2004 attempt to build Tinder. Short phone calls instead of texting on a mobile app.https://twitter.com/backus/status/1056685682695884800 …
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2004 attempt to build Tinder. Short phone calls instead of texting on a mobile app.https://twitter.com/backus/status/1056685682695884800 …
Kozmo (1998 - 2001) – wide-ranging local delivery in under an hour. Seems a lot like Postmates today, minus the mobile apppic.twitter.com/irqfiyaXI7
Webvan (1996 - 2001) – One of the most notorious dotcom flops. Instacart's last private valuation was $4.2B. Differences? Instacart outsources grocery inventory to stores and delivery vehicles + logistics to Instacart shoppers.pic.twitter.com/pexrnlfx9J
TextPayMe (2006) – Payments between friends via mobile phones. Sounds like Venmo! This article even frames TextPayMe as "the logical second act for PayPal." Venmo was. Now PayPal owns them :)pic.twitter.com/YsSmSx8ccT
Pets.com (1998 - 2000) – bad idea, too early, or just prematurely bankrupted by the bubble bursting? PetSmart acquired Chewy.com for $3.35B in 2017! People mocked later attempts to sell pet supplies online, but the Pets.com CEO understood it was viable https://www.businessinsider.com/petscom-ceo-julie-wainwright-2011-2 …pic.twitter.com/UJdJCQQUXd
There were lots of attempts to build digital currencies before Bitcoin: DigiCash ('89), Beenz (98), Flooz (99), e-gold (98), 1mdc (01), e-Bullion (01). Some even tried to anonymously create underground (Tor only) currencies like eCache (2007).pic.twitter.com/rGb77rLTtV
I’ve often thought about this. I can’t help but feel that it took all those failures to pave the roads of infrastructure towards what we see today. Is too early just as bad as too late or not at all?
Too early is an umbrella for many themes IMO: • mobile use case before smartphones • not enough people internet literate in right ways • business model innovations like two sided marketplaces not established • tech more expensive to build • lower webapp complexity ceiling
And a greater supply of people (like uber drivers) who are unaware of the true costs of providing the service (insurance, maintenance, etc.) or who are simply willing to work cheaper ($15/hr all in) vs. a "web van" owned by company ( guessing: $50/hr)
Great thread.
Thanks. I’m seeding it with things I remember now, but I intend for it to be a long running thread since I run into these things all the dang time
Great thread!
And all the failed ideas today will be viable 10-15 years from now. Once tech catches up and consumers accept it as the norm
When do we get AllAdvantage and the like back so people can get paid to view ads again?
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