. I’d be all over the Sr. Manager role if I wasn’t working at CloudContacts currently.

With the MTA investing heavily in technology and their new commitment to working with web developers, both of these positions should see great visibility — both inside the MTA and within the NYC tech community.

Here are direct links to both positions – sadly the employment section of the MTA site is not easy to link to or browse so use these links to get to the jobs directly.

• Sr. Manager, Internet Communications & Technologies
• Senior Web Developer

Summary of the Sr. Manager position:

This position creates and implements long-term strategy for all internet communications between the MTA and the public as well as within MTA Operating Agencies. Will drive front-end web development while keeping abreast of all new technologies to determine their usefulness and appropriateness in serving both the public users of the MTA website and the MTA itself.

Provides oversight for all MTA internet, intranet, and mobile website initiatives, social media, paid internet advertising, and internal and external email communications, creating and ensuring implementation of standards for information architecture, content and graphic presentation.

Continue reading “Two Great Job Openings at NYC’s Transit Authority” »

I’ve written about NY-based online ordering site GoMobo several times including calling them a product that will change 2008. GoMobo provides a way to place an order using your mobile phone at a number of restaurants and then the food will be ready for you when you arrive. You pay via credit card through GoMobo so there is no financial transaction when you pick up your meal. The best part of GoMobo is avoiding the lines – for example, yesterday here in San Francisco I saw a line 20 deep at the Subway next to the hotel. Had the Subway location been using GoMobo, people could have sent their orders via mobile and not have had to wait on line at the store – their food would have been ready.

Yesterday CEO Noah Glass sent out an email that the company has changed their name to OLO. The GoMobo site will continue as their destination site for people to order food at fast-food establishments and restaurants that are part of the OLO program. Glass noted that there was some confusion regarding their name as mobile ordering is just small fraction of their overall service offering.

Glass also shared some recent stats on the business:

• Doubled users in the last 90 days
• 10x Monthly Transaction Volume in the last 12 months
• $1,000+ in Incremental Daily Sales for our top clients

They have also deployed their online ordering service with burger joint Five Guys across the U.S. I like what OLO offers because they provide real, timesaving benefits and with mobile so hot, they are well positioned to take advantage of the market as more restaurants also want to capitalize on the mobile device growth explosion.

When I attended a hearing at City Hall in NYC last year, the discussion was centered around how the city government can help tech startups grow and prosper in NYC. While I moved my startup out of NYC this summer, it’s still great to see progress on NYC growing as a place for technology. Most of the discussion revolved around creating “incubators” where startups can begin their life and grow until the point when they need their own larger office space.

Today NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s office has announced the upcoming launch of a new incubator in the Bronx located at the BankNote Building at 890 Garrison Avenue. The location appears to be a bit of a walk from the 6 train at Hunts Point Avenue.

Reading the announcement, the incubator feels more like an office sharing than a Y Combinator-style incubator. The space will hold bi-weekly networking events and the city has partnered with Baruch College to provide mentoring and other business support services.

Continue reading “Sunshine Suites Gets NYC Deal To Create Bronx Startup Incubator” »

Many of you know that last month I packed myself and my startup up and moved half-way across the country. I didn’t realize that, using technology, I could basically live as if I was still in NYC.

Naturally I wanted to be able to watch the Yankees no matter where I moved. Because the apartment I selected faces the wrong direction, a satellite dish was out as an option. The MLB packages with Time Warner are quite expensive. Using a daily deal I found on Groupon, I was able to grab 30 days of MLB.tv premium for $5. I am now hooked on this service as it allows me to watch the Yankees games live on my first-ever LCD tv. I can watch the audio and video from Yes Network (the NYC local channel for Yankees games) or I can watch the audio and video from the away team. I can also watch almost all of the other games that are underway around the country. My 30 days are almost up and I am pretty sure I will renew for the balance of the season.

