
Show HN: Selfie Ticket - timae
http://www.ticketleap.com/info/selfie-ticket
======
brandon272
It's probably just me, but it took me so long after visiting the site to
figure out what they actually DO. Wording like, "BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO
Share Your Passion" and "IT STARTS WITH AN IDEA" is vague and gives me no idea
of what the product or service was.

I saw something about selfie tickets but had no idea what that meant. Do you
take a selfie on your phone and then it's part of an e-ticket? Do they print
tickets with your face on it? Is there a web backend? What does the mobile app
do, specifically? I feel like there's not enough to-the-point descriptive
copy.

I navigated back to the homepage and kind of got a better idea of what was
going on:

"Create an event page and start selling tickets in minutes."

Okay, makes sense.

"Run event-day like a pro with a full mobile box office"

What's a mobile box office? Is it an app that lets me scan tickets with QR
codes? Is there communication between mobile devices to validate tickets using
NFC or something?

Please take this as constructive criticism. Good luck with your product! :)

~~~
nacs
The intro video is equally useless and you have to watch 3/4 of the video
before they even mention what its doing. The first 45 seconds of the minute
long video is all "we think people are nice, look at all these random smiling
people, blablabla".

The front page and the intro video make it sound like it's yet another photo
sharing app for taking selfies.

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web007
How does this prevent ticket forgery? I see a moving logo and the bar at the
bottom, but what keeps me from creating a GIF overlay with that info for any
pic?

~~~
timae
Couple things help this. Clock ticking, colors aren't known until late, it's
part of the app (you could tap "back"). But honestly, many of these events we
work with weren't scanning barcodes. They were just collecting the paper
tickets (which obviously can be printed over and over again) because scanning
felt overkill. It's not right for every event, but, think about a 50 person
smoked-BBQ event at your local brewery -- they're having the event to build
their community and scanning barcodes seems weird for them.

~~~
RafiqM
Yes! I have many customers who run events with anything from 50-1000 people
and nobody wants to be bothered with scanning, even with the obvious
advantages it provides.

~~~
timae
I'm tim at ticketleap if you want to talk about them using Ticketleap/Selfie
Ticket.

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emhart
Love this idea, lots of fun and a lot friendly than most event ticket
experiences. Does it fallback gracefully to a non-selfie/non-phone ticket if
someone doesn't wish to, or isn't able to participate?

~~~
timae
Thanks! Yes, fallback is the traditional barcode ticket.

~~~
beahbl
Or, if an event doesn't want to use barcodes at all, they can check in anyone
without a Selfie Ticket by name

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pshin45
This is cool in terms of self-expression and making the ticket more personal,
and props for trying something new and building this in the first place, but
does it actually solve a problem? I agree that the hassle / un-naturalness of
scanning everyone in for smaller, more casual events is a problem, but I'm not
sure if this solves that problem.

Unless an organizer makes this mandatory for all attendees, it's more than
likely that only a minority of attendees will actually take a selfie of
themselves for their ticket. And if say, 20% of attendees took a selfie and
80% did not, how does this solve the "scanning problem" for organizers?

~~~
timae
You're right that this won't be adopted by 100% of attendees overnight, but we
try to nudge them in that direction in the UI (make it default over the
barcode ticket, etc.). Even still, If 20% of your line gets through extra
fast, it still makes a difference. And in a few months if that goes to 30%,
50%, then that's something.

But a key part of this is many of our events don't scan the tickets (doesn't
feel right for them), so this allows them to do something better than
collecting paper tickets or finding a name on a list, and it's fun for the
attendees who chose to use it.

------
mross462
I disagree very strongly with the principle that services should be purchased
with a photo. I will share a personal experience.

Traveling from Luxembourg to Brussels by train I made an arrangement for a
room via AirBnB. It being the first time, they asked me for ID, and Credit
Card information. I provided that. By the time I got off the train I received
a response from AirBnB that my reservation had been canceled due to the fact
that I hadn't provided a photo of myself for AirBnb. I believe the reason was
because they wanted to know that I was a "real person", but the exact phrasing
escapes me. This was not the case since I provided a photo of my driver's
license as my ID. As a result I had to scramble to find a room in one of the
most expensive cities in the world for this at the last moment (which was
expensive).

I strongly disagree with the idea that "your face" should be integrated with a
purchase. I strongly agree that your identity which includes but should not be
limited to a subset of "your face" should.

If you are proceeding down this path I recommend having a user select a photo,
rather than taking a self portrait.

Good Luck.

