RunPee is a web-based service and soon-to-be mobile app that maps out loo-break moments for popular movies.
Users can choose from an extensive list of movies currently in theatres, and a few classics like Aliens and Star Wars. A time graph of the film indicates when it’s safe to disappear for a minute or two. The website lists a cue line to listen for, and the approximate amount of time before something important happens. For those who want to find out what they missed, a box of scrambled text can be clicked on to reveal what was missed. The site will also note if there’s a scene after the credits, so movie-goers don’t run out of the cinema before the film is actually over.
Anyone can contribute suggested break times to the listed films, which as they say, makes RunPee a Wiki-pee-dia of sorts. (Sorry…) An iPhone application is currently awaiting approval from Apple, meaning weak-bladdered users will soon be able to check in from the theatre. Which is, of course, where the concept shines. One for drinks manufacturers to sponsor, encouraging sales of 48-ounce colas?
Scred—short for “street credit”—allows friends, groups and communities to manage their collective money. Its Pools feature, first of all, is designed to help friends keep track of who owes what during a joint excursion, for example. Friends all sign up for the same pool when they know they’ll need to track expenses together, and then they input each cost incurred as they go along. The system will track debts between people, balance debts and shared expenses and then calculate who owes what in the end—even using multiple currencies. The Pools function is free to use, and is also available via mobile phone.
Perhaps even more interesting, however, is Scred’s MiniCorps feature—now in beta—which can be used to take in money and have it automatically accounted by Scred. Aimed at users such as associations, trip organisers, charity groups and artists, MiniCorps serve much like virtual companies as they allow groups to sell items or collect fees and donations through a Scred shop, track both income and expenses, and calculate profits and losses. MiniCorps are free to use during the feature’s beta period; all money is handled via PayPal.
With the growing number of sellsumers out there, eager to earn some extra cash during these tough economic times, we’d bet Scred’s MiniCorps feature will be met with a particularly warm reception. What else could help sales-oriented consumers make the most of their bottom line…?
Consumers who lack the time, energy or skills to prepare delicious home-cooked meals themselves already have semi-cooking options to help them along—including shopping and delivery services such as I Love Mother—as well as meal prep stores, with or without instruction. When even those are too much, however, BookOfCooks is a new online marketplace that can help consumers find local foodies who are willing to cook for them.
Professional and amateur chefs around the world can use BookOfCooks to set up an online restaurant or bakery that showcases their cooking talents with menus, prices, licenses and videos. Using BookOfCooks is free both for those in search of food and for those who prepare it. Consumers then can search BookOfCooks by city for the dish or food type they’re craving, or they can browse the site’s online Google maps and archives for links to local cooks and food aficionados, including ratings and reviews. When they find one that sounds good, they can place an order with the cook for pickup, delivery or even in-home preparation.
Meals purchased this way are frequently less expensive than what one would pay in a restaurant, BookOfCooks says, and can also make it easier to find less common cuisines such as vegan or gluten-free. For cooks, meanwhile, BookOfCooks provides a free way to establish a consistent clientèle, whether as a full-time business or—meshing nicely with what our sister site would call the sellsumer trend—for a little extra money on the side. There are, of course, legal issues to be navigated when preparing food for the consumption of others—and the related question of how many consumers will be willing to buy food from amateurs. Nevertheless, with ratings and reviews providing at least a small measure of protection, it seems possible this could spark a recession-inspired anti-restaurant trend. (Related: Roaming ‘anti-restaurant’ hand-picks its guests.)
This was a good year for social networks. If a study by eMarketer is correct, 2008 will be even better. A MediaPost Publications article displays eMarketer’s results, showing that ad spending on online social networks will nearly double to $2.2 billion in 2008. That’s up from $1.2 billion this year. MySpace and Facebook claim about 70 percent of ad dollars. “The continued growth of social networking seems assured unless teens stop social networking as they become adults,” said eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson in a statement.
We have been writing and selling applications to generate some income, and this has proved to be valuable. It would be good to hear what everyone is doing to try and cash in on the Social Networking craze!
Earlier this year, springwise wrote about a small start-up that had found an interesting niche: buying broken iPods from consumers. BuyMyBrokeniPod.com offers people a very simple way to sell their broken or unused iPods: after indicating which model they’d like to sell and what condition it’s in, the website gives an instant price-quote. Send it in, and payment is transferred via PayPal within 24 hours after the iPod has been received.
