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These on demand - fulfilled by gig contracting platforms can _only_ provide value if there has been a big technological change that undermines expertise in a jo

These on demand - fulfilled by gig contracting platforms can _only_ provide value if there has been a big technological change that undermines expertise in a job. Uber works because of google maps knowing a faster route than even the 20 year veteran tax driver. There hasn't been a revolutionary technology in dog walking, just people who need cash but dont know pets. There hasnt been a revolutionary technology in grocery shopping, just people who need cash and dont care about the quality of your basket. etc.

UncleEntity 7y ago
> Uber works because of google maps knowing a faster route than even the 20 year veteran tax driver. Who also use google maps to do their route planning...
techslave 7y ago
uber has their own mapping. and no, it or google maps is decidedly not better than local knowledge.
- maerF0x0 7y ago
  > is decidedly not better than local knowledge. any proof? I will say it falls down w/ construction zones and road changes.
  - Nursie 7y ago
    In my town it doesn't seem to be aware of the roads that taxis can use but which are closed to 'normal' traffic.
  - Spooky23 7y ago
    All of the mapping programs are good at longer flows, they all suck in cities with lights and arbitrary delays. I just did a drive from Tampa, FL to Albany, NY. Waze and Google calculated the drive time within 10 minutes. My commute is about 12 minutes. Both Google and Waze will dump you on routes that will double or triple that.
  - sershe 7y ago
    I generally swear by Google maps, but did notice that Google prefers to not take shortcuts. Just recently in Seattle area, Google would have me take I5 in traffic, while manually dragging a dot onto a smaller road would have the same Google tell me it's going to be 7-10 minutes faster that way. Then you'd remove the dot and it's back to I5, +7 minutes to driving time. I've seen similar cases before, including e.g. a slowww light next to my house you can avoid by driving, however slowly, down a residential street with 0 traffic. This is presumably because of the tragedy of the commons that would ensue if it directed people there.
ashelmire 7y ago
Uber works because of the rider-driver matching, not the routing. Everyone has google maps.
- maerF0x0 7y ago
  Gig workers can replace tax drivers because of google maps...
  - goldenkey 7y ago
    Which is funny in itself since Google Maps is "free." Quotes because a lot of features are buggy when your location is turned off.
  - bronson 7y ago
    Then, according to your logic, why does Uber even exist?
- jdsully 7y ago
  Believe it or not taxi driving used to be a semi-skilled occupation. The test to drive a London black cab is notoriously difficult: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3307245/the-knowledge-taxi-test-london-black-cab-drivers-exam/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3307245/the-knowledge-taxi-tes...
Izkata 7y ago
Just give it a few years: drone-based dog walking.
- maxden 7y ago
  A heavier Boston Dynamics Spot.. dog walking a dog.
- atrilumen 7y ago
  AR goggles for dogs, with remote-controlled training and control characters.
nickjj 7y ago
It's interesting you picked grocery shopping as your 2nd example because I do think it's a perfect example. In both cases you are trusting someone with something very very important and in both cases if the person is a lunatic they likely won't get harmed (vs Uber where if they do something crazy like drive off a bridge they run the risk of dying too). Honestly, I don't think massive platforms are the way to go for such intimate things like dog walking and grocery shopping. I don't have a dog right now but I've had pets in the past. They are your family. Trusting them to a random person on a massive platform seems almost impossibly irresponsible. The same goes with letting a complete stranger shop for your food. Funny enough I walk around my neighborhood without a dog for a bit of exercise, and have been doing this for years. A number of people who I've talked to over the years have asked me if I would walk their dog for them. I said no simply because I really enjoy not having a schedule for when I walk and I didn't want to be tied into a commitment. But my point is, I think things like dog walking and grocery shopping needs to be a small scale operation where you have a real human connection and trust level with the person doing the work. They have to be a legit friend.
- solidasparagus 7y ago
  Agreed. On-demand dogwalking is just an awful idea IMO. You absolutely have to build a relationship with your dogwalker and there's no reason to keep Wag in the loop once that relationship is built. Not to mention that at scale, dogs are going to die/get lost no matter what you do, so there's a ton of risk in having a single brand that owners don't have a strong personal relationship with. I think whitelabeling the tech and then reaching customers via local brands makes a lot more sense. I don't think food is nearly as bad. The worst you can do without malice is buy shitty food.
  - Nextgrid 7y ago
    Wag could actually deliver value by charging for finding competent and vetted dog-walkers, so customers would be paying for all the background checks, etc. Instead, they're just a shitty rent-seeking gig economy startup.
aschatten 7y ago
For the gig economy, it is not about revolutionary technology, it is more about compound network effect. Basically, is adding (1000*n)-th unit to supply side of a 2 sided market place much more valuable, than adding n-th unit? In case of Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, any delivery service it is true. Having 10 drivers in your area make an app unseable for a rider and they need to seek other way of transportation, but having 1000 can be a game changer, it can make coverage and waiting time so convenient, that riders will always be able to use the app and will never want to seek another option. This, in it's turn, will feed back into the system, as drivers will always have work when they are online. On top of that, the market place takes upon quality assurance. If you did not like the delivery, you leave a negative feedback and move on. In case of Uber, because of improvements in cars safety, reliability and easy of use, and navigation apps, it made it possible to reach that critical mass/density of supply to have a compound effect. Apps like Wag will never have this, because dog walking is too personal. It's like cleaning, baby sitting, hair dressing. If you find someone that you like, you tend to stick with them. So if supply in your area growth 100x times, you still gonna use the same provider, because simple 5 start reputation system maybe fine for short stays or rides, but not adequate to match your personal preferences. Grocery shopping, on the other hand, can be commoditized. If you have a list of brands/suppliers you like, you don't care at what grocery store it was bought at and who delivers them to your doorstep.