~~~
prawn
Been in the same position with AirBnB but the photo request came after I'd
already booked through them for other hosts previously. Very frustrating. I
had booking history and a credit card with them already!

------
RafiqM
I'm honestly not sure about this concept, but props to Ticketleap for
innovating and trying something new. Good work!

~~~
sitkack
My first thought was this was an underhanded way to get more demographic data.
I also don't like the potential privacy ramifications. What unintended places
will those images end up? I don't use a public profile pic and I don't take
selfies.

How this much different than the clubs that attempt to scan driver's licenses?

At least there is a fall back to a pure barcode.

~~~
bottompair
Hmmm... I guess since you don't use a public profile pic or take selfies this
is a bad product idea. Or maybe, just maybe most people don't really care.

Maybe your point was that you won't use this particular product? Are you the
person who also posts negative reviews on Yelp for restaurants you've never
been to because you don't like that style of food?

~~~
sitkack
Strawman ad-hominem? I hardly use yelp, your comment makes no sense.

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seniorsassycat
What prevents me from creating a app that looks like yours and displays my
selfie without buying a ticket?

~~~
jordan_clark
You bring up a valid point. Presenting a picture as the only means for
authentication removes the benefit of digitized confirmation. Pics on the app
store link appear to show a clock of some sort over the picture, but even that
could be easily recreated.

~~~
_garrett
You could add a visual icon as a sort of two-factor authentication. Set the
icon to change every few minutes and do a push notification with the current
icon to the people at the door.

------
csbrooks
Neat idea. One potential downside: people like me, who are incredibly non-
photogenic.

~~~
reeses
You should sell an app that puts your worst photos next to the subject in
their own photographs.

I cannot take a decent photo in most cases, but I had the opportunity to have
a photo session with someone who normally works with models and celebrities
and it made a huge difference. What I took away from the experience was that
wearing makeup, standing in painful positions, and having someone yelling
"hot!" "Ooh" "saucy!" and "yeah, like that, again!" makes for better photos,
not just a fun Saturday night.

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hartator
I don't want to be this guy, but how come this can a good idea in post-snowden
world?

Obviously you don't want your face associated with a political events or
ideology events. But also and more surprisingly to tech events, specially
crypto, physics and nuclear stuff. Some people get denied US tourist visa
based only on that.

~~~
pavel_lishin
Aren't most tickets already associated with your name and credit card number
anyway? Is adding your face tot he mix a serious problem?

~~~
hartator
I would say so.

You are adding biometric data to this so you can't say it's not me or type
fake information. It's a similar issue with the Iphone Fingerprint ID. If you
are making illegal calls, you can't say it's not me because 20 secondes before
the call you unlock your cell with your own finger.

