HN Explorer

Ask HN. Proof of Concept: Goingtobe.in

3 points by fabiandesimone ↗ HN
Hi hackers,

I'm working on an idea that I have had for a while.

Is aimed at late trip planners (such as myself) that would like to have some useful data about the destination they are traveling to but don't have the time (or the will) to spend an hour researching online.

Since we are already working in this would love to get your feedback, suggestions, etc. on this.

9 comments

[ 1358 ms ] story [ 648 ms ] thread
mcrider
This may sound childish, but I immediately think of GLBT when I see the acronym GTBI (which could have a similar meaning).
ryanfitz
I could see using this, when I typically go somewhere the first thing I do is find a book store and buy a tourist book about the place I'm now at.

I don't really see the point in taking a picture of a boarding pass to tell you where I'm going. Id find it much easier to just type in the location. Maybe have a feature where I can enter in my flight number so when I land and turn on my phone I'm welcomed with a "Welcome to San Francisco" email from you.

fabiandesimone
Thanks for your idea. Yes it should have an option to just enter your destination city and email so we can greet you when you land.
theitgirl
I used to spend way too much time researching for our trips. I just gave up after a while. This would be great. btw, nice idea using MailChimp for collecting email addresses.
fabiandesimone
Thanks. The Mailchimp thing happens when you are not a programmer and new to find a way to build something up fast :)
Andrenid
Not sure about the "take a picture of your boarding pass" bit, I think a better way would be "email go@goingtobe.in with the city and country in the subject line, and you'll be emailed info about that place", similar to how Posterous does their email-based submission/response method (which I think is awesome personally).

Nearly everyone has email with them at all times, whether it's their phone/tablet/laptop/etc, so it saves you having to worry about an app or cross-platform website. Your email response could contain a basic teaser/intro to the place, then prompt them to click through to see the details information (which also lends itself nicely to a freemium model, the basic 1-2 line summary is free, clicking through requires an account).

The body portion of the email they send could contain flight numbers or other optional details to help narrow down the time to send them the info, etc.