Essentially Bump.com allows you to register your e-mail to your license plate. And they advertise that if you say, leave your lights on, or your meter is about to run out, or some cute girl/guy thinks you're cute, they can e-mail you.
Welcome to BUMP.com from BUMP on Vimeo.
You can send a bump to their account on the site, to an e-mail, and even texts with smart phones. Of course you can also connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Bump.com is bringing your car into the mix of social media as a way to identify yourself. It is still in the testing phases, but is making some waves.
Here's a video from Bloomberg News about Bump.com
Bloomberg Report on BUMP.com 2, October 18, 2010 from BUMP on Vimeo.
I think this is a baaaad way to go. Road rage is a real problem, and imagine if people could now really express how they feel instantly after someone cuts them off. This is just looking to make more stalkers without any privacy settings. People are more likely to rant than warn about an empty meter.
If you can get an invitation to be in the trial, let me know how it works though!
Thanks for the article and for the thoughts. Would love to hear any recommendations directly, in fact, this is a request for more help and feedback.
ReplyDeleteWorking on the launch of BUMP.com - backstage interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoEHqOJ3ovI - A few quick updates from the product team at bump: * our smart phone apps disable texting when driving (so voice only), * we are creating a safety network for drivers to know when their car got towed, and to also report bad driving, (or good driving) or to send messages safely via voice.
We are also launching a consumer safety connection to amber alerts, earthquake, traffic alerts, and weather alerts in the system. We are working with a leading expert on road rage to develop product features that diffuse road tension, and prevent accidents. In our next release, we have a profanity filter, a speak-and-listen system, among many other safety features. Our nationwide phone number allows you to simply call and leave messages for any car, so it is, indeed, an 800-how-am-i-driving for the entire country - it uses speech recognition and is hands free.
We're just one of the companies in the space, and perhaps the first one you heard of - there are close to 20 other companies currently doing license plate messaging across the country - check them out, as well. (if you don't want to dig, email me and I will send you a list). At BUMP.com however, we want to be the company to do this the right way, the safe way (we are the only one of the 20 companies implementing these safety features).
I sincerely want to listen and address our users concerns and change the product in every way possible to make it safe. Let me know your thoughts and I will respond to you personally.
Also, here is another article that explains more: http://venturebeat.com/2010/09/15/demo-bump-social-network-car-license-plates/
Looking forward to hearing from you directly.
- Mitch Thrower, Founder, BUMP.com E-mail me directly at mitch.thrower@bump.com