Fancy parking meter. (Photo: Flickr)

Be gone, parking meter anxiety!  Today Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled  a new app that lets users refill their meters remotely, thus eliminating the debilitating mental condition of worrying when the parking meter maid is going to strike next.

The free pilot program is currently being tested on nearly 300 meters in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, according to a press release from the Mayor’s office. The New York Post notes that the initiative was announced in 2009 but is now finally being deployed.

Drivers will have to register on PayByPhone’s website with their licence plate number and credit card information before they can use the app. The “technology,” as the release states, will even alert users via email or text messages when their time is about to expire, as well as show where open parking spots might be. So servicey.

Mayor Bloomberg said in the release the app is the latest example of bringing "parking and driving in New York City into the 21st century." Just wait until he hears about driverless cars.

(Photo: Celebrity Net Worth)

Mayor Bloomberg has his own geek squad of statisticians who are using sexy, sexy big data to make the city better. [New York Times]

Zuck's political ambitions continue to grow with the news that he will join a superpac with techies and Republican strategists that will focus on issues like immigration and education reform. Psst Zuck, if you're gonna target Congress, you might have to start wearing an actual suit. :( [AllThingsD]

Lawmakers are already trying to ban Google Glass while driving. One step at a time, everyone. [CNET]

Hey all you people who care about privacy: look what you did to Google Reader! [AllThingsD]

The Winklevii are back, and they have a nicer Silicon Alley office than you. [New York Times]

As far as technophiles seeking political office go, Jack Dorsey is taking the opposite approach from Sheryl Sandberg.

Ms. Sandberg's new book may read like the source material for a campaign platform, but on a recent 60 Minutes appearance, she evaded questions about leaning in to the White House. Mr. Dorsey, on the other hand, is once again boldly pointing to his desired political office (Mayor of New York City), just not, you know, when he's running or what exactly he'd do when he got here--besides marvel at our transportation system, of course.

Last night, the Twitter and Square cofounder also took the hot seat on 60 Minutes. Actually, the temperature was rather warm and welcoming. The CBS crew seemed smitten with the man "many people" call "the intellectual successor" to Steve Jobs and his shy, contemplative ways. Indeed, it was hard not to read a note of admiration as Lara Logan asked about his inability to communicate, as is befitting the new mode of deference to our nerd-boy-kings, who are somehow still able to snag model girlfriends and charm celebrities.

The segment was also bookended with mentions of Mr. Dorsey's vague mayoral campaign. As Ms. Logan intoned:

"Square is still a startup, but we were surprised to learn that Jack Dorsey already has his eye on the next job he wants, Mayor of New York City--an unlikely role for a man who calls himself a loner and spends a lot of time dreaming and thinking."

The daydream believer revisits that ambition as he and Ms. Logan are filmed riding around the subway. Here's their exchange from the middle of the Times Square station:

Dorsey: What I love about New York is just the electricity I feel right away. Just look at us in this station, there's just people walking everywhere--

Logan: Chaos.

Dorsey: It's chaos. It's kind of like being in a car in the middle of a thunderstorm. Everything is raging around you but you're safe inside that car. So New York feels very much to me like that.

Yeah, "safe" isn't the first word most New Yorkers would use to describe life in the city?

That segues into a photo of Mr. Dorsey and Mayor Bloomberg. "Jack Dorsey knows it helps to be a billionaire if you run for mayor in New York," according to Ms. Logan's voiceover. In fact, as David Kirkpatrick noted in 2011, Mr. Bloomberg explicitly advised Mr. Dorsey to "make a lot of money first."

At that point, Ms. Logan swings it back his comfort level with face-to-face communication with voters. Mr. Dorsey looks down as he responds:

"I guess my natural state would be through mediation of letters or through text, all those mediums I definitely find ease with. But do I appreciate it as much as face to face communication? No. Do I feel like I'm an expert at having a normal conversation, face to face? Absolutely not. That's just not my natural state. I would rather be walking in Land's End [across from the Golden Gate bridge] and thinking about things."

Sounds more like he's running for successor to Steve Jobs than mayor.

During the Q&A period, Dawn Barber, cofounder of the New York Tech Meetup, asked Mr. Schumer what he thought of the role of the technology community would play in the city's future.

