Re Amazon Key is Silicon Valley at its most out-of-touch

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: David Orban <david () davidorban com>
> Date: October 26, 2017 at 12:23:37 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: ip <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Amazon Key is Silicon Valley at its most out-of-touch
>
> In terms of convenience and automated shopping experiences, this article from South Korea laments how much the 
> country is behind China, because only a handful of totally automated 24/7 stores without any person serving the 
> clients, while the plans are to set up over 5000 of them in China. The lessons of Silicon Valley spreading, or 
> convergent evolution?
>
> "A steep hike in the minimum wage next year and technological advancement are prompting local retailers to operate 
> unmanned convenience stores.
>
> According to industry officials, Monday, more retailers in Korea have begun running unmanned convenience stores by 
> installing self-checkout machines which can replace part-time cashiers, most of whom receive the minimum wage.
> ...
>
> Analysts expect the minimum wage hike next year will spur more retailers to turn to technology to cut costs. The 
> nation’s hourly minimum wage will be 7,530 won ($6.67) next year, up 16.4 percent from this year. It may reach 10,000 
> won in 2020, in line with the Moon Jae-in administration’s labor-friendly policies.
> ...
>
> According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), more than 20 brands in China run unmanned 
> convenience stores there.
>
> This is because Chinese retail giants including Alibaba have begun actively investing in unmanned convenience stores, 
> since the U.S. retail giant Amazon unveiled its unmanned Amazon Go store last December.
>
> In June, Shanghai got the world’s first 24-hour unmanned convenience store named BingoBox. BingoBox said it will open 
> 5,000 unmanned convenience stores by the end of next year.
>
> Wahaha Group, one of the largest food firms in China, is also set to open TakeGo automated convenience stores.
> ..."
>
> http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/phone/news/view.jsp?req_newsidx=238095
>
>
> > On Thu, Oct 26, 2017 at 6:06 PM Dave Farber <farber () gmail com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> > > Date: October 26, 2017 at 11:34:34 AM EDT
> > > To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> > > Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Amazon Key is Silicon Valley at its most out-of-touch
> > > Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
> > >
> > > Amazon Key is Silicon Valley at its most out-of-touch
> > > By Christine Emba
> > > Oct 25 2017
> > > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/10/25/amazon-key-is-silicon-valley-at-its-most-out-of-touch/>
> > >
> > > Amazon wants to let strangers into your house and train a surveillance camera on your front door. Oh, and they’d 
> > > like you to pay them $250 for the privilege.
> > >
> > > Skeptical? So are many who saw today’s announcement of “Amazon Key,” a new service to make home deliveries even 
> > > more convenient, available exclusively to Amazon Prime members.
> > >
> > > Here’s how it works: Starting today, members of Amazon’s two-day delivery service can pre-order a kit that includes 
> > > an Amazon security camera called the “Cloud Cam” and a compatible smart lock. Once you install the lock and the 
> > > camera (inside your house! Within 25 feet of the door!), you’ll be able to access an “in-home” shipping option for 
> > > your Amazon purchases. When a delivery driver arrives, Amazon will verify the address and time and let them in. 
> > > Amazon Key owners will be able to watch them from their phones, as the camera records the whole thing. They plan to 
> > > expand this access to professional service providers such as dog walkers and maids.
> > >
> > > Brilliant, right? So convenient. Now you’ll never have to wait around to meet the mailman or worry about getting a 
> > > package stolen off your porch. What else could you possibly want?, asks your benevolent e-commerce overlord. (Note: 
> > > The Washington Post is owned by Amazon founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos. JB, if you’re reading this, I 
> > > am a Prime member!)
> > >
> > > As it turns out, I want a lot more than that.
> > >
> > > The thought processes of Silicon Valley innovators are a curious thing. Many observers have noted that the most 
> > > common proposals seem to fall into the category of “things that I, a 25-year-old man, wish that I could still get 
> > > my mother to do for me.” But even more eyebrow-raising is the fact many of these ideas share a curious 
> > > misunderstanding of the average person’s hierarchy of goods — what things matter to them, and how much. It may come 
> > > as a surprise to those who are willing to live in Google’s parking lot and drink Soylent meal replacement instead 
> > > of eating real food, but some of us care about more than just convenience.
> > >
> > > Examples of this mismatch abound. Take Bodega, a start-up idea that was floated (and promptly sank) just a few 
> > > weeks ago. Its object was to put mom-and-pop corner stores out of business by selling nonperishable convenience 
> > > goods out of unmanned “pantry boxes” (read: vending machines) that would be located in high-density areas such as 
> > > college dorms and apartment buildings. So convenient, right? It’s fast, it’s cheap, and you wouldn’t have to make 
> > > eye contact with a judgmental cashier as you paid for six pounds of candy corn, not that your correspondent has any 
> > > experience with that.
> > >
> > > Except it turned out that convenience and anonymity weren’t everyone’s highest goods. Apparently some people wanted 
> > > to walk down the street and interact with others. Maybe they weren’t interested in killing local jobs in service of 
> > > a giant machine that would sit in their lobby. Perhaps they even valued the diversity and sense of community that a 
> > > neighborhood mom-and-pop could bring over innovation for innovation’s sake.
> > >
> > > Then there was the ignominiously recalled Juicero, a machine that would make individual pours of cold-pressed juice 
> > > using home-delivered produce packets and WiFi-enabled home machinery. Admittedly convenient, if juice was your 
> > > thing. But it turned out that the average person valued having a non-exorbitant grocery budget (the Juicero machine 
> > > cost $400, and each juice packet $5 to $8) and not feeling like they’d been scammed by overeager marketing teams 
> > > (it turns out that the Tesla-strength machine wasn’t even necessary to squeeze the packets) over a convenient glass 
> > > of juice. Who could have guessed?
> > >
> > > [snip]
> > >
> > > Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
> > > Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp
> >
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