Hi people,
Firstly, Please take a look at Hereing.com for some background context. It is basically a food/resturant review aggregator. When you click on a resturant, you will be shown the resturant’s rating and all the reviews by bloggers about that resturant.

How the system works is that a user submits a blog review to hereing.com under a resturant that is being reviewed by the blogger. During the submission process, the required fields are source, title, review and rating.

Here is where I made the mistake. Some bloggers will put ratings in their blogs some won’t. But because I coded hereing.com’s rating field to be complusory, I had to put in a rating when I was submitting the review.  This wasn’t a problem if the blogger had specific ratings in his own post but when a blogger didn’t put in the rating I had to gauge by reading the blogger’s review and then tried to put in an approximate star rating.

And at this point, the minefield under my feet exploded. You can read it here http://food.recentrunes.com/?p=2237

Long story short: it is misrepresentation to help people rate their review.

Lesson1: dun be lazy I already had misgivings about helping bloggers rate their reviews but because I was lazy to change the code, I just put in approximate ratings. But because of this episode, I had to go back and correct it anyway so that ratings are no longer compulsory. darn…if only I knew…

Lesson 2: Engage your users…early…You never really know what other people are thinking. the only way to find out is to ask them early. I didn’t do that. I just decided to build the system and start submitting reviews. If I did that, the “helping people to rate review is wrong” mine wouldn’t have exploded because I would not have made the rating field complusory.

And then as the list of comments grew longer, I started seeing how varied ways of how people think. For example, there was 1 blogger who didn’t want to be linked. As a blogger, I could never understand that. But she put it clearly that her blog was semi private and she didn’t appreciate the attention. This is still something that i have to get my head around but I guess I need to code a block list so bloggers can submit their own site to be blocked.

My thoughts: I really want to build something that food bloggers will use and readers will find it useful. So my next post will be more proactive and engaging all the bloggers whom I have linked to before in asking them for their opinion.

This is a book about social psychology applied to marketing, sales and general persuasion. It is an interesting read of what is essentially hundred of social studies and test complied into a laymen format with applicable real life examples.

I have complied my summary after reading the book. Do note that this is not in the order for the 50 chapters in the book. I have even grouped them under headings not found in the book for my own use.

First off if you are wondering about the name, it is because the site was originally intended to be a great deals/coupons for physical products site. This was what I self Proposed as my Final Year Project.

“Title: NEARDEALS – Local Coupon & Deals Search via Mobile Interface

A location based service for searching coupons and deals nearby to a current or pre-determined location.

Local Coupons provides an easy way to search for coupons and great deals. Coupon inventory and deals are indexed from the internet, socially contributed by users or sponsored by merchants.

Coupons and restaurants can be socially reviewed and rated by users via their phone or web interface.”

After thinking it through, I realise that location is actually not the hard part. The hard part is getting the data. Like a blog, a site without fresh content is next to useless. So I decide to get data the easiest way possible and that is by linking to content instead. Given that I am also interested in Location based Services since my first startup(Tagxe.com, a taxi ridesharing site, which closed because we couldn’t hit critical mass), I decided that I wanted to help surface content that was closer and more relevant to the user.

The immediate problem that I could see was that on a social news voting site, everyone saw the aggregate wisdom of the crowd. This could be good but if you ever tried posting a Singapore-focused article on Digg, it will nvr get to the front page. So neardeals is trying to counter that by providing many views for many people. Right now it is still location based view which means depending on where you are, you see a different set of news stories. In the future, I would expect everyone to see a different set of stories depending on his demographic, interest,location etc.

It is still very early beta  for neardeals so i welcome any feedback for the future development of neardeals.com.

I am going to propose a new replacement for ERP(road congestion Control) although I am pretty sure that this will just be a mental exercise.

First, lets explain what Dash.net is:
Dash.net is a car-GPS navigation manufacturer. What differentiates their product is the 2 way connectivity of their GPS set. This means that data(i.e. your current speed) is collected and filed on the server. Other drivers who are planning a trip/on a trip that might be using the route you are on has access to the speed and their GPS set can determine if route A(Your Route) or B(another alternative route) might be faster.

