Pocket
1. a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
2. a supply of money
Puter
Slang for computer.
This website is a resource for people who use a smartphone or tablet as a primary computer, especially if they use it for business purposes.
The project began as Project: Homeless Smartphone. This is a free blogspot site, but the domain name is pocketputer.com. This makes the site easier to share verbally.
The impetus for setting up this site is so I can put a single link on a smart phone or tablet that connects the owner to a compendium of resources and then give the phone or tablet away to someone in need. Having a website for the information means the info can be updated in a way that can benefit anyone who previously received a phone or tablet with the link.
This way the people who might receive a phone or tablet in initial pilot programs are not being left out of anything. As the resource is further developed, they will have access to those new developments, assuming they had any interest in it and checked the site out. This further opens up the possibility of simply directing people to the link who already have a device, greatly broadening the usefulness of the program at no additional cost.
Although the central idea is to find some means to empower homeless people, I did not want the word homeless in the name. One of my criticisms of homeless programs is their design often helps entrench homelessness. I felt that keeping the word homeless out of the name would be an important detail critical to making this a thing that doesn't entrench the problem.
It needs to be particularly helpful to homeless individuals by taking into account their very significant personal constraints, but it also needs to be something that has appeal to a broader audience. If done right, it should be useful to those who have the kinds of problems that put one at risk of homelessness and continue to be useful to those who have gotten off the street.
It should help inoculate people against homelessness while also genuinely being useful to those who are currently homeless. At the same time, it should have no particular stigma attached to it. It shouldn't mark someone as underprivileged. It should be of interest to an even broader audience.
I worked hard to find a term that would cover both phones and tablets. I ultimately settled on Pocket Puter.
Happily, pocket also means a supply of money, which I did not know until I was researching terms and picking the name. A central idea here is that I began making money online while homeless and that helped me eventually get back into housing.
To my mind, making this something that can help homeless people gain access to an earned income is critical. Charity doesn't get you your life back. Sufficient earned income is a vital piece of the puzzle that seems to be frequently overlooked by well-meaning people who frame homeless individuals as simply charity cases and seem to see it as cruel to expect them to work.
When I was homeless, I very much wanted to do paid work. It was endlessly frustrating to me that this was not taken seriously by most people as it was a substantial barrier to my ability to get my life back.
1. a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
2. a supply of money
Puter
Slang for computer.
This website is a resource for people who use a smartphone or tablet as a primary computer, especially if they use it for business purposes.
The project began as Project: Homeless Smartphone. This is a free blogspot site, but the domain name is pocketputer.com. This makes the site easier to share verbally.
The impetus for setting up this site is so I can put a single link on a smart phone or tablet that connects the owner to a compendium of resources and then give the phone or tablet away to someone in need. Having a website for the information means the info can be updated in a way that can benefit anyone who previously received a phone or tablet with the link.
This way the people who might receive a phone or tablet in initial pilot programs are not being left out of anything. As the resource is further developed, they will have access to those new developments, assuming they had any interest in it and checked the site out. This further opens up the possibility of simply directing people to the link who already have a device, greatly broadening the usefulness of the program at no additional cost.
Although the central idea is to find some means to empower homeless people, I did not want the word homeless in the name. One of my criticisms of homeless programs is their design often helps entrench homelessness. I felt that keeping the word homeless out of the name would be an important detail critical to making this a thing that doesn't entrench the problem.
It needs to be particularly helpful to homeless individuals by taking into account their very significant personal constraints, but it also needs to be something that has appeal to a broader audience. If done right, it should be useful to those who have the kinds of problems that put one at risk of homelessness and continue to be useful to those who have gotten off the street.
It should help inoculate people against homelessness while also genuinely being useful to those who are currently homeless. At the same time, it should have no particular stigma attached to it. It shouldn't mark someone as underprivileged. It should be of interest to an even broader audience.
I worked hard to find a term that would cover both phones and tablets. I ultimately settled on Pocket Puter.
Happily, pocket also means a supply of money, which I did not know until I was researching terms and picking the name. A central idea here is that I began making money online while homeless and that helped me eventually get back into housing.
To my mind, making this something that can help homeless people gain access to an earned income is critical. Charity doesn't get you your life back. Sufficient earned income is a vital piece of the puzzle that seems to be frequently overlooked by well-meaning people who frame homeless individuals as simply charity cases and seem to see it as cruel to expect them to work.
When I was homeless, I very much wanted to do paid work. It was endlessly frustrating to me that this was not taken seriously by most people as it was a substantial barrier to my ability to get my life back.
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