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Magic

getmagicnow.com

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Re: Magic

#181

Post by [deleted] »

gamegoblin wrote: post #64
DarrenMills wrote: post #32

This is a shadow, a hint of what AI and machine learning will bring us.

I imagine if this thing sticks around, they'll eventually be able to automate simple things like the pizza ordering and whatnot. I imagine it could call back to a human in case of issues, such as: Requester: "I want two pepperoni pizzas, one with extra cheese." AI Response: "I can have 3 pizzas, two pepperoni, and one cheese (with extra cheese), delivered from Dominos for $24.15" Requester: "No, I wanted two pepperon…

[deleted]

Re: Magic

#182

Post by exogen »

zaroth wrote: post #154
exogen wrote: post #137

I just decided to try this out in Seattle. Here's how it went! http://brianbeck.com/images/magic.png (the minimum was from the sushi place, not Magic)

Awesome demo! Can you update the shot while swiping left to show the timestamps?

Sure! http://brianbeck.com/images/magic-times.png

The first couple responses were pretty slow, sounds like they were getting absolutely hammered with requests. I could have done it a lot faster myself for sure, seems promising though!

Re: Magic

#183

Post by raldi »

cmikec wrote: post #8
jonheller wrote: post #5

Besides questions about revenue and such, can I just say that I absolutely love the landing page. No gimmicks, no parallax, no videos, no fake testimonials, no hero images, no marquees. Just good copy. Not sure if this is because of how quickly this blew up, but well done.

Thanks! Yeah, honestly, after deciding to launch this we released a really minimal landing page which I saved here: http://getmagicnow.com/index-old.html - As you can see I made that in about 20 minutes, and was not expecting this. After someone posted it on Product Hunt I spent whatever time I could polishing it up. In general though, I agree, simple websites are much better. Thanks for the kind words.

How come you removed the part of the FAQ that mentioned your fee? I think everyone knows you have to charge one and we're totally cool about it. Did you just feel that subject was best saved for later in the signup process, or did you want to keep the door open for alternate means of revenue?

Re: Magic

#184

Post by exogen »

christianmann wrote: post #144
exogen wrote: post #137

I just decided to try this out in Seattle. Here's how it went! http://brianbeck.com/images/magic.png (the minimum was from the sushi place, not Magic)

What were the extra pieces?

Edamame, some sushi rice, and escolar sashimi which I've never tried before. (edit: some kinda soup as well)

Re: Magic

#185

Post by grecy »

zak_mc_kracken wrote: post #179
grecy wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm curious to know how they can cover the entire US. Because they're just using other services to get you what you want.. i.e. flowers, groceries, pizza, etc. - they just call a florist/supermarket/pizza joint/etc. local to the requester. What examples of requests can you think of that can't be served anywhere in the US?

I understand that but you still need a one to one mapping between customers and request, even if that request is not ultimately implemented by the person who picked up the phone.

So your question is how are they going to scale to meet the demands of the 300 million people in the US?

Isn't that the fundamental question all business must face? When the first McDonald's opens in a town do they worry and say "How on earth will we meet the demand of the WHOLE town?"

Problems like that are good to have.

Re: Magic

#186

Post by RoyOfTheEdge »

cmikec wrote: post #10
gk1 wrote: post #7

Great idea. Can we find out how much it costs, or do we just have to trust that the quoted price for the task isn't too much above actual cost? Or does it not have any service fees? The site is really vague about pricing.

This is a great question. We are still trying to figure this out right now. Our vision is to be a service that handles everything - and that means everything from ordering food, to ordering clothes, to booking a one week's vacation in St. Thomas. The fees obvioulsy vary. Any ideas you have about doing this in a more straightforward way would be welcome. For now what we are doing is thinking about what would be reason…

I think the most important aspect of pricing is that your stated prices are itemized. That way you'll build trust with users.

As for pricing, perhaps a flat rate per request ($1?) that comes with up to 5 minutes of operator time for free. Then any time past 5 minutes could be billed in 5-minute blocks, perhaps $2 each (base price) and tiered up by order price (I dunno, maybe $3 for $500+, $5 for $2500+, $8 for $15000+). Also, you could charge predefined flat rates for any aspects of the order that can be automated.

Again, the important thing is that you're clear about what you're charging and why.

Great idea!

EDIT: changed suggested prices (redid math)

Re: Magic

#187

Post by notatoad »

exogen wrote: post #182
zaroth wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Awesome demo! Can you update the shot while swiping left to show the timestamps?

Sure! http://brianbeck.com/images/magic-times.png The first couple responses were pretty slow, sounds like they were getting absolutely hammered with requests. I could have done it a lot faster myself for sure, seems promising though!

That actually doesn't seem very good. If I'm craving sushi as 7pm, getting delivered at 9:15 isn't really going to do it for me.

Re: Magic

#188

Post by waterlesscloud »

zak_mc_kracken wrote: post #179
grecy wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm curious to know how they can cover the entire US. Because they're just using other services to get you what you want.. i.e. flowers, groceries, pizza, etc. - they just call a florist/supermarket/pizza joint/etc. local to the requester. What examples of requests can you think of that can't be served anywhere in the US?

I understand that but you still need a one to one mapping between customers and request, even if that request is not ultimately implemented by the person who picked up the phone.

They'll find a price point that matches the demand with their ability to supply. The premium involved in using this service is already substantial, so it's not going to be an everyday thing for everyone.

Re: Magic

#189

Post by akbar501 »

I mean this as a genuine compliment: this is an obvious idea...that was hiding in plain sight.

Good job on seeing it.

Re: Magic

#190

Post by jschwartzi »

petercooper wrote: post #86
DarrenMills wrote: post #32

This is a shadow, a hint of what AI and machine learning will bring us.

There seems to be a pattern lately of services that are initially human based but then use that as validation for a human-supported AI model further down the road. https://x.ai/ is one of the recent ones I remember seeing.

Humans are still the most flexible source of labor you can use for a task, so it's possible to learn exactly what the requirements are using a human and then try to automate various repetitive parts of the task until the human hardly does anything but verify that the robots are working properly. Note that this does not mean that humans are the least expensive form of labor, although they are currently the only form of labor that can be created by two completely unskilled humans in about 9 months.
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