“Flow data vs. Incident data

Freeway breakdowns and auto accidents are nice to know about, but what really matters is the speed of traffic around them. Most GPS devices that show traffic rely primarily on ‘incident data,’ which only tells you where and when an incident happened, not how it’s affecting traffic now. Dash uses traffic flow data to help make Dash arrival times the most accurate on the road.”(translation: your GPS will tell you to take the routes that are the least congested and the fastest)

Secondly lets examine ERP’s aims and its method of reliving road congestion:

“Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) is an electronic system of road pricing based on a pay-as-you-use principle. It is designed to be a fair system as motorists are charged when they use the road during peak hours.

After the review, the ERP rates would then be adjusted where necessary to minimise congestion on the roads. ERP has been effective in maintaining an optimal speed range of 45 to 65 km/h for expressways and 20 to 30 km/h for arterial roads.”

How ERP works is by shifting demand on roads in 2 ways. Time of travel and route of travel.

How Dash.net can also solve
1) Time of travel
This is actually pretty difficult to solve. Most trips do not have flexibility of time. If you have to get to work or meet a client at 10am, the ERP cost isn’t going to deter you from going down.

I chanced upon a blog and the following suggestions would effectively spread road demand over time.

I) Stagger Work hours
II)Work from Home
III) Spread out the CBD to other areas

I am pretty sure that it is unlikely any form of technology can solve the social behavior of having to go to a place at the same time. However the 3 suggestions above can lend a helping hand to spread demand around.

2) Route of travel
By implementing Dash.net into all SG vehicles, we can effectively divert the route of travel to roads with less demand. Drivers do not have to worry about where and how to drive, instead they just have to follow the GPS directions. Plus, there will be less traffic jams, people get home faster which also means less cars on the roads.

How much will this cost???

Well given that ERP has cost the government USD125 Million, this equates to USD255 per car (489,000 cars in 2007). Right now a Dash.net set cost $299 USD on amazon.com. If the SG government was the order in bulk, I am sure we can get the sets for less than $150USD each. This will make it cost comparative to the current ERP System.

Another Conclusion

Perhaps it is too late to change from the ERP system now. However the lesson that we should learn here is that any project with heavy technological components(I.e. the ERP) should not have its cost amortized over a long period of time. In the period of time, it is likely that a cheaper solution will emerge and make you look stupid for adopting the new technology.

The leadership styles we look at here are:

1. Autocratic leadership.
2. Bureaucratic leadership.
3. Charismatic leadership.
4. Democratic leadership/participative leadership.
5. Laissez-faire leadership.
6. People-oriented leadership/relations-oriented leadership.
7. Servant leadership.
8. Task-oriented leadership.
9. Transactional leadership.
10. Transformational leadership.

Source

Hi Tagxe Users,
Tagxe will be closing its website today. At time of death, we are exactly 1 year old and we have 1,493 registered users and 349 rides created. However on our key benchmark of our success, we have no successful ride that we have matched up so far.

,We envisioned Tagxe to change the world (as all entrepreneurs doJ). But our efforts seemed to have fallen short of the required critical mass for Tagxe to be a self sustaining system. The main reason for stopping Tagxe was that the team has decided to move on with other ventures.  (Also our 1 year hosting plan has ceased)

We will be redirecting Tagxe.com to the Tagxe forum. Some users have already started using it to organize rides so I guess this will suffice as an interim solution until a real solution can be created by someone else. One key thing that will be missing is that you will no longer get ride notifications when a ride is created.

We would like to thank all of you for being the early adopters of a vision that tried to make everyone’s lives easier. We would also like to thank TagxeBoy (Andy@photoatwork.com) for being our most enthusiastic user and also for volunteering to be the forum moderator.

Wenhan says: To the Tagxe Team(Yee Han & Patrick): Thanks for helping out in Tagxe. You guys are great housemates and team mates. We are glad that we have tried to make a dent in the universe. I will be moving on to my next venture which will be my final year project that will be my start-up concept (think Digg.com with local and personally relevant stories). For those who want an invite, check here.

Yee Han says: I will be focusing on my studies and continuing my passion for photography. It has been a great time learning and working with Wenhan and Patrick.

Patrick says: I plan to get married in 2 years time.

Leave Comments Here

I just sold my car, a Mitsubishi Mirage vintage 2000 with 90K miles on it. It was a good deal for me and the buyer. I got it for a good price so I let it off at a good price too. I know my car is reliable but I was thinking of how I could make sure that my car is in peak condition when buyers came to test drive. This is the list I came up that I think might help you get a higher price for your car.

