Monday, July 30, 2007

The most on four wheels

Last Saturday, I had a chance to go to the qualifiers of the San Jose Grand Prix. It was a great day to see and hear some cars burning high octane fuel.

Although the race was not until the next day, there were plenty of people in attendance and things to keep them occupied. There were everything from merchant booths, comedians, raffles, and a silent auction (of which this Ferrari was a participant).



Although I almost made it to the pit area (before the security guards looked too intimidating to test), there was a very large building with the team trailers where they were doing repairs on the cars. Being around these trailers and taking pictures like these:



reminded me of when I helped design and build this beauty in 1998:



Our car (on the left - notice the lack of sponsorship stickers) built for $2000 compared to our neighbor's car, from Purdue University (they didn't start the project unless they secured $45,000).

I have to admit that the most fun race was the drifting competition. It seemed that the racers were really having fun. The fan favorite was definitely the drifter whose car was made up to look like a police car, with the flashing lights and everything. Later, I thought that his ploy only really works if he is never in the lead. Oh well.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Product or Feature?

I first heard about Obopay 1.5 years ago while doing research for a project on mobile applications. Now I have been re-introduced to the company by way of a Kevin Bacon six-degreesines.

Basically, Obopay is trying to get people to send money to each other via their phones. This kind of thing is common in places like South Korea, India and Europe, where they are not encumbered by things like legacy incompatible cellular systems. These conflicting systems have been a large part of keeping products like this away from the US until now. Companies like Obopay are making up for the lack of phone company support by creating their own systems.

Obopay creates an account for you that is linked to your checking account. You add money to your Obopay account and can send that money to anyone you know that can receive text messages. Or, you can get a MasterCard that is linked to your Obopay account to spend your money.

The downside is that other people have to be on the Obopay network to get the full benefits of sending/receiving this money. You have to wait until the number of users gets large enough that most of your friends have an account and use it. At this point, I think that Obopay needs to work hard to get small businesses on board. Imagine if you could pay your restaurant bill by sending a text message instead of waiting for a bill and then credit card slip. Obopay touts the easy with which your friends can send you money for dinner, but the real hassle is waiting for the waitress when you are ready to go.


If a restaurant had an Obopay logo on their menu and indicated that the bill could be paid with a simple text message, that would be the real killer app. Users are relieved of the need to wait around after they are done eating, and restaurants avoid paying the transaction fees that come with traditional credit card transactions. Plus, it's an advertisement for Obopay for every customer at every participating restaurant. Creating these partnerships will allow Obopay to get into the mainstream and gain acceptance.

The real question here is whether Obopay has what it takes to be a standalone product, or whether it is a feature of a larger, established product. Well, it's both. It must first create the trust with users and merchants, then it will be appealing enough for a large company to buy it out and make it a feature. If it's lucky, it will get PayPal and Google into a bidding war over it. This product is an obvious extension for PayPal, and Google could use it to continue to trumpet its Google Checkout, which hasn't really caught on.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Life on the fence

I have always found myself to be on the fence on many things. I tend to make decisions based on context and nuance; the situation provides meaning for the question. That's why the result of this quick survey doesn't surprise me one bit. I found it on Diego Rodriguez's blog. Try it for yourself here.

You Are 50% Left Brained, 50% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.