------
naveenspark
This feels gimmicky. How does this help solve real issues with admission
control? The idea of admitting based on a face vs. a barcode for a reserved
show won't work. Assuming this is for GA only? Why not just allow users to
import photos from instagram, FB or similar? Are you going to make these
photos available in bulk fashion to event organizers? I can see how this might
be interesting for attendees to stalk who else was there but what is the value
prop for event organizers? Would the event organizer get other info from the
user such as email address? Why is this going to make me choose TicketLeap vs.
TicketFly vs. TicketMob vs. Brown Paper vs. Eventbrite vs. anyone else in this
insanely crowded industry? And for what its worth, the video is unnecessarily
emotional. If I were you I would just cut to the chase on how this adds value
to the ticketing ecosystem.

~~~
timae
Look, you created Immunity Project. That's pretty cool and coming from that
perspective, I can see why you think Selfie Ticket doesn't need emotion its
positioning. However, we think we're onto something with this and it's not
meant to be a gimmick.

If you're simply trying to sell tickets online (i.e. process a credit card and
hand out a barcode) there are plenty of solutions for that, as you suggest.
Ticketing platforms are built around the transaction and they do a good job of
it (we were in this group too). However, there is a much larger population of
people out there (whether they are creating events yet or not) that are trying
to build and grow a community around something they're doing. The best way to
build connections with someone? In person.

That's the type of event we're building for. One that's used to grow a
community. And for that purpose, scanning barcodes sucks. It's un-human at the
worst time, when you're trying to build human connections.

Hope that gives some background for our thought process behind telling the
story the way we have.

~~~
naveenspark
Apologies if my post felt unnecessarily snarky. Yes I am cofounder @ Immunity
Project, but I previously helped create Redbox Tickets so I have that hat on
for this thread. My opinion on the video aside, when you have a line of people
in front of you trying to get into an event, how does this help build
community? You have such little time with each person because your #1 focus is
getting them in the building. Even if its a small event you want people
spending more time in the event not chatting with the ticket taker. What is
the roadmap like for this feature? Perhaps that will help me better understand
the value prop.

~~~
timae
You're right! The feature doesn't end by simply getting into the event. Stay
tuned.

------
gailees
We need this for hackathons. Why do they need to take a selfie rather than
just using their facebook profile picture?

~~~
timae
Hackathons, yes. The selfie aspect makes it a fun/ceremonial part of the
experience of the event. 1 day before, you get the email, you take your pic,
and you get excited for the event the next day.

~~~
samstave
It would be interesting to have a post-event-page that has a gallery of all
the selfie tickets after the event so that attendees could go there to see all
who attended if they wanted a reminder of who they met and who to reach out
to. Use my selfie ticket as proof i attended and as a request for the contact
info of another attendee; "I was at the event as well, and wanted to get your
contact info; here's my selfie ticket as proof I was there!"

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javajosh
That video is trying to convert me to a religion, or change my life
philosophy, or something. It's telling me what life is about, what happiness
is, and frankly I resent that. Not to be a grouch, but you are a _company
making a ticketing system that uses people 's photos_. You aren't the Buddha,
or Jesus, or Socrates.

Since you brought up the subject, though, happiness is equanimity. It is the
freedom from distress that agitation and unmet desire and unwanted pain
causes. And that has absolutely nothing, nothing whatsoever, to do with your
product.

Build stuff, get excited about it, try to sell it. That's good and right when
you're in business. But don't overstep your bounds and start preaching.

FWIW, the biggest problem in ticketing is Ticketmaster's de facto monopoly -
if you want to get people excited about ticketing, tell them that you have a
plan to compete with Ticketmaster and won't be charging $15/ticket "service
fees". (I mean, come on, $15/ticket? That might be acceptable if the tickets
were calligraphy on parchment.)

------
nemrow
Props on the innovation. Devil's Advocate: Barcodes were put in place to speed
up mass quantity entry. This might cause a lineup as the ticket-taker is now a
'bouncer' and has to verify each persons physical identity. Have you tested
this model at any fairly large events?

~~~
jpd750
Again, not solving an problem..

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mikekij
I clicked the link because I thought it was an app that would give someone a
ticket every time they took a selfie. Like a parking ticket. Selfie ticket.

------
mattgreenrocks
Great idea! Turns out selfies _do_ have uses :)

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debt
They should have some closed caps on that video for deaf people. Also it
sounds like the narrator is talking down to me.

~~~
asciimo
I disliked the narrator, too. They should get Jeff Bridges. He made me fall in
love with batteries.

------
spoiledtechie
What about selling these tickets on StubHub? Can they be resold, since I now
have my face on it?