1. Polish, wash and clean your car’s exterior and interior
First impression counts! This is important!

2. Inflate all tires equally
This reduces any chance of alignment issues. Sometimes you feel that your car is drifting. This is usually not an alignment issue but one where tires are either infliated to a different amount. In case you do any an alignment issue, you can try to hotfix the alignment issues by custom inflating your tires to “balance” it all out

If you under inflate your tires by a bit, it also helps for a less bumpy drive. However this comes at a cost of reduced mileage

3. Fill it up with premium gas
Premium gas helps a little bit for smooth acceleration. Use pump this one time!

4. Oil change and clean the engine
Bring it to a mechanic for an oil change. Oil changes will make for smoother transmission changes and acceleration. If it is due soon, bring the car in yourself. Alternatively if you are a scrimper, let the first interested buyer bring the car in for an inspection. Large auto repair chains usually bundle oil changes and 50+ point checks together for a cheap price.

Ask for the mechanic for help in cleaning the engine dirt off. The engine will look well maintained when the hood is opened

5. Change the tyre covers
30$ from Costco. This helps to improve first impression lot if you are like me and scratch the covers on the kerb when doing a parallel park,

6. Warm up the car before the buyer comes
So that the engine has the power for quick acceleration which buyers like to test
7. Get your documentation ready
a. New Smog Check
b. Service records
c. The title
d. Carfax report
e. Vin Number

8. Get a cheap mechanic check from a honest mechanic (I use a highly yelped mechanic)
You can share the cost with the first interested buyer. A recent check report will help push in decisive buyers to real buyers.

Be aware that mechanics usually tell you to change everything. So get the mechanic to highlight only the things that really need to be changed.

9. Take lots of flattering photos of your car(photoshop???)
No need to highlight the flaws. The buyers will see them when they come for the test drive. But the goal of an ad is to get response and not to close the deal. The test drive and you are the deal closer.

10. Test the market valuation
Other than checking KBB and other similar car prices, you can do a market price test.

Post a ad on Craigslist with some information. No pictures or vin number and see how many people email you to setup an appointment. Once you have 3-5 people emailing you in a week, you are probably are at a good spot.

Now post the real ad with photos and bell and whistle. Add a few hundred dollars to the price where you got response. Now people will be contacting you and you know how much your car can fetch

Bonus:Never let bird shit stay on your car for too long. After a while it starts to corrode the paint and past that point, there isn’t much you can do

You might also be interested in:
10 Thoughts about Living in Silicon Valley

10 Fast Track Ways To Becoming An Expert – 10 Point Summary From Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

No? how about a different colour?

or a 3d one?

Still no? arrow down for the answer

/* www.ZhouWenhan.com

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www.ZhouWenhan.com

www.ZhouWenhan.com

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www.ZhouWenhan.com*/

There!

and a little web 2.0 bonus

Hi,

I just wanted to post this great event that is happening. There will be speakers from Storm Ventures, Intel and Qik.com(of course the event will be qiked live too) and Nokia.

Should YOU Mobile? – Opportunities & Challenges in the Mobile Space

You are cordially invited to attend “RainMakers Live!” Conference brought you by The National University of Singapore Entrepreneurs Association (NUSEA).

Date: Friday, June 27
Time: 5:30 – 9:00 p.m
Venue: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, 950 Page Mill Rd, Palo Alto.

To pre-register for early bird tickets, please visit http://rainmakers2008.eventbrite.com/ by noon on Friday, June 27.

Only limited seats available!

Conference Theme:
RainMakers Live! Summer 2008 will bring together the leaders in the mobile applications and wireless space to discuss the topic “Should YOU Mobile? – Opportunities & Challenges in the Mobile Space”. It will consist of a keynote speech, a panel discussion and an exhibition of some of the hottest mobile start-up in the Valley.
Speakers:
•    Purnima Kochikar, Director of Strategy and Business Development, Nokia Enterprise Solutions
•    Sriram Viswanathan, VP of Mobility Solutions, Intel
•    Tim Danford, Partner, Storm Ventures
•    Vish Mishra, Venture Director, Clearstone Venture Partners
•    Bhaskar Roy, Co-Founder, Qik.com
•    Lewis Adams, CTO, GainSpan
•    Hank Nothhaft, Chairman and CEO, Danger
•    Tom Kosnik, Fenwick and West Consulting Professor, Stanford University

For more information on “RainMakers Live!” Conference, please visit: http://www.nusea.org/rainmakers2008/

Thank You to Our Sponsors:
We liked to thank our kind sponsors: IDA Singapore, SABA, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and NUS Enterprise for their generous support to NUSEA “RainMakers Live!” Conference!

