Page 1
!!
mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!
!!
Droidettes:**Will*Teens*Drive*Android?*
*
**Are*youth*key*in*the*development*of*Android*applications?***We! already! know! that! youth! were! the! first! to! adopt! and! develop! SMS.! Both!Facebook! and! Napster! were! invented! by! 19! year! olds.! Youth! also! scoped! and!developed! BBM! as! a! usable! service.! Now! brands! like! Google! are! hoping! to!harness!this!creativity!to!youthsource!future!applications.!!Key!Points!
• Youth! are! key!drivers! of! innovation!but! need! companies! to! provide! the!right!tools,!environment!and!platform!to!achieve!their!potential!
• Youth! innovation! is! driven! by! social! rather! than! corporate! need.!Innovation,! therefore,! is!more! attuned! to! the!need!of! the!market! rather!than!the!technology.!
• Companies! can! use! product! development! and! innovation! as! a! key!marketing!tool!to!develop!lines!of!influence.!
* *
Page 2
!!
mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!
!!
Say*hello*to*the*Droidettes*!Article!from!PC!World:!!
In!Google's!New!York!offices,!a!group!of!high!school!girls!are!learning!to!develop!Android!apps!and!start! their!own!businesses! thanks! to! the! first!East! Coast! Technovation! Challenge.! The! 12Qweek! program! pairs! high!school! girls! from! New! York! public! schools! with! volunteer! mentors! to!introduce! them! to! highQtech! entrepreneurship.! Participants! learn! the!basics!of!programming,!design!a!user! interface,!develop!a!prototype!app!and!business!model,!and!cap!it!off!with!a!presentation!to!a!panel!of!judges!and!venture!capitalists.!The!winning!team’s!concept!will!be!developed!by!pros!with! input! from!the!girls!and!released! in! the!Android!Marketplace.!Through! this! process,! the!mentors! are! teaching! the! students! to! become!creators!rather!than!just!consumers!of!technology.!!Though!most! of! the! girls! have! no! prior! experience! with! code,! Google’s!App! Inventor! tool! allows! them! to! make! real! programs! using! a! simple!visual! interface! while! learning! the! basic! concepts! of! programming.!Spanning! from! one! overachieving! 8th! grader! up! to! high! school! seniors,!and! with! notable! ethnic! diversity! among! them! compared! to! the! oftenQhomogeneous!tech!industry,!95%!of!them!are!participating!through!needQbased! scholarships.! Each! group! of! five! girls! is! paired! with! at! least! two!mentors!to!closely!guide!them!through!the!process.!!
What*did*they*produce?*!
Team!Computer!Chicks!said!they!had!decided!on!UpdateMe,!an!RSS!feed!app.!Electric!Hearts!was!discussing!an!“immigrant!app”!to!help!acclimate!new!U.S.!arrivals!to!American!language,!food,!and!culture.!The!Droidettes!had!conceived!of!an!aggregator!for!fashion!designer’s!seasonal!look!books!to!allow!the!user!to!browse!trends.!Finally,!one!of!the!girls!in!Daredevils!passionately! explained! Ecobud,! their! recycling! app,! showing! off! their!paper!prototype!of!a!program!designed!to!help!answer!“what!do!I!do!with!my!trash?”!!!!
Page 3
!!
mobileYouth!–!youth!mobile!culture!since!2001!!http://www.mobileyouth.org!http://www.mobileyouthreport.com!
!!
Top*Down*vs*Bottom*Up*Innovation!*Google’s! Technovation! challenge! is! BottomQUp! Innovation.! Traditional!innovation! based! on! “design! thinking”! or! engaging! create! agencies! focuses! on!topQdown! methodologies! that! push! innovation! onto! the! market.! mobileYouth!believes!future!innovation!will!come!from!the!youth!segment!–!Youthsourcing.!!
Top!Down!vs!Bottom!Up!Innovation!
*Innovation*is*a*function*of*company*culture*not*strategy**Innovation! is! a! social! process! and! real! ideas! come! from! the! grassroots! not!necessarily! from! those! with! innovation! in! their! job! title.! In! the! mobileYouth!report!we! highlight! how! operators! can! source! innovation! from! youth.! Hotlink!Malaysia!Youthsourced!product!ideas!by!coQcreating!with!students.!Not!only!did!it! develop! robust! products! the! product! development! process! itself! became!marketing!leading!to!a!50%!increase!in!market!recommendation!for!their!brand.!
!How!Hotlink!Youthsourced!Innovation!
!
*
Page 5
MOBILEYOUTHyouth marketing mobile culture since 2001
THE MOBILEYOUTH 2013 REPORT
http://www.mobileyouth.org
