The Thesis Journey Begins
The goal is to look back on this post 9 months from now and feel a sense of accomplishment, joy and growth about how far I’ve come as a person and how well my thesis idea developed. As of right now, I feel the complete opposite: a sense of bewilderment, confusion, Alice in wonderland down the rabbit hole of endless possibilities.
The final year of graduate school is centered around thesis. A nine month odyssey in which you take an idea that was once a fever dream through a rigorous process: research, interviewing, ideation, prototyping, validation and defense. The process itself is daunting but starting is an undertaking in and of itself.
Ideas
For the past 5 years I’ve been obsessed with homelessness: working with homeless people, organizations and volunteering. I’ve even went so far as to do a whole kickstarter project around it. Using my learnings as a foundation for thesis only makes sense. Explorations in accessibility for the homeless: this is what I’m aiming to tackle in the coming months. There are a million ways to do this but I’ve come up with a few concepts, some concise and others futuristic and abstract. Each will capture one key area of interest for me.
Areas of Interest
- The homeless experience
- Cashless society
- Donations in AR
- The future of payments/transactions
Concept 1
A blockchain app to donate to the homeless.
A big part of why people don’t donate to the homeless is buyers remorse. They’re unsure of where the money is going and what its being used for, drugs, alcohol etc.
Concept 2
What does the future of donations look like ? What does it look like donating to homeless people in 2050?
Concept 3
What does the future of payments look like ? In a truly cashless society what is the next step after NFC chip payments?
Concept 4
A machine learning algorithm that predicts homelessness. If we could predict homelessness could we be proactive about it? What financial resources could we offer people ahead of time?
Here we go
To say the pressure is on would be an understatement. The first idea pitch is set for October 8th. Less than a month to do some preliminary research and craft a compelling story around an idea worth pursuing. Having concept ideas should feel like a benefit given the short time frame but it feels more like a pigeon hold. It’s better practice to have my research and insights form my solution and design process then just validate my preconceived ideas. I want to make sure I’m building something that there is a market for and solves a problem for a community.
HELP (SERIOUSLY, IM GOING TO NEED IT)
Calling readers from all corners of the universe I need your help. This will probably be one of the hardest things I have ever done.
If you know anyone who works with homeless people, marginalized communities, mobile payments or AR. Broad I know, but my general theme getting financial resources to marginalized communities and using emerging tech as an avenue to do so. Specifically anyone in the payments sector. Any guidance would help.
Cheers.
