Matching Items (4)
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- Creators: Eaton, John
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
iWaandr is a travel platform that allows users to find and share unique experiences. It will be a website that users can find on the internet. Every user will be able to post their own experiences on the platform along with a description, important information, and a rating.
The problem we are trying to solve is that it still takes hours to search for and find unique non-touristy experiences around the world. At a time when people can use their smartphones to have a car show up to their doorstep in minutes, it is unacceptable that it still takes hours to find an non-touristy experience on the internet.
Our value proposition is that users will be able to be anywhere in the world and be able to find an authentic, non-touristy experience that interests them. iWaandr is the most complete experience discovery tool, providing the largest collection of unique and personal experiences around the world.
Our competition is the large incumbent travel and review companies like TripAdvisor and Airbnb. There are also less established competitors that see a similar gap in the market like Mapify and Cool Cousin. We also have niche competitors that are only focused on outdoor activities like AllTrails and Outbound Collective. Google and blogs would also be competitors because people search on Google for unique experiences.
Our innovation is that we are focusing on creating unique content while our competitors are focusing on new ways to display the same content. Our advantage isn’t in a feature we created because a company with more resources could easily copy it. In order to create unique and useful content, we had to figure out a way for users to intuitively and easily post an experience with as much relevant information as possible. This involved a lot of thought into our posting process. We believe our posting process allows users to consistently post unique and informative content.
The technology we are implementing is very similar to the FERN technology stack of Firebase as a database, ExpressJS and NodeJS as backend frameworks, and ReactJS as the front-end programming language. We chose this technology stack because it allows our platform to stay lean, and be efficient with data. This allows the platform to have increased performance and lower costs.
The problem we are trying to solve is that it still takes hours to search for and find unique non-touristy experiences around the world. At a time when people can use their smartphones to have a car show up to their doorstep in minutes, it is unacceptable that it still takes hours to find an non-touristy experience on the internet.
Our value proposition is that users will be able to be anywhere in the world and be able to find an authentic, non-touristy experience that interests them. iWaandr is the most complete experience discovery tool, providing the largest collection of unique and personal experiences around the world.
Our competition is the large incumbent travel and review companies like TripAdvisor and Airbnb. There are also less established competitors that see a similar gap in the market like Mapify and Cool Cousin. We also have niche competitors that are only focused on outdoor activities like AllTrails and Outbound Collective. Google and blogs would also be competitors because people search on Google for unique experiences.
Our innovation is that we are focusing on creating unique content while our competitors are focusing on new ways to display the same content. Our advantage isn’t in a feature we created because a company with more resources could easily copy it. In order to create unique and useful content, we had to figure out a way for users to intuitively and easily post an experience with as much relevant information as possible. This involved a lot of thought into our posting process. We believe our posting process allows users to consistently post unique and informative content.
The technology we are implementing is very similar to the FERN technology stack of Firebase as a database, ExpressJS and NodeJS as backend frameworks, and ReactJS as the front-end programming language. We chose this technology stack because it allows our platform to stay lean, and be efficient with data. This allows the platform to have increased performance and lower costs.
ContributorsChee, Christian Yoshiaki (Co-author) / Bingham, Joseph (Co-author) / Cho, Steve (Thesis director) / Witwer, Bob (Committee member) / Tech Entrepreneurship & Mgmt (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Social media has evolved so quickly in the past two decades and continues to grow and change at a rapid pace. This way of connecting and communicating with others has become so ingrained in daily life and can have a major influence on people's actions. Social media and social networking look vastly different today than it did in the past, and will continue to change for the future. The sports and travel industries are no exception to the integration of social media. Both entities understand the importance of being prominent in the online domain and connecting to the Millennial generation. It is crucial for young people to learn how to positively use social media in the classroom and in the workplace as their lives become consumed by this digital world. The emphasis on social media in different facets of society can bring both positive and negative connotations along with it, depending on how, when, and why people decide to use it. Social media is not meant to replace all interactions and forms of contact, but rather enhance these relationships. By analyzing the history of social media, current trends and effects, this project seeks to forecast the impact that social media will continue to have in the future. In the fast paced world today, social media and other forms of electronic communication will only continue to increase and be intensified. This project explores how social media has impacted society, most importantly, the travel industry and the sports industry. Social media will continue to expand knowledge, connect people all over the world, and enhance experiences as it inevitably becomes even more integrated into everyday life.
ContributorsHomes, Taylor (Co-author) / Larkin, Anna (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Humans have traveled since the dawn of humanity over 200,000 years ago. As time progressed and technology increased, so too did human motivations and drivers for travel. This thesis aims to understand these human motivations and drivers, ultimately answering the question, "Why Travel?" To answer this question, this research starts from the earliest of humans, classifying groups of individuals across time into respective buckets based on a similar motivation. In doing so, four traveler segments were identified: the Survivors, the Inventors, the Adventurers, and the Colonists. Each segment describes an era in time of a specific group of humans, each distinctly aligning with a specific reason for travel. In the early 1800s, the advent of commercial travel altered the future of travel. This began with the invention of the locomotive and was followed by the airplane and automobile. With this onset of commercial travel, transportation arrives to its current state in 2018 with a new type of traveler: the Modern Traveler. This is a turning point in the history of travel, as prior to commercial travel, groups of individuals could be grouped under one specific reason. Post commercial travel, human motivations and drivers become diverse and discrete, with no two individuals sharing the same motivations. To further understand this human desire for travel in a modern sense, a survey was administered to uncover these drivers. The findings revealed one broad reason: humans travel for the experience. With this overarching view of travel, five drivers were also apparent. First, humans travel to visit friends and family. Secondly, family vacations are an important factor in the motivation to travel. Third, humans desire the ability to experience a culture different than their own. Fourth, humans are intrigued by new places and can be motivated to travel by the ability to have new experiences. Fifth and finally, rest and relaxation are a key driver in human travel. With a greater understanding as to "why humans travel," and the drivers behind the "experience" individuals seek through travel, such understandings could be used to segment these individuals into distinct traveler profiles. These segments, the Backpacker, the Solo-Traveler, the Groupie, the Cultural Traveler and the Party Lover, were used to better group motivations for travel. One conclusion can be drawn from this research: travel is diverse and so are travelers. One reason cannot define the motivations of a modern traveler, rather today's traveler is bound by multiple. However, segmenting an individual provides valuable insights into their own diverse traveler persona.
ContributorsCheney, Elizabeth Marie (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
From exploring coffee plantations with an old Irishman in the mountains of Colombia to watching the sun set over the Strait of Gibraltar from the terrace of an ancient Moroccan cafe, this thesis sent Charles and Zane on an elaborate cafe-crawl across ten countries, with stops at a few of the world’s most interesting coffee houses. Some of these cafes, such as the world-renowned Caffé Florian (opened in 1720) and Caffé Greco (1760), are built on long-standing traditions. Others are led by innovators championing high-quality boutique shops, challenging mass production chains such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. These newer cafes fuel a movement classified as the “Third Wave”. With a foundation gained from specialized courses with Patrick O’Malley, North America’s leading voice in coffee, Zane and Charles conducted first-hand research into the unique coffee preferences of multiple cultures, the emergence and impact of the Third Wave in these countries, and what the future may hold for coffee lovers.
ContributorsJarecke, Zane Micheal (Co-author) / Ferguson, Charles (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Bonfiglio, Thomas (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05