I think it's based on columns from men's magazines where readers send questions to a relationship, sex, or dating expert, and get them answered in the next issue. The premise is this: "Hey, you're a clueless _guy_ and I'm a _girl_. You have questions about girls, and I am obviously qualified to answer them because I am also a girl and I have a modern + sexy + feminine name like Alexis."
In the thread below she quickly introduces herself as Lexi, which is not only a more feminine name, but also perhaps an allusion to a lex-er, as in lex and yacc?
> "Hey, you're a clueless _guy_ and I'm a _girl_. You have questions about girls, and I am obviously qualified to answer them because I am also a girl..."
That doesn't follow (that you need a girl to answer, or that any girl is qualified), and in fact is insulting.
I don't see an about page, is this entirely automated on the Alexis end? Could I send a picture of two outfits and ask which looks better? Does it have location-aware suggestions?
From what I've heard, people gave up at the waitlist. The unit economics do not make sense either: the CEO said that they break even overall, which is unsustainable when you consider cost of human capital/oppertunity cost. http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/27/catch-a-tiger-by-the-toe/
The median income in Mountain View is around $55K - $20 an hour salaried is roughly $42240.. but customer service tends to be below average salary in any area. Many earn less.
Magic is supposed to do stuff for you, acquiring goods and services. This just sends SMS responses, so it's more like ChaCha. Though ChaCha has a broader focus than clueless men who need generic date plans from a stranger.
It is a text message service that purports to handle just about any request you make (food delivery, whatever), they just tack on a fee to the price. They had to limit to a wait list, as the demand exploded.
Y'know, I heard this sort of comment when I got into email newsletters back in 2010. Now every damn site seems to have email newsletter signup boxes, lol.
Alexis: Hey, I’m Alexis. I’m here with the answers you need to level up your lifestyle.
Send me questions anytime about dating, style, food/wine, entertainment… all of it.
I’m your secret weapon! 08:42
Me: I'm stuck in the cockpit of the fighter jet I was flying. I've crashed on the border
between Hungary and Slovakia. I only speak English. How should I proceed? 08:46
Alexis: Okay, this is a new one. 08:46
Alexis: Give me a couple minutes to think about that. By the way, you can call me Lexi,
what can I call you? 08:46
Me: You can call me James. 08:56
Me: I would ask you to send for help, but my mission is secret. I have rations for a
couple of days, but it's hard to drink while hanging upside down by straps. 09:00
Alexis: Bummer. 09:01
Alexis: Undo the straps. 09:02
Me: Also I don't want to ruin my tuxedo. 09:02
Me: The mechanism seems to have jammed. 09:03
Alexis: Sweet, you have a tux too? Your life is exciting. 09:05
Alexis: Er, was up until now. 09:05
Alexis: Have you tried your pen? It's also a scaffolding hook and ultra high powered
laser. 09:06
Me: I've tried using the laser in my watch to cut the straps, but it seems to have
been broken in the crash. 09:08
Alexis: James how did you get this far with such bad luck? 09:08
Me: Ah, the pen... Great, the straps are cut. I can hear footsteps. I'll have to be
quiet for a minute. 09:09
Alexis: Should I stop texting you? It might ding. 09:09
Alexis: Oops 09:09
Alexis: Are you dead? 09:10
Me: They must have heard me tumbling out of the straps onto the cockpit roof.
I've been apprehended and am in the back of a van. 09:10
Alexis: It's weird that they didn't take your phone away. 09:11
Me: I distracted them with my bonhomie. 09:11
Alexis: Use one of your gadgets. 09:12
Me: It sounds like Hungarian they're speaking. I think they said they're taking me
to 'the palace'. Is there a palace near here? 09:12
Alexis: Idk. Where are you? 09:13
Me: Somewhere on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. 09:13
Alexis: You're in luck! They're taking you to the Four Seasons
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Four+Seasons+Hotel+Gresham+Palace+Budapest
Me: Will I be in time for dinner, and if so, what wine should I order? 09:17
Alexis: How much are you looking to spend? Red? 09:20
Me: Red, of course, I'm sure they're not savages! I'm sure cost won't be an issue. 09:25
Alexis: Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac-Leognan 2004 09:27
Alexis: classic aromas of scorched earth, sweet black currants, cherries, and a hint
of pain grille. Light on its feet, but substantially flavored 09:27
Me: Thank you, I knocked on the cab and (in my best Hungarian) asked the driver to
telephone ahead and check it's in the cellar. You've been a great help! 09:30
Alexis: You got it. Don't forget to explode something and walk away from it slowly
without looking back. 09:31
Me: Yippee ki yay, good sir, as I believe you say over the pond. 09:39
This exchange, if legitimate, seems to strongly indicate that this service is not automated. Either that or huge strides forward have been made in chatterbots...
Well this makes sense because women are strange alien creatures that are impossible to understand.
But how can I know that I will have my question answered by an actual woman? If a guy responds to my question it might seem reasonable to me but I would risk causing the woman to become angry or confused...
1 - you HAVE to say something on whether this is a bot or a human. when I was single I would have happily paid for unbiased professional advice from a real person of the opposite sex on what to say / behave in a date. Once married, I think the notion of my wife finding me texting a woman named Alexis is going to have the opposite effect ;)
2 - no validation on the form. I just pressed the button and saw a yellow banner saying "Finding Alexis...". It still does that. (no timeout handling either)
3 - no about, no FAQ, no address, no phone number, no company name, no support email. I'm not going to give you my phone number, sorry
Again, this is a great idea, but a little too Minimal to be a Viable Product in my humble opinion... (fast forward 3 months, this is a YC company with a valuation of 1 billion and I look like an idiot... but I think the above 3 will help it get there sooner...)
EDIT: favicon - this is silly, but everyone has it...
35 comments
[ 0.21 ms ] story [ 88.0 ms ] threadMain point is that it's all based off the "takes one to know one" idea, in which one woman answers questions from men about all other women.
> "Hey, you're a clueless _guy_ and I'm a _girl_. You have questions about girls, and I am obviously qualified to answer them because I am also a girl..."
That doesn't follow (that you need a girl to answer, or that any girl is qualified), and in fact is insulting.
There's also a reason you haven't heard about Magic in weeks.
However, from their Twitter account, Magic is apparently not dead. https://twitter.com/tweetmagicnow
Is that a livable wage?
That's not a good thing, but still.
Site: http://getmagicnow.com
HN Dicussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9087819
But how can I know that I will have my question answered by an actual woman? If a guy responds to my question it might seem reasonable to me but I would risk causing the woman to become angry or confused...
1 - you HAVE to say something on whether this is a bot or a human. when I was single I would have happily paid for unbiased professional advice from a real person of the opposite sex on what to say / behave in a date. Once married, I think the notion of my wife finding me texting a woman named Alexis is going to have the opposite effect ;)
2 - no validation on the form. I just pressed the button and saw a yellow banner saying "Finding Alexis...". It still does that. (no timeout handling either)
3 - no about, no FAQ, no address, no phone number, no company name, no support email. I'm not going to give you my phone number, sorry
Again, this is a great idea, but a little too Minimal to be a Viable Product in my humble opinion... (fast forward 3 months, this is a YC company with a valuation of 1 billion and I look like an idiot... but I think the above 3 will help it get there sooner...)
EDIT: favicon - this is silly, but everyone has it...