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August 10, 2007

GoLoco

Spontaneous social excursioning like never before

Have you wondered who else among your friends was planning a trip to go hiking or watch a baseball game? On the other hand, do you find personal transportation costs getting a little unsustainable?

Then Goloco!

Robin Chase, the founder of Zipcar, is fusing the concept behind her progressive car sharing service with a bit of Evite, Facebook and eBay, turning social networks into fun trip-sharing networks.

How's it work?
1. Post your route, frequency and time, like you would an event on Evite. This can be a pleasure trip, an errand, or a commute (20% of all our trips).
2. Populate your GoLoco social network with your friends, colleagues and larger social network (ie people in a familiar social context, such as your neighborhood, classes, church, the gym...) In fact, Facebook membership is required.
3. Find other 'trip events' that interest you and see if you know the people involved, or at least their social context... or wait for others to show interest in trip events that you post.
4. If there's a match, the system allows you to share costs and make payments, even providing how much each party should pay. Pricing is determined by the driver, with a default rate of $.50/mile, and adjustable for parking and tolls.

Now the biggest concern is that no one wants to get into cars with strangers, and Robin made it clear GoLoco would have never worked before online social networks allowed us to establish a greater comfort level with people we didn't really know. In addition to individual profiles, riders also get ratings and comments (like eBay) on whether or not they were good travel buddies.

Of course, Robin's not just the founder, she's a client - she posted an event trip to a wireless conference in Columbia, MD from National Airport in DC, found a 'match', clicked on his profile to see he was with a familiar organization, then realized she knew two of his bosses. Even her 13-year old daughter uses the system to go rock climbing with at least ten of her friends at a time.

With people spend on average $8000/year on car-related costs, 18% of their budgets, and increasing to 20-25% in the near future, it represents significant savings. Experiencing a diversity of places and events, meeting old and new friends, never having to be bored and lonely again? Priceless.

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August 9, 2007

Greenwich Village, NYC

The feminine touch a growing trend in city development

A hundred years ago women couldn't even vote, but their influence is finally catching up. Women today make 80% of the consumer purchasing decisions (equating to 2/3 of the GNP), and by 2010, women are expected to own half of the wealth in the U.S. There are countless signs of a women-oriented economy and it's just a matter of time before we start to at long last see their pervasive leadership in the investment of our built environments.

First, a look at their impact in the economy, aided by Trendwatching.com's report, Female Fever:

Women-centric economic clout is becoming more prevalent in male-dominated areas, such as with DIY tool kits for home and auto supported by classes, automotive repair, taxis, beer, and even 'health-oriented beer'.

That's just the beginning, because apparently women are fed up surviving in such a male-dominated world.
In Japan, Happily is a convenience store by women, for women, in Italy, La Spiaggia in Rosa is a women-only beach, and now...

...a women-only town?! ...and in China of all places. The city of Chongqing will convert its Shuangqiao district into a 500+ acre 'Woman Town', once again, for women run by women. The town's slogan is, "A woman never makes a mistake. A man can never reject a woman's request".

All this is to say that the time is coming for women to be much more heavily involved in real estate development and investment. What would the results be if a male-dominated industry had a feminine influence? The signs may already be there... maybe this isn't the most politically correct thing to state, but with all the respect in the world, have you ever noticed that many of the gay-oriented neighborhoods (from the Castro in SF to Dupont Circle in DC to Greenwich/West Village in NYC) are consistently among the most attractive architecturally, from the streets to the buildings to the interiors, as well as are among the most economically successful?

Image source: dorkyspice

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August 8, 2007

Energized crowd

When building community, focus on the content, not the process

You've been to those evening neighborhood meetings... lots of talk about resistance to change, addressing complaints, reaching out to government, fundraising, what this committee and that committee are doing... it feels more like a day job, it's not fun, there's contention in the air, and it often doesn't result in making a progressive impact in your neighborhood.

Perhaps the group should focus on content, like what kinds of buildings, shops, restaurants and streets you'd like to see, backed up by the investors willing to capitalize it, and leave the process to 'committees' during the work day. It's not as simple as that, but it is indeed time for a fresh and evolved model that reflects a demand-driven shift in our economy and culture.

At a recent beta community meeting (where future tenants/patrons crowdsource a new business/building/neighborhood with the investing sponsor) for a new third place, the discussion slowly went from what kind of events, experiences and educational events to have to whether or not to limit the size of the beta community, how to form committees and structure tasks normally handled by the business owner. Thankfully, the beta community self-recognized its digression and vowed to focus 100% on content at the next meeting, trusting the structure to the business owner and beta community catalyzer.

The energy and vitality of the group shifts dramatically when attention is on either content (animated) or process (stagnant), and being creative is all about having that inner vitality.

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August 7, 2007

Walk Score

What's your 'Walk Score'?

One key metric in measuring a neighborhood's triple bottom line is its walkability, and no site does that better than
Walk Score. Based on the number of retail businesses and amenities, you type in an address in its google-run system and it spits out a rating from 1 to 100 telling you just how walkable it is. Check out their rating system and benefits for scoring higher. One pretty darn handy feature is a left column list of the nearest common amenities, listed by distance.

As you can see based on the image, Affinity Lab, an oft-mentioned co-working place in Washington DC, rates a pretty respectable 91 out of 100. Of course, it can't beat most destinations in New York City, which garner the full 100 rating My previous address in San Francisco's Upper Haight earned a 100 as well.

Thanks to the folks at Walk Score for mentioning us here in their What Makes a Walkable Neighborhood? section.

By the way, apparently the site was so popular that the Google-technology-based website was being put on hold on account of too much traffic... by Google. Now that's saying something.

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August 6, 2007

Adams Morgan

The Adams Morgan video

If you want to get creatives excited about moving to your city, well yes, you need a city for them to get excited about. But after that, you need a video that captures the emotion of the creatives who already live, work and play there... and love it.

Here's such a video from Adams Morgan in Washington DC, probably the most diverse neighborhood in the city, and one of the most international restaurant corridors anywhere. It also profiles the members of the Affinity Lab co-workplace, which leaves you with a strong impression of what progressive entrepreneurs need to thrive and grow.

From the producers, who shot the film for an Ikea Small Business Big Dreams competition:
"When most people think of Washington DC, they think of lobbyists or politicians who have no idea what people really need to realize their dreams and aspirations. While we won’t comment on that, it’s not at all the inside story of Adams Morgan, a diverse, vibrant neighborhood here in DC. Many people in this community choose to leave behind what doesn’t work about their lives, their work and their world, take matters into their own hands and become entrepreneurs of one sort or another – not just for themselves but for their community. This is our story."

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