2008-01-03-random-idea-cellphone-booth.html

---
layout: post
title: "Random Idea: Cellphone Booth"
permalink: random-idea-cellphone-booth.html
categories: [ideas, random, openspace, office, phonebooth, business]
---

<p>My first startup's offices were in a classic Chicago loft with
minimal build-out, and by minimal I mean that no wall went more than
half-way to the fifteen-foot ceilings.  It was a great arrangement in
many ways (see, e.g., Dick Costolo on the <a
href="http://www.burningdoor.com/askthewizard/2007/09/no_offices.html">subject</a>),
but it was challenging in situations where privacy was necessary, like
hiring or compensation discussions, sales calls (when you don't
necessarily want your potential customer listening to a heated
foosball match), or Board business.  There have been many times
when I needed or wanted to take a private call while in a public space
or on-site visiting a customer.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/p-r-b/17111357/"
title="Cellular Phone Booth by prb, on Flickr"><img style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;"
src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/14/17111357_612d9e849f_t.jpg"
width="82" height="100" alt="Cellular Phone Booth" /></a> And this
brings me to the idea of a cellphone booth.  Why not have low-tech (in
fact, <em>no</em>-tech) booths for cellphone users that can be dropped
into airports, building lobbies, cafes, and offices like a
"portapotty" on a construction site?  It probably isn't that expensive
to construct a booth (plywood, some acoustical foam), and the obvious
twist is to brand it and place print advertising on the inside and
outside to create a revenue stream.  I can't claim that the idea is
original, as I used a cellphone booth in the United lounge in
Copenhagen once upon a time, but I haven't seen one anywhere else.
(Also, a <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_of_Silence">similar idea</a>
was suggested back in the 1960s...)</p>