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New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

bbc.co.uk

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Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#41

Post by ajdlinux »

waldfee wrote: post #3
mnkypete wrote: post #2

Not to be that guy, but what happened to being a decent human being and just getting up for pregnant women and elderly people? Do we really need an app for that now? As a founder I really do see lot's of value in technology to drive our society forwards, but I just can't wrap my head around some stuff..

Also simply asking people to give over their seat. That's exactly what the app does. Why not ask people directly? Just to avoid having to talk to them? Seems very strange to me.

If you're adequately introverted/shy (which is me, most of the time) or just feeling tired/exhausted/drained (which I imagine is not atypical for expectant mothers), then I can understand not having the energy to ask something of a stranger on the train.

Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#42

Post by problems »

onion2k wrote: post #28
mulrian wrote: post #12

I don't get it. The whole concept only works if there are people who have deliberately installed the free version so that they actually get the notifications. Seems like a whole lot of work and £3.99 for a very small chance of anyone actually noticing. If you're pregnant and want my seat then just ask me - I'll always happily give it up.

I don't think it's reasonable to assume that the company behind this app did no research into the problem. It's possible that they didn't, but it's also possible that they asked pregnant women what problems they faced and discovered that actually getting a seat by asking people doesn't work as often as we'd like to think. That would be a really interesting discovery - on the face of it the problem shouldn't exist, bu…

I doubt you have absolutely no insight into it - you've probably given up your seat a few times. I have at least, and usually without a single word being spoken. I've witnessed it and done it dozens of times, yet I've never seen anyone get belligerent about it.

Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#43

Post by Raphmedia »

FussyZeus wrote: post #35
mosselman wrote: post #19

My pregnant wife has a similar app, it is called 'her mouth'. It is revolutionary: you go up to people and you simply state 'Hello, I am sorry, would you mind letting me sit here? I am pregnant.'

What, you mean she has to talk to people ? Ugh that's so 20th century.

Pregnant woman: "Alexa, tell that woman to give up her seat for me!"

Alexa: "Hello citizen, please give up your seat. This woman is pregnant."

Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#44

Post by yomly »

Tharre wrote: post #13
mnkypete wrote: post #2

Not to be that guy, but what happened to being a decent human being and just getting up for pregnant women and elderly people? Do we really need an app for that now? As a founder I really do see lot's of value in technology to drive our society forwards, but I just can't wrap my head around some stuff..

The last time I tried to offer my seat to a obviously pregnant women she responded with: "No thanks, I'm pregnant, not a cripple.". So yeah it's complicated sometimes ...

I think the rationale is not that a woman can't stand when she's pregnant but that in sitting lowers risk for an accident - e.g. the train suddenly stopping unexpectedly or even people just having more people bunched around you when standing. When sitting, you have a more defined space around you and people tend to stand further away from people who are sitting.

Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#45

Post by Cerium »

supergreg wrote: post #27
jgrahamc wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have literally once offered my seat to a pregnant woman on the Tube in London and it turned out that she was just overweight round the middle and not pregnant. It was extremely embarrassing for both of us. I greatly appreciate the women who wear these badges: https://tfl.gov.uk/forms/23479.aspx because it makes it unambiguous. It can honestly be hard on a packed London underground train to tell the difference betwe…

That happens to me and elderly people. I never know when they are elderly enough to offer my seat.

If they are noticeably older and you can handle standing there is no harm giving up your seat.

Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#46

Post by devoply »

robjan wrote: post #38
kome wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what's her business plan? how will she monetize?

More to the point, how will she integrate this with the latest NoSQL GraphQL SaaS written in Go lang?

Gotta use Docker with Kubernets to deploy that, it's web scale.

Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#47

Post by test1235 »

robjan wrote: post #38
kome wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what's her business plan? how will she monetize?

More to the point, how will she integrate this with the latest NoSQL GraphQL SaaS written in Go lang?

What industry is she trying disrupt? Who are the early adopters? How many months to series A or angel investment, or will this be a crowdfunded innovation? Are we aiming for a possible unicorn/narwhal/decacorn here?

Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#49

Post by balls187 »

mnkypete wrote: post #2

Not to be that guy, but what happened to being a decent human being and just getting up for pregnant women and elderly people? Do we really need an app for that now? As a founder I really do see lot's of value in technology to drive our society forwards, but I just can't wrap my head around some stuff..

Blame the parents who never bothered to teach their children how to properly behave in society.

"Why should I have to give up my seat to someone just because they didn't use birth control?"

Re: New seat alert app for pregnant commuters

#50

Post by Bartweiss »

onion2k wrote: post #28
mulrian wrote: post #12

I don't get it. The whole concept only works if there are people who have deliberately installed the free version so that they actually get the notifications. Seems like a whole lot of work and £3.99 for a very small chance of anyone actually noticing. If you're pregnant and want my seat then just ask me - I'll always happily give it up.

I don't think it's reasonable to assume that the company behind this app did no research into the problem. It's possible that they didn't, but it's also possible that they asked pregnant women what problems they faced and discovered that actually getting a seat by asking people doesn't work as often as we'd like to think. That would be a really interesting discovery - on the face of it the problem shouldn't exist, bu…

There are, broadly, two questions here. I don't have any insight on the first, but I do on the second.

One is whether the existing solution (asking) works well. I wouldn't know, and I'm fully prepared to believe that it doesn't. The old "breaching experiments" about asking for someone's subway seat come to mind - asking for a seat while pregnant is very different from asking for one with no reason, but there's still a strong impulse against asking strangers for concessions. Add in the possibility of a hostile response, and I certainly won't be making fun of anyone for "not just talking".

But the second question is whether the solution works any better. The requirements for that are "people download the app, keep location and bluetooth on, then notice the alert and respond". That, simply put, isn't going to happen. You don't have to tell me what the product is - just knowing it's a two-sided 'market', where one side is "do all of these tasks without a reward", I can tell you that adoption will never be high enough to count on the app (unless someone enforces its use).

I don't object to someone making this app, though I'm a bit uncomfortable with them charging for a product which will work approximately never (even for charity). But it feels more like an art/awareness project than an actual tool - it's motivation to consider the problem, but I can't see any road for it to be a solution.

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