You Decide: "Homeless Hotspots"

The world wide web is buzzing around the topic of "homeless hotspots", a resource and campaign that was strategically placed throughout the streets of downtown Austin for SXSW this past weekend. A “charitable experiment” called Homeless Hotspots was founded by BBH, a New York ad agency with the help of Front Steps, an Austin homeless shelter in order to satisfy the network hungry needs of attendees and in parallel, provide a job for the homeless. Residents from the shelter wore a shirt that stated, "Hi, my name is [Bobby], a 4G hotspot" with information below on how to join that particular hotspot.  It was a set your own price payment for customers with a recommended charge of $2 for every 15 minutes of use. All revenue went directly to the homeless person at that particular location.

Brilliant? Exploitative? All in the name of marketing? Serves purpose despite motives? We encourage you to read/watch the following resources and let us know what you think in the comments!

Homeless Hotspots: the best, worst, smartest, dumbest part of SXSW 

"But the marketing gimmick itself requires something else: recognition of another human being, one who is suffering. Whereas plenty of people seemed to think that was dehumanizing, it’s actually kind of the opposite: it’s literally humanizing. Thinking about and looking at the homeless is hard."

"The reality is that the homeless make us uncomfortable; so much so that it is simply easier to ignore them, to look away, or to cross to the other side of the street."

"But I don’t want to feel bad, or to think about their lives: I’d rather give them all of the money in my wallet than have a conversation with them because humanizing a person makes them hard to ignore, to walk away from. That is part of what I think is at the center of the outpouring of negative feelings about this marketing stunt."

The Damning Backstory Behind ‘Homeless Hotspots’ at SXSW 

"What BBH Labs did with Homeless Hotspots is a harmless and fun idea that provides a positive interaction between homeless people and the rest of you. Plus, our homeless friends made a few bucks. And even more important – they were given self-worth. Unless you were on the streets you have no idea how low ones self-esteem gets. The number one thing you can give another person is your attention and the Homeless Hotspot vendors at SXSW got lots of that. Every one I met was smiling ear to ear."

If you feel like reading one more, this article does a nice job - Homeless Hotspots: Controversy at 4G Speeds

Note: you may have seen the We Are Visible link in the article above. For those that have seen firsthand the needs of the homeless, a site such as this is a needed resource for the homeless. A future blog post will discuss the opportunities email, social media, and other internet resources provide for the homeless. 

So what do you think? Is this a move for the betterment of the homeless or rather exploitation of an already misconceived, degraded part of society? Let us know.