New York Dreamer

February 4th, 2010.

I was invited to a big award ceremony for the NYC best apps contest at the IAC building on 11th Avenue. About $20,000 cash prizes were given out to NYC app developers and the special award ceremony cocktail party was hosted by Mayor Bloomberg.

This was a finale of the competition that is “a joint initiative of New York City Economic Development Corporation and the New York City Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications.” Contestants were encouraged to “develop innovative software applications that utilize New York City data available on the NYC.gov Data Mine at www.nyc.gov/data.” According to their official website, “the goal of the Competition is twofold: (1) to stimulate the development of applications that improve access to information and government transparency, making it easier and more fun to visit, live and work in the City; and (2) encourage innovation and the creation of new intellectual property with commercial potential by individuals, startups and small businesses and organizations.”

I think this is one of the smartest things New York City has done in terms of utilizing Information Technology and the city’s talents. Finding and developing great mobile applications for the city would be a cost effective and useful way to serve the city, assisting people to get access to the information and the services of the city. I know that this contest award is not going to be the end of this initiative. So NYC and Mayor Bloomberg, Go for it! Please, lead us to the right direction where we need better services and information from the city.

To find more about the winning apps, go to the Official Website: www.nycbigapps.com
(Thanks for the invitation, Dawn!^^)

Mayor Bloomberg with winners

(Photos. Copyrighted 2010 by Unjoo Na)