Evo Terra's Blog, page 9
February 10, 2014
RelayRides Review
With Mom in town through the weekend, we needed something more than our little two...
RelayRides Review
With Mom in town through the weekend, we needed something more than our little two-seater MINI. Never to miss a chance to explore disruptive services, I gave RelayRides a shot as a car rental service.
tl;dr version: You get what you pay for.
On the plus side, it was super economical. Kayak said the cheapest car I could rent would run me $138 for Friday through Monday. With RelayRides, I spent half that.
Then again, I rented a nine-year-old dusty and squeaky Dodge Neon. Sure, I could have spent more, but wanted to see what the low end of the spectrum looks like. The answer? Pretty low.
The app was hit or miss. It's great to see all the cars available and how far away they are from your current location. But the filter was buggy, and didn't remember my start/end time when I went to book the reservation.
There's also a data integrity issue, as my first two attempts to rent were rejected by the owners. In both cases, the car wasn't really available during the times I wanted it. I'd blame the app, but it's likely just a problem with lazy owners not keeping their listing current.
Like with Uber, the transaction itself is super easy -- once you're in and verified. I met the owner at his house, showed him my ID, checked out the car, wrote down the mileage and gas level, and was off in under five minutes. And the return was even quicker.
Unlike Uber, I don't have a way to give feedback on the car and owner. I'd give him full marks, but I'd ding the car just for the cleanliness factor. It was by no means filthy, just rather dusty inside. They need a feedback mechanism that goes both ways.
I think I'll use the service again, but I don't think I'll play in the low-end of the pool. There are lots of better cars to choose from. Next time, I'll fire up Kayak and RelayRides side-by-side and see what I can come up with.
With Mom in town through the weekend, we needed something more than our little two-seater MINI. Never to miss a chance to explore disruptive services, I gave RelayRides a shot as a car rental service.
tl;dr version: You get what you pay for.
On the plus side, it was super economical. Kayak said the cheapest car I could rent would run me $138 for Friday through Monday. With RelayRides, I spent half that.
Then again, I rented a nine-year-old dusty and squeaky Dodge Neon. Sure, I could have spent more, but wanted to see what the low end of the spectrum looks like. The answer? Pretty low.
The app was hit or miss. It's great to see all the cars available and how far away they are from your current location. But the filter was buggy, and didn't remember my start/end time when I went to book the reservation.
There's also a data integrity issue, as my first two attempts to rent were rejected by the owners. In both cases, the car wasn't really available during the times I wanted it. I'd blame the app, but it's likely just a problem with lazy owners not keeping their listing current.
Like with Uber, the transaction itself is super easy -- once you're in and verified. I met the owner at his house, showed him my ID, checked out the car, wrote down the mileage and gas level, and was off in under five minutes. And the return was even quicker.
Unlike Uber, I don't have a way to give feedback on the car and owner. I'd give him full marks, but I'd ding the car just for the cleanliness factor. It was by no means filthy, just rather dusty inside. They need a feedback mechanism that goes both ways.
I think I'll use the service again, but I don't think I'll play in the low-end of the pool. There are lots of better cars to choose from. Next time, I'll fire up Kayak and RelayRides side-by-side and see what I can come up with.
February 7, 2014
RWW News: Even Pat Robertson Attacks Creationism As A "Joke"
Cogent, reasoned words about deep time...
RWW News: Even Pat Robertson Attacks Creationism As A "Joke"
Cogent, reasoned words about deep time from ... Pat Robertson?
Cogent, reasoned words about deep time from ... Pat Robertson?
I was moments away from registering this new domain, using the new .ventures gTLD to create Evo's Adventures...
I was moments away from registering this new domain, using the new .ventures gTLD to create Evo's Adventures, when I saw it.
Narrowly avoided that gaff!
Narrowly avoided that gaff!
I'm using RelayRides for the first time today. They are to car rental companies what Uber is to taxi...
I'm using RelayRides for the first time today. They are to car rental companies what Uber is to taxi companies. And you know how disruption makes me giggle.
I'll let you know how it goes, but the process was good so far. Have you used them?
I'll let you know how it goes, but the process was good so far. Have you used them?
Two jokers joking.
Last Saturday, I retained the services of the awesome +chanelle sinclair for a photo...
Two jokers joking.
Last Saturday, I retained the services of the awesome +chanelle sinclair for a photo shoot. I was over due, since my last pro shots were done... never.
And then this yahoo showed up. Jeff and I have been known do to a few things together, and now we have a pic of both of us that demonstrates the actual level of professionalism you can expect when working with us.
I'm looking forward to seeing the full set, Chanelle!
Last Saturday, I retained the services of the awesome +chanelle sinclair for a photo shoot. I was over due, since my last pro shots were done... never.
And then this yahoo showed up. Jeff and I have been known do to a few things together, and now we have a pic of both of us that demonstrates the actual level of professionalism you can expect when working with us.
I'm looking forward to seeing the full set, Chanelle!
New photo to use as my avatar. What do you think?
New photo to use as my avatar. What do you think?
February 6, 2014
Have we raced to the bottom?
I'll admit that this topic gets me a little hot under the collar. "There's...
Have we raced to the bottom?
