I looked into three different websites this week, each covering a different subject I thought could be used for my “final solution” website that I’ll be working on at the end of class. The three websites I studied covered carpooling, bartering, and bicycling, respectively.
The first website of interest I searched for was one that would organize carpools. I originally became interested in the idea of an online carpooling index through Craigslist, whose “rideshare” section gives people a place to search or post listings for creating carpools together. I’m often interested in splitting a ride with someone for my constant trips to Austin and Houston, both for saving money, conservation, and the pleasure of sharing company with a new person. However, Craigslist presents the information in a very limited way – basically just in list format organized chronologically from newest to oldest. I was interested to see if another website could take the idea further and make the information more accessible to its visitors.
What I found was eRideShare.com, named by Yahoo! as the “most popular ridesharing site”. The website lets you create a free profile, which you use to run searches for posted carpools in your area. The carpool listings give you a brief summary of the driving destinations, the days it takes place, and the members hosting the ride. From there, you can look at a member’s profile page to learn more about them, or to reach them anonymously with more questions about the carpool. Like Craigslist, the site isn’t fancy looking, instead relying on a barebones, content heavy approach, but it certainly seems to cover all the bases. I was impressed by the breadth of different carpooling options available for search and how much thorough information was provided for each ride. eRideShare.com is pretty much the embodiment of the expanded “rideshare” idea I had envisioned, so I’m discouraged to pursue this idea as an option for my one website.
Next, I looked for “bartering” websites. My idea was another extension of a Craiglist-style anonymous posting site, this time with the idea that the site would be a specialized place for individuals and businesses to post and find “bartering” proposals. Users could post products or services they were willing to exchange for other products/services: the unique part is that these offerings wouldn’t come with a dollar price attached. Instead, the system would match bartering proposals based on what each member was looking for in the market. For example, a student interested in learning Spanish might be connected to a native-Spanish speaker who needed babysitting from time to time. In exchange for the babysitting, the student might receive informal lessons from the Spanish speaker.
In my search I found barternet.com, and the results were disappointing. The site is basically a well-organized link portal that connects you to more local bartering companies, but it doesn’t do much “legwork” of its own other than giving referrals. The site I chose from there, TexasBarter.com, was slightly more promising. It allows its members to post business or personal offerings or find other bartering proposals, than purchase or exchange these postings using a “trade dollars” system . However, this wasn’t exactly what I have in mind. TexasBarter.com is too business oriented at the expense of proposals between individuals, and it isn’t free – you’re required to pay a monthly fee (a modest $20) and a transaction fee for every successful exchange.
As such, my own “bartering website” still has some promise, but the idea has many roadblocks. First, how would you standardize the exchange of services without attaching dollar values to them? And how can you match bartering proposals when each posting might be requesting very specific things? If I get serious about pursuing this for my website, these questions will need answers. Any ideas?
Finally, I looked into online biking communities. My one complaint about current sites is that they are too focused on “hardcore” bikers, who are more interested in endurance, off-roading, or competitive riding. What I am seeking is a site meant for people who enjoy riding bicycles and want to know routes around town and meet other casual bicyclists, without the seriousness of most biking sites.
The first site I encountered, bikewire.net , was exactly the kind of website that I wasn’t searching for. Though it did allow you to post bike routes and search for rides in your area, it’s meant for the type of riding I’m not interested in. In fact, I was daunted by all of the independent bike community sights I found after that. There was too much emphasis on miles ridden and distance covered, and very little to offer for people who are just looking for simple urban trail routes or “pub crawl” groups.
In the end, I think I was looking for something too specific; it seems like the information I want isn’t desired by a large enough audience to warrant a complete website. The most similar thing I found was the meetup.com group Urban Dallas Leisure Bicycle, which embodies the idea I’m after. It doesn’t offer as much information as I want, but it’s the closest thing to what I’m seeking.
After all of my searching, it seems like the “bartering” website idea has the most potential, but it also has the most variables I need to account for if it’s going to work.
January 20, 2009 at 2:21 am |
Some good ideas here Ian, but don’t get to concerned about a competing site as this is difficult to avoid. We still need the thinking and the practicing to try our ideas and in the process, you may discover some unique things that sets your ideas apart from others – but it’s ok if not as long as you are learning and growing your abilities to think solving these types of problems.