Isabelle Styslinger - Disruptive Competition Project

A New Vending Machine Echoes Old Concerns

by Isabelle Styslinger on September 21, 2017

When two tech execs announced Internet-connected vending machines last week, they met a social media furor that uncannily echoed the past.The startup, named “Bodega,” drew news headlines and a viral hashtag when a business magazine highlighted their plan to “make bodegas and mom-and-pop corner stores obsolete” through the installation of unmanned vending machines.

Bodega argues its innovation will supplement corner stores, not replace them, but many remain unconvinced. However, traditional vending machines initially evoked similar concerns in the 20th century but have come to be regarded as a complement to corner stores. A similar path forward may be possible for Bodega.

As Banks Slam Bitcoin, They Invest in Blockchain

by Isabelle Styslinger on September 19, 2017

At a conference last week J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. chief executive, Jamie Dimon, slammed Bitcoin, after which the cryptocurrency’s prices plunged. Dimon referred to Bitcoin as “a fraud” and asserted it was “worse than tulip bulbs” — basically the worst currency insult you can levy.

Some speculate Dimon’s skepticism is rooted in fear of cryptocurrencies’ potential to disrupt the financial industry, which has attracted harsh criticism for its conduct leading up to the financial crisis.

While Dimon, and others like him, continue to denounce cryptocurrencies, at the same time, J.P. Morgan and other critics are investing in Bitcoin’s underlying technology — blockchain — in an attempt to keep pace with cryptocurrencies’ capabilities.

Competition in the Online Classified Ad Marketplace

by Isabelle Styslinger on September 7, 2017

As Craigslist turns 22 this year, many believe its time as a leader in the online classified ad business is coming to a close, specifically pointing to Craigslist’s unwillingness to expand into mobile. New entrants are attempting to seize on its absence, creating mobile classified ad marketplaces.

In the more than two decades since Craigslist’s inception the company has grown significantly: it now totals 55 million users per month; its revenue surpassed more than $690 million last year; and, by Forbes’ estimates, the company is worth $3 billion (at least).

Craigslist’s platform, however, remains relatively unchanged. When Craigslist was released in 1995 its website contained a list of blue hyperlinks similar to what you see when you log on to the site today.

More surprising than its long-standing bare-bones aesthetic: Craigslist remains a platform exclusively for desktop.

This is particularly surprising considering mobile and e-commerce trends.

New Ad Escalates Hostility in Airbnb Regulatory Battle

by Isabelle Styslinger on August 9, 2017

In an escalation of hostilities, a new 30-second ad backed by New York City hotels and hotel worker unions portrays Airbnb listings as security threats to New Yorkers.

The ad, which was immediately criticized for using fear-mongering tactics, is the latest example of established industries responding to disruptive competition by lobbying for regulatory intervention.

The video begins by stating that there are 40,000 Airbnb listings in NYC and asserts that Airbnb permits “illegal listings on its site.” Despite this, the ad states, Airbnb “refuses to hand over the addresses to law enforcement.” Failing to turn over this data could have dangerous repercussions, the ad appears to convey, referencing how Salman Abedi, the Manchester bomber, used a short-term rental through an online retailer when he conducted the attack, and reminding viewers that New York remains a primary target for terrorism.

Airbnb quickly denounced the ad, calling it “an outrageous scare tactic” and asserting that Airbnb “had nothing to do with the tragic events in Manchester.” It also stated that it is “one of the only hospitality companies that runs background checks on all U.S. residents, both hosts and guests.”

The ad comes in the midst of discussions over proposed legislation in New York backed by the hotel industry that would require ads on home-sharing sites to list the property’s “address, including street name, street number, apartment number, borough, town and county of the unit being offered.”

Fighting For Your Ears

by Isabelle Styslinger on August 8, 2017

Last week Spotify revealed it’s going to promote podcasts on its streaming service, providing yet another example of the fierce competition underway for your ears. Indeed, between music services, audiobooks, and podcasts, the fight for listening time is only heating up.

When Apple’s multimedia player, iTunes, was released in 2001, competition across these different types of audio was not as evident. When iTunes transformed into a digital multimedia store, this changed.

Originally, however, iTunes was a simple music player and Napster, an unlicensed peer-to-peer file sharing service, which allowed users to send audio files back and forth, was the closest thing to a digital music store. While Napster quickly ran afoul of U.S. copyright law, the overwhelming response to the product demonstrated enormous pent-up demand for a licensed digital audio service. Eventually iTunes emerged as not only a service for purchasing songs and managing files on music devices, but one for listening to music.

Offering both a music player and online store in one, centralized site was appealing to consumers and, before long, iTunes offered other forms of multimedia, including audiobooks, podcasts, TV, and movies.

