From the little I talked with blind people, I think this could be a great solution for shopping. People I talked with said that crossing streets or moving around ain't big problem for them, but one of their biggest pain points are grocery stores. More and more, Mom&Pop stores are replaced by network supermarkets, in which you need to search for the product yourself instead of asking for it, and employees are often not prepared/willing to help a blind customer. This app could help a lot here.
Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
51–60 of 165 posts
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#52My only question is how do you handle trolls, idiots, abuse etc? What happens if for example 4chan decides to 'raid' your app and direct blind people into unfortunate situations. I must admit it's a very low act but that's my only real thought about this. If abuse wasn't a possibility I think the app is 100% amazing.
I imagine they'd want to verify the identity of "helpers" through the same means that Paypal does: through bank account (not credit card) verification.
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#53Nice idea, but I think it would be better if it were commercial, with the blind user paying, the sighted helper getting paid, and the app developers getting a cut. The payment could be by the minute. I think the general public will be more inclined to treat blind people as equals if we demolish the notion that blind people require charity. Addendum: Lest anyone think I'm talking out of my ass, here's a blog post from…
I'd feel pretty cheeky helping a blind person if I was doing it just to get paid for it. Similarly, I wouldn't help an old lady cross the street then ask for a pound.
Yep it's called micro volunteering :-)
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#54Nice idea, but I think it would be better if it were commercial, with the blind user paying, the sighted helper getting paid, and the app developers getting a cut. The payment could be by the minute. I think the general public will be more inclined to treat blind people as equals if we demolish the notion that blind people require charity. Addendum: Lest anyone think I'm talking out of my ass, here's a blog post from…
I'd suggest (almost) exactly the opposite, actually...
Charge $5/mo to be a 'helper' and keep it free for blind users. I suspect there are enough folks out there who would be happy to pay $5 for the opportunity to help others (maybe I'm too much of an optimist though... who knows...)
That way you cover costs, and filter out a lot of potential trolls.
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#55Nice idea, but I think it would be better if it were commercial, with the blind user paying, the sighted helper getting paid, and the app developers getting a cut. The payment could be by the minute. I think the general public will be more inclined to treat blind people as equals if we demolish the notion that blind people require charity. Addendum: Lest anyone think I'm talking out of my ass, here's a blog post from…
Well, AFB would like to have a conversation with you. http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/for-job-seek... I'm all for empowering people but I doubt that given the current state of things, especially blind and visually impaired employment rate, this would be successful if it were for-profit. If successful as a non-profit this projects can - raise awareness - break isolation - practically improve lives - pu…
Please do contact us at info@bemyeyes.org
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#56Thanks, really, for showing hope for humanity.
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#57Nice idea, but I think it would be better if it were commercial, with the blind user paying, the sighted helper getting paid, and the app developers getting a cut. The payment could be by the minute. I think the general public will be more inclined to treat blind people as equals if we demolish the notion that blind people require charity. Addendum: Lest anyone think I'm talking out of my ass, here's a blog post from…
I'd suggest (almost) exactly the opposite, actually... Charge $5/mo to be a 'helper' and keep it free for blind users. I suspect there are enough folks out there who would be happy to pay $5 for the opportunity to help others (maybe I'm too much of an optimist though... who knows...) That way you cover costs, and filter out a lot of potential trolls.
I think this is a good idea. The subscription could potentially be done similarly to Humble Bundle where a decent percentage could be ring fenced for charitable/non-profit organisations. In this case you'd expect it to go to organisations helping the bodily impaired.
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#58[deleted]
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#59Oddly relevant - a This American Life episode recently explored whether cultural expectations of blind individuals' abilities have been detrimental[1]. 1. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/544/b...
That is the first thought I had. The expectation here is that the blind need help, which may not be the case. The interesting thing to me was that the blind can "see" through echo location. Very cool stuff.
SOME blind people can see using echo location. From what I understand, children can learn faster in detecting objects with sound vs someone much older where it may take much longer. There is a pretty good Wiki on it that explains more and includes some people from the show[1].
Re: Be My Eyes – Lend your eyes to the blind
#60Oddly relevant - a This American Life episode recently explored whether cultural expectations of blind individuals' abilities have been detrimental[1]. 1. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/544/b...
That is the first thought I had. The expectation here is that the blind need help, which may not be the case. The interesting thing to me was that the blind can "see" through echo location. Very cool stuff.
Presumably only those blind people who need help would use the app, no?