The topic has been received with considerable skepticism recently, particularly after Mayor Bloomberg waved his pom-poms at a press conference yesterday trying to lure more startups to New York.

The event--hosted at Buzzfeed's perky Flatiron headquarters--was light on actual news. Mr. Bloomberg officially announced the "Made in NY" label invented for the entertainment industry could now be applied to tech companies. While he was it, he also launched an online hub, We Are Made In NY. The site builds on the pre-existing Made in NY map, which let's tech-happy workers search for which startups are hiring or where to find investors. It also provides links to apply for resources subsidized office space or broadband connectivity.

However, as Kevin Roose noted over at Daily Intel, in order to qualify for that "Made in NY" sticker, companies have to have 75 percent of their technology development based in New York City. That eliminates major employers like Facebook and Google, who can make a bigger impact on the jobs market. Those types of companies are motivated more by "talent arbitrage"--luring engineers from other strong sectors (hi, Wall Street!) who might be open to taking tech jobs if they don't have to leave New York.

Thus Bloomie's brand of PR push doesn't work on them, Mr. Roose argued:

" . . . they're incentivized when they want to reduce their tax burdens, when they want to open a new market, or when they can get something in a satellite location that they can't get at home. Mayor Bloomberg isn't proposing any new tax breaks for start-ups, but he could convince West Coast–based computing giants like Apple, Microsoft, or Genentech to expand their New York presence by pointing out the vast engineering talent that exists here and can't be moved. That alone would create more New York jobs than convincing a hundred small start-ups to set up shop."

What's more, as The Awl's Choire Sicha pointed out today, the nebulous resources highlighted on the We Are Made In NY page won't necessarily move the needle for smaller startups either.

This morning's breakfast offered Mr. Schumer an opportunity to respond to some of those concerns, albeit indirectly. He mentioned his proposed immigration bill, which allows STEM (science technology engineering and math) graduates to "get a green card attached to your diploma," as a way to attract technical talent to New York, "because we’re the most hospitable place for immigrants anywhere in the nation."

"I’m a competitive New Yorker, so I like to see us do better than everybody else," he said. Mr. Schumer predicted the tech sector would be "one of our great futures," noting venture capital reports that show New York as second only to Silicon Valley in venture funding and a bigger percentage of growth in funding here.

This time around, he added, the promise is "not illusory the way it was in 2000." By way of proof, he offered the following anecdote:

"It's much stronger and deeper. I talk to experts in California. Eric Schmidt, the head of Google, told me that he gets more productivity per worker out of the 3,000 Google workers here--per person, per dollar--than out of the 13,000 people in Mountain View in their headquarters."

Huh, wonder what they're putting in the food trucks at Googleplex East?

Mr. Schumer didn't offer any further explanation, so it's impossible to say whether that enhanced productivity-per-dollar is because GOOG found a way to marshall New York neuroses or just because engineers in the Valley are paid a prettier penny. But that certainly sounds like the kind of stat that might interest Facebook and Twitter.

If City Hall does decide to start publicly courting the big boys, it might want to tread lightly. There's such a thing as being too welcoming.

Bon voyage and happy trails. (Photo: Screencap)

Today Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered his final State of the City address. Amid wisecracks about the Knowles-Carter family (you might know Barclays Center part owner Shawn Carter "by what he's been called since the Super Bowl: Beyoncé's husband"), Hizzoner had plenty to say about the city's tech sector. Hey, he can't let President Obama totally blow up his spot.

Below, a few of the big shout-outs:

King of Numbers, Defender of the Data

It's finally happened: New York City has merged wholly with Startupland. The evidence? In his speech, Mayor Bloomberg announced that our fair metropolis (which already has a Chief Digital Officer, Ms. Rachel Haot) will now have a Chief Analytics Officer, as well:

Using data to tackle problems has helped us to improve services across city government. This year, the data analytics team we created at City Hall will launch a new platform that will improve the way all agencies share information. To lead this effort, I'll appoint the city's first ever Chief Analytics Officer, Michael Flowers. And he'll make as much of this data as possible public, so that the tech community can hold us accountable.

Please, please tell us we're all getting real-time, MTA-wide countdown clocks on our phones sometime before the 2nd Avenue Subway opens.