Now, six months later, the company’s founder is expanding the concept to offer the same easy sales service for game consoles. Again, users indicate which item they’d like to sell and what condition it’s in, and are instantly given a quote and sent shipping instructions. For example, a good condition Nintendo DS Lite will net its seller USD 61.50 (new DS Lites are currently retailing at USD 129). Other electronics, including cell phones and laptops, will follow within the next few months at BuyMyTronics.com.
Offering consumers a simple alternative to selling broken or unused gadgets on eBay? Still a smart concept, in our book. The challenge now is for the company to retain its ease of use while expanding to other products.
The Small Business Administration is teaming up with the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City to help urban entrepreneurs get the loans they need to get their businesses off the ground. Right now, the program is still being designed, but it will run in 10 cities in low-income areas across the country. Though small biz accounts for 80 percent of total employment in inner cities, job growth rates in those areas are below average. “We believe bolstering entrepreneurial success in these areas will generate new jobs, attract investment and provide a more sustainable economic base in distressed areas,” said Steven Preston, SBA administrator. In addition, SBA plans to make its Community Express loan program easier to use and direct it toward low-income areas.
Between credit cards, cash cards, ID cards, membership cards, pass cards, travel cards and frequent customer cards—to name just a few—wallet cards are almost like passwords these days in terms of their explosive proliferation. But consumers in London now have the opportunity for a small respite thanks to Barclays Bank, which has scored a victory in the name of simplicity by combining three of those cards in one.
The new Barclaycard OnePulse combines credit card, cash card and Oyster card—used by Londoners for mass transportation—to remove a few cards and a few steps from consumers’ daily lives. The card functions exactly as a regular credit and cash card does, allowing consumers to shop securely and pay for smaller purchases (under GBP 10) with one-touch payment, requiring no PIN. Even better, though, is that the card includes a built-in Oyster travel card, giving consumers access to area bus, Tube, tram and train services. Just as with a stand-alone Oyster card, consumers either buy a season ticket or prepay as they go, replenishing the card periodically as they use it. Barclaycard’s Auto Top-off service will even replenish the pay-as-you-go Oyster function automatically with GBP 20 or 40 when the balance falls below GBP 5, saving consumers the need to queue up to do so.
The focus is highly localized on this one, but the same basic idea can be applied virtually anywhere. And in an industry as fiercely competitive as credit cards and personal banking, it’s hard to imagine a better way to create a competitive advantage: make things easier for consumers, and they’ll reward you with more business and greater loyalty. New York, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, anyone…?
About 37 percent of small-business owners say growth is their company’s single most important priority over the next six months. That’s why OPEN from American Express and SCORE are pairing up to launch a “Small Business Speed Coaching Test Drive” to help enhance small business prosperity. The series will give entrepreneurs the chance to partake in 30-minute, one-on-one evaluations with experienced SCORE business coaches. Interactive workshops will also be held to help participants learn more about strategic business planning, effective marketing and business finances.
This seminar tour will make stops in Orlando, Phoenix, Atlanta and Chicago. The first seminar takes place in Orlando on November 8. More workshop information can be found online. Registration, which is free, is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
When your entrepreneurial aspirations seem a bit too far-fetched, take a look at this success story for inspiration.
Ashley Qualls, 17, started a website at the age of 14 with $8 she borrowed from her mother. Now her site, whateverlife.com, is grossing more than $1 million a year and helping Qualls’ family live more comfortably. Prior to the launch of her site, Qualls lived in a one-bedroom apartment with her mom and sister. Since starting her site, she’s been able to purchase a four-bedroom home for her family and has hired her mother as her manager.
Qualls got the idea for Whateverlife when she noticed her friends personalizing their MySpace pages. She began creating and sharing designs for MySpace backgrounds through her site. Advertisers quickly began flocking to Whateverlife, and Ashley quit school to focus on growing her biz. These days, the website guru continues developing her site with the help of some friends she hired and has even turned down offers for her own reality series, saying she values her privacy too much to get involved in one.
So it just goes to show, its never to early.. or too late to start making cash!
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