Next up for my period of transition is music – there are several radio stations in NYC I enjoy listening to. The morning shows, the club music, etc. All of the radio stations I like from NYC are available to listen to either via their websites or on iTunes. Listening to these radio stations is as close to being in NYC as is possible. There’s just one issue – whenever the DJ announces the time or weather, I get all messed up since there is a time change (I’ve already contacted the governor to see what we can do about moving the state to Eastern Time). It’s pretty amazing to think that we can listen to radio stations from anywhere and at any time – from down the street to across the country to around the world. Here’s hoping one day we can do the same for television channels.

I haven’t been able to find good NYC pizza here yet although there are many pizzerias that will ship a pie overnight. One local delicatessen offers H&H bagels fresh from NYC – they are flown in every morning.

There is one awesome technology benefit to the move and that’s…living in a city with a Fry’s. If you have never been to Fry’s, you need to take a trip (I don’t care how far you have to drive) as it’s the best store for technology geeks ever. They even have a food court just so you never have to leave!

I am sure over time my need for a connection to NYC may slow down (never for the Yankees or Giants) but it’s great to know that when I need a fix, it’s only a mouse-click away.

We’ve written about coworking many times here at CN and today we are excited to post that the New Work City coworking location in NYC now has a home. The new space will be located at 412 Broadway which is basically next to all of the subways that stop at Canal St. It was just about two years ago we wrote about the first official space for New Work City at 200 Varick Street.

NWC co-founder Tony Bacigalupo has an overview of the steps the team took to find and secure the location along with how the space will be organized. Important dates related to New Work City include:

• August 27 – launch party
• September 1 – official launch of the new New Work City space
• September 10-12 – Startup Weekend will be held in the space

You can pre-pay to secure a space at New Work City. The team has also launched a Kickstarter donation drive – currently at $9,665 of a $15,000 goal with 24 days left.

I wish the entire New Work City team the best of luck with the new space. If I was still located in NYC, I would definitely be there for the big launch.

Back in May we reported from the MTA Unconference regarding MTA Chief Jay Walder’s comments around when cell signals would be available in the subway underground. It looks like major progress has been made towards allowing you to make and receive calls and to play Zynga games on the subway.

NY Daily News transit reporter Pete Donohue reports that the MTA has finally given the go-ahead to Transit Wireless to begin outfitting all 277 underground stations with wireless connections.

The signals will be available on the mezzanines and on the track platforms but will most likely not work in the tunnels between stations. Naturally we will have to wait until the work is completed and live before testing how far into the tunnels the signals will work.

Donohue notes that cell phone carriers (e.g. Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) will pay Transit Wireless to allow customers to use the lines. Transit Wireless will share half of the revenue with the MTA.

So get ready NYC…not only will you be able to hear every possible type of music while waiting to jam your body into a southbound 6, now you will also be able to hear conversations of all types and in all languages.

It sure does appear that tech projects are moving faster than ever since Walder took over as the head of the MTA.

If you are a regular reader of CN, you know I love the concept of QR codes. I think they have huge potential for print marketing and the ability to tie off-line and on-line promotions together like never before. If you are new to the idea of QR codes, check out our QR codes coverage and how the tags are being used in Japan.

Today the media department of the City of New York and NY-based how-to video site Howcast Media are partnering on a promotion to help push the concept of recycling to NY’ers. The promotion will bring QR codes to 2,200 New York City Department of Sanitation trucks. You can see a sample of the QR code on the side of the garbage truck below. So the next time one of the big rigs passes your building, hold your nose, grab your phone (I think the iPhone 4 should work fine for this usage) and scan that QR code.

After you scan the code, you will be taken to a page that features a video about recycling. In the coming weeks the page will be updated with the upcoming Howcast video. The NYC Media group notes that they have already successfully used QR codes in Times Square. Personally I can’t imagine people looking at their garbage trucks long enough to even notice the billboard and then wanting to get close enough to scan the code. But I like the concept and kudos to both groups for pushing the QR code concept.

Now if you want the killer city QR code concept – put the codes on every bus stop in the city. Scan the code with your mobile and receive an instant alert with the time the next bus will show up plus a schedule and map for that bus. The same could work for the subway although there currently is no cell service underground.

Howcast also recently relocated to a new, larger office that also houses a dedicated video studio.