E-National Guard 

All that community spirit that flowered in the wake of Hurricane Sandy finally has an outlet:

We'll also ask the tech community to join us in tackling data projects that can improve public services, by creating something we call Code Corps.

More details here; founding partners include familiar names like 10Gen, Etsy, General Assembly, New York Tech Meetup, Seamless and...Rent the Runway?

FREE WI-FI! 

There's no date you can put on your calendar just yet, but there's at least some signs of life:

"And to further expand New York's role as a global tech hub, we'll launch a competition to install Wi-Fi in more of our Business Improvement Districts.

Until then, we'll always have Chelsea.

School Days, Fool Days

It won't solve anyone's immediate tech talent supply problems, but it ought to make parents worrying about high schools feel a little better: The city will be opening a second Academy for Software Engineering, and "with private support" 20 more schools will be getting comp sci classes, as well.

Mayor Bloomberg also highlighted the idea of private-public partnerships in education that got love in the President's SOTU earlier this week:

To prepare our students for success, we'll also create new schools that connect students directly to college and work. In his State of the Union address, President Obama highlighted our partnership with IBM and CUNY to create a high school that includes two years of college which we call grades 13 and 14. When students graduate, they receive an associate's degree — and an interview at IBM.

Don't give up hope if your senior prom is long behind you, either:

Today, I've directed Deputy Mayor Bob Steel and Small Business Services Commissioner Rob Walsh to work with the tech industry, universities, and the nonprofit sector to develop an intensive computer science training program for our adults who want to learn IT skills. And why not do it right here in Downtown Brooklyn? There are now 500 tech companies just between here and the NAVY Yard. We'll work to connect more New Yorkers to the jobs they're creating.

More Converted Industrial Space

Tired of searching in vain for new office space? We hear Brooklyn's nice:

We'll move forward with a plan to turn the old Domino Sugar Plant into new housing and we'll create the commercial space that Brooklyn's growing tech community needs.

At the Brooklyn Navy Yard, we'll work with the State to help Steiner Studios begin creating a 50-acre new media campus. The campus will eventually provide 2,500 good jobs in film, television and tech — two of the fastest-growing industries in our city.

Here Come the Electric Cars

Hey, technology isn’t just consumer Internet and 3-D printing:

We'll make New York City a national leader in another new technology: electric vehicles. This year we'll pilot curbside vehicle chargers that will allow drivers to fill up their battery in as little as 30 minutes as opposed to the normal 8 hours.

"We'll work with the City Council to amend the Building Code so that up to 20 percent of all new public parking spaces in private developments will be wired and ready for electric vehicles, creating up to 10,000 parking spots for electric vehicles over the next seven years.

Good news for New York's ailing media industry. Think of all the pageviews when the fights break out over mileage and how long it takes to really charge these cars!

Except to see more of this. (Photo: Guest of a Guest)

It's never too early to start speculating about the next election cycle. So we're calling it, less than a month into the new year: 2013 will be New York tech’s debut as a political force.

Tech moguls and politicians have always been willing bedfellows, of course. Last year, technophiles in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area outpaced "Hollywood celebrities and Wall Street moguls" in funding President Obama's reelection campaign, according to a report from MapLight.com. On the other side of the aisle--like far, far to the right--Facebook investor Peter Thiel "almost single-handedly" funded Ron Paul's super PAC. After his fringe candidate dropped out of the race, Mr. Thiel donated $1 million to Club for Growth Action, a Tea Party super PAC.

Locally, however, New York's tech set has been able to rely on the Bloomberg administration asking for their two cents on what might benefit the community. Cornell-Technion's applied sciences campus and the software engineering high school, for example, were responses to founders and investors bemoaning the talent crunch for engineers.

The dialogue was mutually beneficial. After Wall Street's collapse, New York City Economic Development Corporation president Seth Pinsky kicked off a number of initiatives, like funding General Assembly's urban campus and launching app competitions, in the hopes that a robust startup sector would mitigate losses in the financial industry.

But with the countdown clock ticking on Mr. Bloomberg's third term and the success of defeating SOPA/PIPA, New York's techies are taking a more proactive role in making sure City Hall is invested in their success.

