Marketplace Platform
A stand-alone system with interactive software, that a community could use to organize local delivery orders/services.
Design
Picture something of a cross between CragisList (categorized, local, real-time posting) and eBay (profiles and bidding).
The platform would offer memberships, profiles (smoker or non smoker, allows passenger stops or pets) posting as "hiring" or "for hire," bartering, live chat, milestone operations (order in-process), GPS locating/mapping, money handling, support, record keeping, reports, and more including suggested "market rates" to start the bartering. (No sense in starting bidding at $2.)
None of this is re-inventing the wheel. All of these technologies exist already. It's a matter of compiling the best choices from available options. Which functions do we need? How to put it all together? How to design, build, and maintain the system? How to allow for true independence - groups using the base OS without being tied to a national home base? How about security?
Summary
The open-source platform is is the biggest component of the entire project. This base must be designed to the best of our ability. We look forward to round table discussions to suss out the best ideas. At first thought, we picture something more akin to CraigsList (with flavors of eBay and current gig delivery mega-apps) than the apps in their current forms. Templates are a big part of the initial ideas.
Services – For the big services (passengers, food delivery, shopping) there would be a starting template for each. Then the bartering system offers more templates for customers and drivers to tweak to their mutual satisfaction. For unusual requests there would be a CraigsList type forum system.
Profiles – Without being rude, people should be able to rate and review each other. But the anonymity of the internet makes people too brutally honest. You want to maintain cordial relationships with your neighbors, or most people do. Find a nice way to phrase your commentary even if it’s critical. BUT THE BIGGEST boost about profiles is you can see things like whether the driver will help with luggage or whether the driver will do apartments, or if the driver is a smoker or allows smoking.
Bartering – This is a big deal. In the templates will be a chart of ideas, and the two parties can go from there. But it needs to be clear what the person is buying/providing. Are there stops? Is there luggage? Is there a wait at the restaurant? And what if something comes up after the order is placed? There are lots of ways to handle these things, hopefully with compromises to accommodate each party.
First thoughts for functionality:
• Memberships (logins, databases, dynamic interactions)
• Member profiles with preferences and location assessment (apt, stairs, etc)
• Payment processes
• Email capability
• GPS location services (usable data including mapping – is Google available or?)
• Dynamic restaurant/retail member specials page – not intricate but like a one-page list
• Dynamic list of options / preset minimum rate suggestion based off of profile (apt, stairs, etc)
• Dynamic lists of options, able to update on member and admin levels
• Matching based off of the above
• Pinging, locking on, bartering, in-task options, completion, photos, disputes
• Ratings system with private/public comments
• Chat communication between task-connected parties; archiving of these
• Comprehensive record keeping; daily reports generation and filing
• UI for these things, static informational pages
• A suite of admin tools including banning, refunds, disputes, editing, all reports and records
• Ability to assign an admin clerk who has limited management access
• Security protocols, backup systems, lock-out or re-boot systems, closure systems
Initial Ideas Document
A 30-page document of Initial Ideas is available as a starting point for discussions.
Spring 2023
Round Table Discussions
The overarching idea of the project is to lower the barrier to entry for regular people in a neighborhood to create an independent delivery cooperatives.
In addition to an open-source platform we would like to provide something of a template that outlines the “best practices” of such an organization.
To accomplish both of these goals, we will open a public forum to suss out those best practices.
Round table discussions will begin in Spring 2023, to establish parameters which amount to a task list for designers and engineers.
A dedicated forum system will contain subforums for each of the categories on the outline below. Interested experts and devotees are welcome to apply for moderator positions.
Round Table discussions are expected to last 3-6 months, allowing ample time for information gathering and discussion, and a generous public commentary period.
Subscribers will receive email invitations.
January 2023
Project Outline Commentary
A beginning outline of project parameters is available for commentary.
Until then discussions will be held on the project’s Reddit page to finalize the tentative outline above.
If you have expertise in any of the components above and would like to moderate that particular forum, please reach out!
Send email to: admins@deliverycats.com.
See outline discussions at: www.reddit.com/r/deliverycats.
Note: Reddit is a good option to foster intellectual commentary, for a new enterprise without organic followers. A dedicated forum system hosted on our servers will facilitate round table discussions.
Whatever your role or station,
You can help.
To bring this concept to fruition, we need some experts, engineers, and designers - and lots of grass roots support.
Support doesn't always mean cold money.
People are the lifeblood of any organization. We need personable, thinking minds to work together to design and create the system. We will need people to use and test the system. Most importantly in the beginning, we need people to spread the word so we can reach a critical mass of participants.
Thanks for your contribution whether time, money, or a simple share on social media.