UncleEntity 7y ago

> Uber works because of google maps knowing a faster route than even the 20 year veteran tax driver. Who also use google maps to do their route planning...

techslave 7y ago

uber has their own mapping. and no, it or google maps is decidedly not better than local knowledge.

maerF0x0 7y ago
> is decidedly not better than local knowledge. any proof? I will say it falls down w/ construction zones and road changes.
- Nursie 7y ago
  In my town it doesn't seem to be aware of the roads that taxis can use but which are closed to 'normal' traffic.
- Spooky23 7y ago
  All of the mapping programs are good at longer flows, they all suck in cities with lights and arbitrary delays. I just did a drive from Tampa, FL to Albany, NY. Waze and Google calculated the drive time within 10 minutes. My commute is about 12 minutes. Both Google and Waze will dump you on routes that will double or triple that.
- sershe 7y ago
  I generally swear by Google maps, but did notice that Google prefers to not take shortcuts. Just recently in Seattle area, Google would have me take I5 in traffic, while manually dragging a dot onto a smaller road would have the same Google tell me it's going to be 7-10 minutes faster that way. Then you'd remove the dot and it's back to I5, +7 minutes to driving time. I've seen similar cases before, including e.g. a slowww light next to my house you can avoid by driving, however slowly, down a residential street with 0 traffic. This is presumably because of the tragedy of the commons that would ensue if it directed people there.

ashelmire 7y ago

Uber works because of the rider-driver matching, not the routing. Everyone has google maps.

maerF0x0 7y ago
Gig workers can replace tax drivers because of google maps...
- goldenkey 7y ago
  Which is funny in itself since Google Maps is "free." Quotes because a lot of features are buggy when your location is turned off.
- bronson 7y ago
  Then, according to your logic, why does Uber even exist?
jdsully 7y ago
Believe it or not taxi driving used to be a semi-skilled occupation. The test to drive a London black cab is notoriously difficult: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3307245/the-knowledge-taxi-test-london-black-cab-drivers-exam/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3307245/the-knowledge-taxi-tes...

Izkata 7y ago

Just give it a few years: drone-based dog walking.

maxden 7y ago
A heavier Boston Dynamics Spot.. dog walking a dog.
atrilumen 7y ago
AR goggles for dogs, with remote-controlled training and control characters.

nickjj 7y ago

It's interesting you picked grocery shopping as your 2nd example because I do think it's a perfect example. In both cases you are trusting someone with something very very important and in both cases if the person is a lunatic they likely won't get harmed (vs Uber where if they do something crazy like drive off a bridge they run the risk of dying too). Honestly, I don't think massive platforms are the way to go for such intimate things like dog walking and grocery shopping. I don't have a dog right now but I've had pets in the past. They are your family. Trusting them to a random person on a massive platform seems almost impossibly irresponsible. The same goes with letting a complete stranger shop for your food. Funny enough I walk around my neighborhood without a dog for a bit of exercise, and have been doing this for years. A number of people who I've talked to over the years have asked me if I would walk their dog for them. I said no simply because I really enjoy not having a schedule for when I walk and I didn't want to be tied into a commitment. But my point is, I think things like dog walking and grocery shopping needs to be a small scale operation where you have a real human connection and trust level with the person doing the work. They have to be a legit friend.

solidasparagus 7y ago
Agreed. On-demand dogwalking is just an awful idea IMO. You absolutely have to build a relationship with your dogwalker and there's no reason to keep Wag in the loop once that relationship is built. Not to mention that at scale, dogs are going to die/get lost no matter what you do, so there's a ton of risk in having a single brand that owners don't have a strong personal relationship with. I think whitelabeling the tech and then reaching customers via local brands makes a lot more sense. I don't think food is nearly as bad. The worst you can do without malice is buy shitty food.
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  Wag could actually deliver value by charging for finding competent and vetted dog-walkers, so customers would be paying for all the background checks, etc. Instead, they're just a shitty rent-seeking gig economy startup.

aschatten 7y ago

For the gig economy, it is not about revolutionary technology, it is more about compound network effect. Basically, is adding (1000*n)-th unit to supply side of a 2 sided market place much more valuable, than adding n-th unit? In case of Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, any delivery service it is true. Having 10 drivers in your area make an app unseable for a rider and they need to seek other way of transportation, but having 1000 can be a game changer, it can make coverage and waiting time so convenient, that riders will always be able to use the app and will never want to seek another option. This, in it's turn, will feed back into the system, as drivers will always have work when they are online. On top of that, the market place takes upon quality assurance. If you did not like the delivery, you leave a negative feedback and move on. In case of Uber, because of improvements in cars safety, reliability and easy of use, and navigation apps, it made it possible to reach that critical mass/density of supply to have a compound effect. Apps like Wag will never have this, because dog walking is too personal. It's like cleaning, baby sitting, hair dressing. If you find someone that you like, you tend to stick with them. So if supply in your area growth 100x times, you still gonna use the same provider, because simple 5 start reputation system maybe fine for short stays or rides, but not adequate to match your personal preferences. Grocery shopping, on the other hand, can be commoditized. If you have a list of brands/suppliers you like, you don't care at what grocery store it was bought at and who delivers them to your doorstep.