~~~
timae
You don't take the Selfie until 24 hours before (at most -- you can wait if
you think you might sell it). Until then, there's a simple flow to email the
ticket to someone else.

~~~
gee_totes
I'm imagining a user who's very busy and puts off taking the selfie until the
last minute... when they're in line.

Then the show the photo they just took to the bouncer to get in?

I think the reaction from people at these events will be 'this app is dumb'
after seeing someone take a photo then show it to the bouncer when the look
exactly the same in real life!

I mean, wouldn't you feel silly if you had bought and paid for a ticket to an
event then had to take a photo of yourself standing in line in order to get
in?

[Edit: my constructive criticism here is what are you going to do about the
users who will take the photo at the last second?]

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nathan_f77
Ha, my first thought was a service that let's you give warning tickets to
people who post 'selfies' on Facebook. Sign up today to join the "Selfie
Police".

------
carlmcqueen
Here is a selfie of the scalper I got the ticket from!

Definitely a fun concept.

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cdcarter
How does the organizer/door attendant mark the patron as attended? Is this
done on the user's personal cell phone, or is there another device at the
door?

~~~
timae
Reporting in the app tells them how many have activated their Selfie Ticket.
You can only activate it in the window 24 hours before the event, so it's a
pretty good indication they came.

------
jpd750
Start with a problem people actually have. I dont think this solves too many
problems... How different is this really? Incorporating an image into what you
show?

~~~
timae
Completely agree. People don't have a problem selling tickets -- that's been
solved. People do have a problem growing their community. That's the problem
we're solving. Events are a great way to do that and if THATs your goal,
scanning a barcode is pretty robotic/off-putting. Selfie Ticket doesn't add an
image into what you already show, it replaces the barcode with something a lot
more friendly/welcoming.

~~~
jpd750
So you're replacing a barcode with an image? Visited the site... very
confused.

------
wehadfun
How does this handle the people who refuse to take a selfie

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brianbreslin
Look into Kairos.io they have an API now. Could speed check-in, we use QR
codes and eventbrite app to do check-ins at RefreshMiami.

~~~
timae
There are two types of people in the world. Those who hate QR codes, and those
who don't know what they are.

~~~
jonesetc
Or rather, people who grossly misuse them, and people who realize there is a
time and place.

~~~
brianbreslin
In their original use case (inventory management at Toyota in the early 1990s)
they made sense, for ticketing they are hit or miss. I personally dislike them
even though we use them a lot. I thought they were overhyped about 4-5 years
ago.

------
coherentpony
Great idea. Thanks for sharing.

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Kluny
I suppose it saves small events from needing to have a scanner.

~~~
User8712
How? A scanner proves the ticket is valid and unused. After all, that's the
purpose of a ticket. How does the selfie ticket achieve this? Who cares
whether or not you match the person in the photo? It doesn't verify anything.

This is as secure as a printed piece of paper that simply says, _You 're
welcome to John's BBQ. Confirmation number A2M1_.

Anyone could print off that paper, or make up a random confirmation number,
and they can do the same with the selfie ticket. Unless it's scanned, there's
no security. It's fine for your $5 bake sale event, or backyard party for your
neighbors. It's just a way to customize your ticket with a personal photo. The
person checking the ticket isn't going to care if you match this photo,
they'll just glance at the screen to see if it has the event name and looks
somewhat official.

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hnriot
Who cares how friendly an event ticket is? Is that really a concern anyone
has.

------
Dewie
OT: The style of that presentation video seems pretty typical for
technological gadgets and apps. Does it have a name?

~~~
timae
Some have used the phrase "explainer video" but I don't think that's quite
right in this case. I can tell you (I'm the CEO of Ticketleap) it was the
brain child of our super talented @bobhoranjr

