Re: One more feature idea

["Aaron D. Turner" <aturner@best.com>]

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On Mon, 26 Oct 1998, Micah Yoder wrote:

> > Ok, the company I work for, Vicinity, provides geo-enabled services on the
> > web.  Maps, driving directions, business finders, etc.  Basically the idea
> > is that the user tells us where they live, and we find the closest of
> > whatever they are looking for (nearest Visa ATM, Ford dealership, FedEx
> > drop box, etc.)
> > 
> > Anyways, I've spoken to the V.P. of Operations, and it looks like they'd
> > be willing to provide us with maps and a business finder for free.  (We
> > charge anywheres from $5K - $500K per client).
> 
> Hmm.  Why would they give us something like that for free?  That's a bit
> different than a computer or bandwidth donation...

Because I'm well liked in the company.  :-)  Seriously though, our site
would be a mere speck compared to the customers Vicinity has: Visa, Ford
MoCo, StarBucks, Mariotts, FexEx, UPS, etc.  Also, we would probably use
a CGI interface called "DataBuddy" which would virtually remove the need
for other Vicinity employees to manage our data and web pages- unlike
paying customers.
 
> > So the idea is that companies that provide services to the Linux community
> > can list themselves with us, and people can then find the nearest Linux
> > VAR, reseller, support center, bookstore with Linux books, Linux friendly
> > ISP, etc. The engine is hosted by Vicinity, so there's nothing special we
> > need to do, other than imbed a link, and get the information from the
> > companies.
> > 
> > What do ya think?
> 
> Hmmmmmmmmm......  that broadens our reach quite a bit.  Not a bad idea I
> guess.  But do we need the money?  What would we do with it?  Would
> Vicinity let us resell it?  I assume that was your intention (also based
> on your private E-mail to me).

Actually, I've been having second thoughts on the money thing.  Not
because of do we need the money, but because of the financial issues it
involves (taxes, etc).

> But sure...if it's really that simple, why not???

That's the cool part, it really is quite simple.  All we need to do is
write a form or two, adapt a CGI script, and get the data from the
companies.  We just import the data into the DB, and Vicinity does all the
rest.


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