

Will jotting down license plates pay the rent? - edw519
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2010/04/can-you-make-money-just-by-writing-down-the-license-plate-numbers-of-cars-in-your-neighborhood-it-might-sound-like-a-game-yo.html#posts

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00joe
2 things

1\. about 80 red flags of why this is a scam, yet 92,000 affiliates. Just
shows how peoples greed will let them ignore the little things.

2\. its an amazing combination of crowd-sourcing and network marketing. I can
see lots of interesting problems being solved like this in the future.

~~~
demallien
I'm curious as to what you think the scam is. Just based on the information
given in the article, the only money apparently changing hands is the company
giving participants money, not the other way around. And if the company is
paying for the information, it would seem reasonable to assume that they think
they have a way of monetising that information...

But maybe I'm missing something...

~~~
gus_massa
"Joining the service is "100 percent free," but members are urged to pay $130
for software that ..."

"But they stand to profit significantly if they convince friends and family to
join -- a classic multi-level marketing ploy."

I think that they will try to sell the informaton, but if it is not possible,
this can be transformed into an unwanted pyramid scheme.

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jluxenberg
From the article, regarding their website: _"We tell people it's where Walmart
meets Google," he said._

Can't fathom what that means...

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coderdude
Given the context I assume he's saying that you are offered "great deals" on
things, and you can find them easily. It's still the most ridiculous "x meets
y" I've ever heard though. Maybe he tells his affiliates that because it
sounds rich.

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MaysonL
Is there an app for that yet? With just a little bit of OCR, you should be
able to process quite a few license plates with a smartphone with a camera.

~~~
pavel_lishin
Not even necessarily a smartphone. Set up a camera at your window hooked up to
a spare machine, take photos when motion is detected and look for license
plates.

You can probably automate the whole process.

~~~
paulgb
I'm partly excited and partly worried about the implications of how easy
automated data collection like this has become. Imagine doing the same with
face recognition software or RFID drivers' licenses.

Privacy issues aside, it would be a fun dataset to play with.

~~~
pavel_lishin
I don't really know how to feel about it. On the one hand, it's an invasion of
privacy; on the other hand, you can't really outlaw data collection in a
public space, can you?

Anyway, tales like A Scanner Darkly seem oddly prophetic and relevant:
<http://ahprojects.com/c/itp/thesis>

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GiraffeNecktie
Step one: Get people excited about making money with no time or effort. Step
two: Convince them that all they need to get started is a tiny investment.
Step three: Profit!

Works for Nigerian scammers, works for MLM marketing, works for everyone!

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billybob
"Work from home! Earn peanuts! Hasten the apocolypse by destroying the privacy
of everyone around you!"

~~~
lucasoman
But, for the love of god, think of the children!

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ghshephard
Obviously a scam or MLM scheme. Anybody who wanted to do this for real would
use the same (relatively inexpensive) device that Repo Men use when cruising
for cars that are being repossesed. They read a couple license plates _a
second_. So, this "enter 20 license plates a month for $2" would turn into a
revenue flow of $720/Hour.

Unlikely.

