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.

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.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Just Bag-it!

As I globe trot around northern California, I would like to share a helpful travel tip.

On a trip to Italy's Cinque Terre, I decided to carry along a large Zip-lock bag. This isn't the regular quart or gallon, but the very large Zip-Lock Big Bag. It is normally marketed as a way to store everyday things like soccer balls and board games. I used them to keep my dirty travel clothes away from my clean clothes, eliminating the need to have one suitcase specially for dirty clothes.

What you do: As you dirty clothes, put them in the Zip-lock Big Bag. You zip up the bag to keep in all the dirty touristy smells. You can put this bag right in the suitcase with the clean clothes without worry.


As you go through the trip, the Big Bag will get more and more full, and the suitcase will have less and less clean clothes. The wonderful thing is that you are carefully separating the clean from the dirty without taking up extra space or making life complicated. When you get home, you can just take the entire Zip-lock to the laundry (it comes with built-in handles).

The first step is a doozy!

Here comes my first solo blog. I have long thought about creating my own blog, but several factors such as time, convenience, and personal humility have kept me from thinking that I had anything that anyone else would ever want to read.

After overcoming the personal humility hurdle and settling on a mindset that I am the center of the universe, I have finally started the blog. It's too bad that I can't instantly say that I have had this blog since 2002. But, I can honestly say that I have had thoughts at least that long.

So, here we go.