This week, the New York Tech Meetup announced plans to host a series of candidate forums in advance of upcoming citywide elections. Leaders of the 30,000-member group are also soliciting input on seven proposals under the banner “Help Us Make NYC the Best City for Tech in the World!" The slate includes creating a deputy mayor for technology innovation and providing New Yorkers with the fastest broadband at the lowest possible price.

Local entrepreneurs and investors are also voting with their wallet, a pattern the Wall Street Journal says is "likely to continue as the campaign season heats up":

Kevin Ryan, chief executive of online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe, contributed $1,000 to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a Democrat expected to vie for mayor, and gave the same amount to state Sen. Daniel Squadron and Reshma Saujani, two Democrats preparing to run for public advocate. Andrew Rasiej, chairman of New York Tech Meetup, gave $100 to mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio. Fred Wilson, of Manhattan-based Union Square Ventures, has contributed the maximum of $4,950 to Mr. Squadron and Ms. Saujani.

As Crain's later reported, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss--who have been hosting political fundraisers at the Hollywood mansion financed by their Facebook settlement--each donated $4,950 to Mr. Squadron's campaign as well.

In fact, the race for public advocate between Ms. Saujani, Mr. Squadron, and Letitia James--all Democrats--is an early sign of the tech sector's eagerness to flex its newfound political clout. Mr. Squadron has been involved in tech initiatives like successfully advocating for an applied sciences campus in Brooklyn. But Ms. Saujani, a former hedge fund lawyer, has cultivated more visible ties to the tech world.

Last year, she founded the very well-regarded non-profit Girls Who Code, which secured backing from Twitter, eBay and Google to educate and encourage teenage girls toward careers in technology and engineering. At private fundraising events, Ms. Saujani has advocated for bringing the same energy and job opportunities in the Flatiron's tech enclave to the outer-boroughs. She recruited Uber to sponsor transportation for volunteers to Far Rockaway after Hurricane Sandy. Her husband, Nihal Mehta, is the founder of the successful advertising startup LocalResponse.

Indeed, while The Village Voice estimated that 40 percent of donations for her 2010 Congressional campaign came from Wall Street big wigs--in addition to high-profile support from Jack Dorsey, Chris Hughes, and Randi Zuckerberg--Ms. Saujani's campaign for public advocate has greatly benefitted from advocates in New York tech, beyond just the Fred Wilsons and Kevin Ryans. No surprise considering she was the first candidate, back in 2010, to accept donations using Square.

According to the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Ms. Saujani has raised $759,711 to Mr. Squadron's $820,008. But Ms. Saujani got a last-minute boost from techies, using the mediums they love best: 150 of her donations were made in the final hours via Twitter and Facebook. Mr. Mehta galvanized last minute social media efforts while he was at Summit Series' mountain in Utah. Gary Vaynerchuk, Adam Braun from Pencils of Promise and Scooter Braun Project CMO Brad Haugen, who has nearly 60,000 Twitter followers, tweeted out their donations, encouraging others to join.

That's in addition to support and fundraising efforts from Gotham Gal and angel investor Joanne Wilson, who donated $4950, as well as Google's community affairs manager Alex Abelin. Last Spring, Gilt Group's Alexis Maybank also headlined an event for her campaign.

"I think with a new mayor there's an awareness in the tech industry that things could change in the relationships between city government and the community--whether it's getting RFPs for incubators or partnering on the academies," Ms. Saujani told Betabeat. It was a morning after the Presidential Inauguration and Ms. Saujani, a former bundler for President Obama, had been in D.C. for the inaugural ball, followed by a party hosted by Electronic Arts. "The change presents a real opportunity for people in the tech sector to be active in the 2013 elections, like we're seeing with New York Tech Meetup and with supporters of my Public Advocate campaign," she continued. "So there's a lot of excitement too."

The startup sector likes to present itself as a positive force for world change. But with more political lobbying, is there a danger, we asked Ms. Saujani, of the tech sphere seeming more like a special interest? "The conversation about innovation in New York City is not just happening in the tech community in Manhattan--it's happening in all five boroughs. Elected officials citywide are interested in bringing more 21st century jobs to their communities, and that means partnering with tech."

Those divergent conversations are part of the reason tech voters are unlikely to present a unified bloc. As Anil Dash told the Journal: "It's venture capitalists and 23-year-old graphic designers in Bushwick. It's labor and management. It's not traditional allies."