I look forward to seeing you at “Rainmakers Live!” 2008,

“Rainmakers Live!” 2008 Committee
NUS Entrepreneurs Association

With the iphone leading the charge to have GPS in consumer phones, location based services are positioned to be the next big thing in the software industry. This article checks out some early entrants in the fledging industry.

1. Whrrl http://www.whrrl.com/
Whrrl is a new mobile network that lets you aggregate information as you visit different places in life. It’s generally like a location review service that’s wrapped up in a map mashup and a social network.

2. Brightkite http://brightkite.com/
The service, a device agnostic, SMS-based application, lets you “check in” at various locations out in the real world and then see who else is there, has been there, and who is nearby. You can check in via text or via the web, but text is easiest if you’re mobile.

3. Loopt https://loopt.com/
Loopt is a mobile social mapping application. Using cell phones and mobile devices, it displays the locations of a user’s friends along with their presence status (available, away, etc) visually on maps or on lists. Based on GPS and related data, users can request alerts when friends are within a certain distance, send messages to groups of friends in particular area, and be able to tag and blog physical locations in a way that’s accessible to friends through Loopt. Users can also take pictures from their cell phones and tag them; these pictures will be available to friends and others on the Loopt network.

4. Rummble http://www.rummble.com/
Rummble users build their social network on with a basic relationship (i.e. friend, relation or business) but then apply tags to that. Users can review almost anything (restaurants, stores, coffee shops, etc.). Rummble has an algorithm that works out which reviews by others in the user’s network to trust, based on user’s behavior and relationship to them. Rummble functions across Web and mobile and Facebook.

5. LOcle http://locle.com/
Not much is know about this startup. Here is what i have gathered
Locle is the hottest mobile geo-social networking app, showing your location and if friends are near, without a need for GPS or operator LBS.
Locle [2] is an application for Java Mobile, Symbian S60 and S80, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry phones that allows users to share their location using either GPS or cell-tower. The application integrates into Facebook and other social networking websites with open APIs (application programming interfaces). Locle is developed by Leprecian, Ltd., who also own GSM-Tracker [3], a cell-tower semantic tagging community website.

6. PublicEarth http://www.publicearth.com/

PublicEarth’s goal is to become the premier data source for this next generation of location specific data and content. They define next generation location specific data and contact, in its essence, in the same way that the Google Maps Mashups work: “content attached through geographical coordinates to relevant points of interest in the physical world, describing in organized detail the attributes of those points of interest, accessible through a simple intuitive web mapping interface.”

7. uLocate http://www.ulocate.com/index.php
uLocate is calling WHERE a platform for mobile LBS widgets because you can personalize which services you choose to use on your cell phone and you can use the Where.com website to drag-and-drop new services to your phone.
WHERE is also the world’s first mobile location-based services (LBS) platform built with both consumers and developers in mind. The WHERE platform offers easy access to global positioning system data (GPS), a simple programming paradigm, and a unique go-to-market opportunity for mobile application developers.

8. Citysense http://www.citysense.com/home.php
Citysense, a location-based service that the company calls “social navigation.” The first Citysense application is a mobile map that shows the busiest nightlife hot spots in San Francisco. Citysense is currently available only for the BlackBerry, but an iPhone version is promised.
“Citysense demonstrates the power of combining anonymous, aggregate location data for social navigation,” said Sandy Pentland, chief privacy advocate and co-founder of Sense Networks.

9. RadiusIM http://www.radiusim.com/
RadiusIM relies on location-based features to differentiate it from other web-based instant-messaging services. It offers access to key IM services such as AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger and Google Talk, and it lets you search for other RadiusIM users based on their location.

10. My own?
I haven’t really named my startup yet. Suggestions on the name are welcomed.
My startup(in a few words) will be on the topic of
• Discovery of Mobile generated Content
• Creation of Content on Phone
• Community Conversation
Think of it as Digg on your phoneJ
if you want one of the limited invites when it launches, just leave a comment below. Thanks!

Just an plug for an event that my friends are organizing. If you are in Silicon Valley, do check this out.

Should YOU Mobile? – Opportunities & Challenges in the Mobile Space

Date: Friday, June 27
Time: 5:30 – 9:00 p.m
Venue: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, 950 Page Mill Rd, Palo Alto.

If you want a free invite(I have 2), just email me! me@zhouwenhan.com

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