Digitizing the music store fundamentally changed how we consume audio — namely, instantly and efficiently. But, most importantly, it changed the nature of competition; by allowing users to digitally access and purchase different types of audio on iTunes, it placed these once-separate verticals in direct competition with one another.

Uber Keeps on Trucking

by Isabelle Styslinger on July 20, 2017

When one of Uber’s self-driving trucks drove 200 kilometers from Fort Collins to Colorado Spring to deliver a shipment of Budweiser, it seemed Uber was primed to disrupt the estimated $800 billion trucking industry. Optimism was bolstered by Uber’s acquisition of the self-driving trucking startup, OttoMotto, last year.

After the acquisition and successful test run, Lior Ron, OttoMotto’s co-founder, told Reuters he “expected truckers would be using the firm’s driverless technology to haul freight by 2017 as part of a suite of trucking services offered under the Uber banner.”

Despite these early efforts to pair automation with hauling services, Uber’s trucking application, titled “Uber Freight,” attempts only to connect truck drivers with cargo needing to be hauled. Bill Driegert, Uber Freight’s director of operations, reported the company’s self-driving truck initiative and freight hauling service are on “separate tracks.”

Uber’s concentration on matching shipments to carriers means entering a more competitive environment. Uber Freight is similar to competitor services like Convoy, Doft, and Trucker Path, which also connect drivers to shipments.

Apple iPhone, iTunes… now iHealth?

by Isabelle Styslinger on July 19, 2017

CNBC recently learned of a secret team in Apple’s health unit that is working to create the iTunes of health. That is, they are working to bring users’ medical records and lab results to one centralized interface on iOS devices.

Although more than 96% of hospitals and 80% of physician practices are currently digitized — thanks, in large part, to the $30 billion spent on installing electronic records systems in hospitals and doctors’ offices since 2009 — the challenge now is to connect these systems together.

“Technology is the easy part,” Jodi Daniel, former health IT official, asserts. “The really challenging part is the business issues the operational issues and the trust issues with exchanging information,” Daniel concluded.

Interactive Storytelling: Allowing us to decide the plot of House of Cards?

by Isabelle Styslinger on July 13, 2017

It seems as if everyone is experimenting with television. BuzzFeed reportedly has 31 shows at various stages of production, Facebook is set to release its own original programming later this year, and Verizon and Google have invested millions in digital media platforms and studios. With so many emerging players, competition for viewers’ attention seems more challenging than ever — especially for the shows outside of name-brand networks and companies. And, yet, a low-budget, Spanish telenovela streamed on Facebook Live is holding the attention of millions of viewers.

On the surface the show seems like something you’ve seen before; it has a young maiden in need of rescuing, a deceptive wife, a dashing hero, and a faithful steed. What sets the telenovela apart is that the show pauses intermittently for about 30 seconds, in which time audience members can vote on what the characters should do next.

Super Deluxe, the Los Angeles entertainment company behind the telenovela, began the show to test out how viewers responded to scripted content. Its inherently interactive nature, however, quickly attracted millions of views.

While the telenovela’s interactivity may currently set it apart from other programs, recent consumer trends and developing projects may lead to it become more mainstream — marking yet another shift in how we consume television.

Pinterest’s Lens is Having a Moment

by Isabelle Styslinger on June 28, 2017

Pinterest’s Lens feature, first previewed last summer, was released this February. Lens, by using computer vision and machine learning, is able to “understand the objects you’re looking at and how they could be useful to you.”

Taking a photo of pasta, for example, returns relevant recipes and cooking suggestions to the user. Whereas other searches may return similar information — i.e. more pasta photos — Lens goes a step farther by providing related, yet still relevant results.

Aside from the benefit of not having to type out a search (perhaps this could help combat the rise in carpal tunnel?), it allows users to search for things when they may be incapable of describing them.

“Traditional search is really great when you have the right words,” said CTO Evan Sharp at a press event last year. However, it “can be tough… to translate information into a few words,” he conceded. In other words, Lens may be great for figuring out just what you want because it analyzes why you want it.

VR Resurrects Freddie Mercury

by Isabelle Styslinger on June 27, 2017

Freddie Mercury has been my music idol for as long as I can remember. The hysteria that ensued upon realizing I would never be able to meet him, or see him perform live, is one of my most vivid childhood memories. But now, thanks to virtual reality (VR), my ten-year-old dream may be a (virtual) reality.

Last year Enosis VR and Queen partnered to create a 360-degree virtual reality video of Bohemian Rhapsody available on Google Play. “The interactive app uses 2D and 3D animations combined with motion-captured ballet dancers to immerse the viewer in the late Freddie Mercury’s ‘subconscious mind’.”

Although immersive technology has been used in the music industry for some time, it was primarily used as a marketing tool. Now, virtual reality devices are serving as a revenue stream in their own right.

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