Do a little celebratory dance.

Give it up for GOOG, boys and girls: Later this morning, the search behemoth is expected to announce an initiative to blanket southwest Chelsea with free Wifi. That'll mean easier access to the Internet for not just Chelsea Market shoppers and Google employees, but also residents of the NYCHA-run Fulton Houses and several local public schools.

Nice to see someone getting after that digital divide.

The program will be announced in a press conference scheduled for 10:30, and it looks to be a splashy one. We know Mayor Bloomberg will be attending, and TechCrunch reports that Google CTO Ben Fried and Senator Charles Schumer will both be there, as well.

This will be the largest Wifi network in the city, and TechCrunch says it'll stretch from Gansevoort to 19th Streets and from 8th Avenue to the West Side Highway. Okay, so maybe not quite the have-nots.

Google's New York outpost is, of course, located in the neighborhood, and we can think of few better ways to make nice with the neighbors than opening up your Wifi network. It's also worth mentioning that Google's Alex Abelin sits on the Board of Directors of the Chelsea Improvement Company, the company's partner in the program.

Despite the universal fondness for such an amenity, we can't help but be a bit disappointed--because there was some talk that this might be an announcement about Google Fiber. The theory wasn't totally out of left field: Business Insider reports that the company recently posted a job listing for a Google Fiber sales rep based in New York City.

Dare to dream!

Updated: It's quite clear that everyone involved in this initiative wants the populist story front-and-center. We arrived at the presser to discover that it was not at Google's Chelsea outpost, as we had expected, but rather in the back garden of the Fulton Houses' senior center, NYCHA-style towers looming on either side. The facility will be the only part of the network specifically meant to reach indoors.

Google CIO Brian Fried stepped up to the mic and boiled it down: "The bottom line is all you need is a laptop or smartphone or other wireless-enabled device and a web browser to get online."

"I think we all know that the Internet has the power to connect not just the people around the world but also bring together diverse communities like this one in Chelsea," he added, before ceding the floor to the politicians.

We heard Senator Charles Schumer before we saw him: "Nice to see you folks; looks like all of Chelsea is here," he chattered with that trademark grin. Mayor Bloomberg follows silently behind, with his typical all-business aura. At the sight of his stern face, an elderly woman saucily called out from the back, "Good morning, Mr. Mayor!"

On the scene.

"I just want to say, these are my talking points," said Senator Schumer, adding, "Guess what? I got them courtesy of the new Internet Wifi." He proceeded to kvetch for a couple of moments about the price of Wifi in places like planes, before noting that the total cost of installation was so low that "the mayor and I are talking maybe we can do this for the whole city."

Before you get too excited, Mayor Bloomberg didn't seem to bite. He followed the senator and, after informing Mr. Fried that having merely the second-largest Google office didn't sit too well with him, he added regarding the idea of citywide free Wifi "The Senator is going to provide the federal monies, I'm sure, so that the Wifi is free. Keep in mind somebody's got to pay for the Wifi."

It was a little like watching two roosters warily circle each other in a barnyard, ya'll.

After that the politicos ditched, but Mr. Fried stuck around long enough for a brief Q&A. He explained a bit about Google's motives in partnering with the Chelsea Improvement Company for such a big network: "We're citizens of this community and this district, and it's important to us as citizens to contribute back to the district, and I think this is a way we can do it that resonates with us."

We're sure the fact that Google's business benefits from having literally everyone on the Internet doesn't influence their thinking at all, no way.

(Photo: flickr.com/leweb3)

Congrats to Napster cofounder and former Facebook president Sean Parker, who is now a proud papa. Earlier this week he and his fiancee welcomed a little girl named Winter Victoria Parker into the world. [US Weekly]

Google's having a press conference with Mayor Bloomberg today--so of course everyone wants to know whether we'll be getting Google Fiber. (Pretty please!) And the company is hiring a New York sales rep. [Business Insider]

Eric Schmidt isn't the only Silicon Valley denizen venturing abroad this week. Apple CEO Tim Cook is currently ambling across China, meeting with the U.S. ambassador and other high-and-mighties. [TNW]

Several companies, including Logitech, have teamed up to create an "Internet of Things Consortium." Righto. [TechCrunch]

Do you share a Netflix account with five other family members? Soon you'll all be able to have your very own personalized profile--and here's what it might look like. [GigaOm]

Myspace Tom went to Hawaii; ain't you jealous? [Daily Dot]

via cards.codecademy.com

Codecademy managed to win the holiday news cycle last year with its Code Year pledge that even got Mayor Bloomberg to learn to code in 2012--or at least tweet his New Year's resolution. It was hard to miss the headlines crowing about coding as the lingua franca of the 21st century. But despite the best intentions, some of us fell off the wagon, hard.

