
Bitwalking - twapi
http://www.bitwalking.com/
======
wpietri
This kind of horseshit makes me insane:

> We believe that everyone should have the freedom, and ability, to make
> money. A step is worth the same value for everyone - no matter who you are,
> or where you are. What matters is how much you walk.

Earning money mostly comes through creating value for others. (When it
doesn't, it comes from diverting value into your pockets.) Walking around is
great, and I encourage everybody to do it. But pitching it as the "freedom to
make money" is absurd. Talking as if random people walking around Africa can
double their monthly income is obscene.

I can't believe the BBC would publish that article, either. I understand the
tech press is mostly toothless, but even so I can't believe that such a
hallucinatory scheme received only the mildest questioning.

I can't wait for this bubble to be over.

~~~
huckyaus
If you enjoyed the landing page, you'll love the Mandela quote at
[http://www.bitwalking.com/about/](http://www.bitwalking.com/about/)

~~~
NarcolepticFrog
The missing closing quotation mark was the worst.

~~~
wpietri
Here you go: ”

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arrayjumper
Can't tell whether this is sarcasm/toy-product or if it is real.

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rdancer
It's a prank on the verge of becoming a con :-)

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rdancer
This is very funny. I'm sure their very advanced security measures will
prevent me from creating a nice passive income, earning mint while my
smartphone lays motionless on the couch next to me.

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heptathorp
> We believe that everyone should have the freedom, and ability, to make
> money.

Except for bed- or wheelchair-bound people. Fuck them, right?

~~~
pavel_lishin
My BedBucks startup will take care of it; soon, they'll be earning BedBucks
every time they're in bed.

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_chinchillin
With the information sharing business booming, I just cannot in good faith use
something like this. I'm almost 100% sure they are going to sell location data
and (maybe) shopping habits.

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ogig
My guess, this is like a loyalty card, but it gives you points for been there
rather than buying and it also works on different shops.

If that's the case the way of selling it, as if it is the best thing for your
health, its obnoxious. They probably won't care if you walk of drive by as
long as your mobile reaches the shop wifi so the customer -the shop- pays.

Location data selling, as other commenter noted, is a real possibility too.

EDIT: After reading the more complete bbc article seems like I was wrong. They
say to be using gps and acelerometer data, no idea how it doesn't get hacked
to death since both can be faked easily. They also mention that location data
won't be for sale. I'm still sceptical.

~~~
tylercubell
The only practical application I see is it being a loyalty card for a gym.
Members would earn points for exercising at their gym which could be redeemed
for tchotckes. If the app implements geofencing it could be practical.

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45h34jh53k4j
I can't see how this could be real. Faking GPS data and simulating movement on
a device you control is trivially easy. Add an incentive to obtain a benefit
by deception and you have one broken product.

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comboy
Until proven otherwise, I'd say it's a scam. No explanation whatsoever, and
running miner on a smartphone is a bad idea.

~~~
ukdm
They covered it on the BBC's click show.
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34872563](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34872563)

~~~
comboy
Thanks, that's much more informative than their website.

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rdancer
I have been wondering whether this is a prank or a con, so I have looked into
the people behind this. The whois record shows the domain registered to one
Nissan Bahar of Keepod Ltd, London, UK.

You may remember Keepod, the $7 personal computer the size of a USB stick that
runs Android[1]. It got insane media coverage circa 2014[2], has a
respectable-looking Wikipedia page[3], got funded to the tune of $41k on
Indiegogo[4], currently is out-of-sale. $7 for an equivalent of Chromebit, I
hear you thinking? Well, not really. The "personal computer" part of the pitch
is a lie. In reality Keepod is the same kind of a live USB distro that has
been around for years. There is no added value.[5]

So it is a con. But the media coverage. Is. Insane. The quality of the website
is stellar. The funding dollars will be real. And a year from now, another
seductively implausible project will appear. I'm looking forward to it, this
guy has talent!

[1] [http://www.keepod.com/](http://www.keepod.com/) [2]
[https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=keepod+site:bbc.co.uk](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=keepod+site:bbc.co.uk)
[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keepod](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keepod)
[4] [https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keepod-project-in-
mathare...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keepod-project-in-mathare#/)
[5] [http://www.ictworks.org/2014/05/14/keepod-
wasting-40000-to-r...](http://www.ictworks.org/2014/05/14/keepod-
wasting-40000-to-reinvent-linux-on-a-stick/)

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iLiveInAfrica
seems my newly created account is shining

there were CRAZY ideas that changed the world but this BS isn't one of them.
the math simply doesn't doesn't add up. if _everyone_ (except people that
can't walk) is making money (3 USD/day is max) without _actually_ contributing
back to society ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

how in the hell did they get funding is what I want to know

Bitsleeping™

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owly
Seriously! Bit walking?! Give me a f __*ing break.

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mwilcox
Where does the money come from?

~~~
pavel_lishin
From walking!