I'll admit that this topic gets me a little hot under the collar. "There's nothing left to invent." "All the great discoveries have been made." "Bring back the good old days."
Enough.
Those quotes -- and countless others -- have been proven wrong. The conditions that got us here will not necessarily be the same conditions that take us to the next level. Because of that, you can't assume that the natural leveling out of conditions will bring innovation to a halt.
There are myriad things left to discover. The innovative -- and disruptive -- mind will find ways to bring ideas to life, even as abundances change. That's why it's called change.
Ignore it all you like. Pontificate on why it can't possibly continue. Just step to the side a bit and let the rest of us keep moving forward, OK?
I'll admit that this topic gets me a little hot under the collar. "There's nothing left to invent." "All the great discoveries have been made." "Bring back the good old days."
Enough.
Those quotes -- and countless others -- have been proven wrong. The conditions that got us here will not necessarily be the same conditions that take us to the next level. Because of that, you can't assume that the natural leveling out of conditions will bring innovation to a halt.
There are myriad things left to discover. The innovative -- and disruptive -- mind will find ways to bring ideas to life, even as abundances change. That's why it's called change.
Ignore it all you like. Pontificate on why it can't possibly continue. Just step to the side a bit and let the rest of us keep moving forward, OK?
Disrupting the world with new gTLDs
The new gTLDs are coming (seven launched today,) and most of the...
Disrupting the world with new gTLDs
The new gTLDs are coming (seven launched today,) and most of the press I've read has been of a similar vein: Most people will be confused, and it's never going to work.
But don't fall down that trap. The second law of disruption is that most people are not the intended audience. It's the underserved minority that first adopts and propels forward the disruption. So rather than get tied up on the obvious confusion between .link and .click, .tech and .technology, .eat and .food, or dozens of other potential conflicts, think about the underserved minority. That's where the real opportunity lies.
A few possible ideas come to mind:
Internal security - I doubt .ibm has anything to do with email services or public-facing web properties. IBM.ibm? Not likely. Instead, since International Business Machines owns and operates the registry, the trust factor for services accessing other services with that common gTLD goes up significantly.
Professionals with a common name - Did you mean Bob Smith the .attorney, .doctor, or .florist? Of course, this has built-in scarcity, so expect a land rush and turf wars over these.
Companies that want non-English characters - There's a host of gTLDs with international characters that roughly translate to the .com we're intimately familiar with. This one is probably the biggest disruptor of the three, simply because it eliminates (or reduces) the need for some to switch between language/character sets when typing.
But that's just scratching the surface. What do you see as the biggest disruptions coming from the new gTLDs? And which one are you waiting on? Currently, I'm torn between beer.diet or diet.beer. So I'll probably buy both. Just to be safe.
The new gTLDs are coming (seven launched today,) and most of the press I've read has been of a similar vein: Most people will be confused, and it's never going to work.
But don't fall down that trap. The second law of disruption is that most people are not the intended audience. It's the underserved minority that first adopts and propels forward the disruption. So rather than get tied up on the obvious confusion between .link and .click, .tech and .technology, .eat and .food, or dozens of other potential conflicts, think about the underserved minority. That's where the real opportunity lies.
A few possible ideas come to mind:
Internal security - I doubt .ibm has anything to do with email services or public-facing web properties. IBM.ibm? Not likely. Instead, since International Business Machines owns and operates the registry, the trust factor for services accessing other services with that common gTLD goes up significantly.
Professionals with a common name - Did you mean Bob Smith the .attorney, .doctor, or .florist? Of course, this has built-in scarcity, so expect a land rush and turf wars over these.
Companies that want non-English characters - There's a host of gTLDs with international characters that roughly translate to the .com we're intimately familiar with. This one is probably the biggest disruptor of the three, simply because it eliminates (or reduces) the need for some to switch between language/character sets when typing.
But that's just scratching the surface. What do you see as the biggest disruptions coming from the new gTLDs? And which one are you waiting on? Currently, I'm torn between beer.diet or diet.beer. So I'll probably buy both. Just to be safe.
We're living in the '80's of 2034.
It's hard to spot iconic design trends when you're in the middle...
We're living in the '80's of 2034.
It's hard to spot iconic design trends when you're in the middle of them. Were it possible, I never would have had so many pastels or a mullet.
Hindsight aside for a moment, here's a glimpse at some trends we'll see in 2014. You know, so our kids can point and laugh 20 years from now.
It's hard to spot iconic design trends when you're in the middle of them. Were it possible, I never would have had so many pastels or a mullet.
Hindsight aside for a moment, here's a glimpse at some trends we'll see in 2014. You know, so our kids can point and laugh 20 years from now.
I can't think of anything but double entendres for headlines.
A fascinating and completely unsurprising...
I can't think of anything but double entendres for headlines.
A fascinating and completely unsurprising study on the impact the big game had on, er... me-time.
I'm amazed at the regional impact. And that someone thought this a good study. But it's worthy of an embarrassed chuckle or two.
No, this isn't going in the Five on Friday!
A fascinating and completely unsurprising study on the impact the big game had on, er... me-time.
I'm amazed at the regional impact. And that someone thought this a good study. But it's worthy of an embarrassed chuckle or two.
No, this isn't going in the Five on Friday!