However, the well-funded New York City startup just launched a more lightweight plan to make learning to code seasonal: a Code Cards site that lets anyone build holiday cards with HTML/CSS or through a drag-and-drop interface. Cards can be remixed and shared with friends, cofounder Zach Sims told Betabeat, calling it "a continuation of our philosophy that people learn best by doing and creating."

Building the cards gives users "the opportunity to make something, see the code change in real time, and understand what drives websites," he added.

As for last winter's ambitious Code Year pledge, Mr. Sims declined to disclose numbers, "beyond the fact that we have millions of users." But he did point us to a collection of stories from "people who have made it through Code Year and done really awesome things."

The "vast majority" of Codecademy's users are not from Code Year, he noted, "and are definitely from outside the tech scene." For instance, more than 50 percent of its user base is outside the United States and includes both school systems , like the after-school programs listed here, and governments.

Retention and growth are always top of mind, said Mr. Sims. To boost the former, Codecademy has been focused on quality. "Beta testers help to edit courses, and we've monitored courses with bad quality to get them fixed," he said. "Beyond that, we've launched courses in new languages and added other features to help people stick with it (including better email reminders)."

Now it's just up to users to resolve not to ignore them.

UPDATE: Union Squares Ventures' Andy Weissman shows you how Code Cards are done--with a little help from Abbie Hoffman, of course.

Mayor Bloomberg and Jack Dorsey during Square's short-lived pilot program.

This morning, on his weekly Friday radio show with John Gambling, Mayor Bloomberg discussed the Taxi and Limousine Commission's vote in favor of a year-long pilot program to test out e-hailing apps, which let riders flag down a cab with their smartphone.

As we noted yesterday, the pilot was a last-minute compromise when it seemed like lobbying from black car and livery car incumbents would prohibit the passage of permanent rules to open up the taxi market to any app with a license. (Black cars and liveries worry that the ability to "pre-arrange" taxi rides with an an app will hurt their business.)  

In his remarks this morning, Mayor Bloomberg mused on some potential pitfalls of incorporating the apps into the taxi hailing experience:

"The mobile phone knows where you are, so in theory you hit a button and any taxi driver that’s on the same app on his mobile phone or her mobile phone can hit a button and say, 'I’m going to come.' What happens if two guys hit a button at the same time? What happens if you hit the button, a guy says he’s coming, and in the meantime some cab pulls up empty--somebody’s getting out? Do you hop in? And what do you do with the first cab guy? Whose obligations are what?"

Overall, however, he advocated for a free market approach, echoing statements made by TLC chairman David Yassky in our interview earlier this week.

"Everyone’s different, I have absolutely no idea which one is better. My sense is always that you should have more than one so the public has a choice and let the marketplace decide."

But things really started to heat up when Mr. Gambling guessed that cab companies and drivers would be into this sort of innovation. Mr. Bloomberg reiterated the example of adding credit card payment options, which came up repeatedly during negotiations as an example of unfounded fears of incorporating new technology.

"Uh. There is a group of cab owners that are opposed to anything, but yeah most cab drivers should like this. They didn’t like credit card use and now they’ll all tell you their tips are up dramatically."

Somehow that segued into a diatribe on corruption in the taxi industry!

"The cab industry is a funny industry. I don’t know if there’s any other place in the world where the city gives a license and the people that have that license can then trade it and resell it and the city doesn’t have any interest and any ability to share in the value going up. And the politics, because they support candidates--a normal market would just say: Well, we’ll just issue more taxi licenses. Wrong! Because they have bought the legislatures and stopped the ability to do that. It is one of the great rip-offs of the public any place I’ve ever seen."

Mr. Bloomberg's agenda for 2013 might be to disrupt medallions, but the rest of us are more concerned about the MTA.