Lazooz

URL = http://lazooz.org/

Description

1. Amanda B. Johnson:

"the ride-sharing phenomenon has its BitTorrent equivalent called La’Zooz.

Announced today at the Inside Bitcoins conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, La’Zooz functions on its own native crypto tokens, aptly called Zooz. They’ll be housed on the Bitcoin Blockchain and—get this—mined by proof-of-movement [1].

Anyone can join the La’Zooz transportation web network. To join as a miner, you download the app, connect your phone’s global positioning system (GPS) and begin to earn Zooz tokens as you drive over 20 kmh. You could also earn Zooz by contributing code or design to the app’s development. You can even earn the ride-sharing crypto tokens just by getting your friends to join.

In this way, early supporters can lay the foundation as word spreads, until enough participants exist for the real ride-sharing to start. Drivers will be paid in Zooz, issued to them over either the Mastercoin or Counterparty protocols.

“It was only a matter of time before someone decided that two disruptive concepts — ride-sharing and digital currencies — were two great tastes that go great together,” said Eitan Katchka, one of over 50 La’Zooz contributors. “We use cryptocurrency technology to incentivize early adopters to create the critical mass of users needed for the ride-sharing service to work smoothly, as well as to create a truly decentralized transportation solution.”

The La’Zooz website features a map listing the regions in which participation has already begun: North America, Western Europe, and the Middle East. The app is now available for download on Android devices.

Token purchases will both support continued development and, of course, be useful to purchase rides once the transportation web gets off the ground.

Shay Zluf, another contributor to the project says:

- “Humanity has gone to the Moon and back, but we’re still stuck in traffic. People the world over are realizing we can’t continue like this. Ridesharing businesses like Uber are a step in the right direction, but we believe in a system based on community power. . . [it] is really based on the same capitalist formula as its predecessor. La’Zooz is open-source, decentralized and community owned. . . Everyone is welcome.”" (http://cointelegraph.com/news/112758/lazooz-the-decentralized-proof-of-movement-uber-unveiled)

2. Gabrielle Coppola Yaacov Benmeleh:

"In Israel, the former yoga instructor co-founded La’Zooz, a sort of cooperative ride-hailing service. Through the organization’s app, volunteers give people lifts in exchange for tokens they can later trade for rides. The group behind La’Zooz talks a lot about “community responsibility,” alleviating city congestion, saving the environment, and the “fair share of wealth.” “Just doing another application was not enough for me,” Zluf said. “What is important for me is to start a movement.”

To keep track of the online exchange of karma, La’Zooz began developing its own digital currency in 2013, based on the technology underpinning bitcoin. Apart from being used as a means to compensate drivers, Zooz tokens are given out to the 80 or so coders and other people who volunteer services to improve the app. One Zooz roughly converts to a penny; at the current rate, booking a ride through the app costs about a tenth the price of Uber, says Zluf, a 37-year-old former contract developer for EBay and Broadcom. La’Zooz has been testing the ride-sharing feature in Israel since July and plans to roll it out globally on Sept. 17. One message on the app’s website humbly declares: “The end of capitalism has begun.”

Israel is a fertile environment for this kind of idealistic twist on one of today’s hottest technology businesses. Not only does it house one of the most successful startup scenes outside of Silicon Valley, it’s one of the few developed countries in which hitchhiking remains a common way to get around in some communities. Israel was founded with socialist ideals, and in 2011, the rising cost of living sparked the largest public protests in the country’s history. Hundreds of thousands of people rallied to curb the political and economic influence of the country’s business elite. Zluf cites that movement as a source of inspiration for La’Zooz, which means “to move” in Hebrew.

...

While it won’t be easy for La’Zooz to break through, it’s starting to amass a fervent base of supporters. So far, about 2,500 people have signed up to use the app, which is available only on smartphones running Google’s Android software. Users have left enthusiastic reviews on the Google Play store and on Twitter, often throwing around such words as “revolutionary.” Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik says a decentralized transportation app such as La’Zooz has the potential to “eat Uber and Lyft.” The trio behind the project has raised $120,000 from supporters and friends and has persuaded Ernst & Young to provide accounting services in exchange for digital tokens, said Zluf. Katherine Tarbox, a spokeswoman for Ernst & Young, declined to comment. Next, Zluf said, they are looking to raise an additional $1 million to develop an iOS version and more features." (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-16/this-israeli-ride-sharing-app-is-the-utopian-hippie-uber)

Discussion

Proof of Movement does NOT incentivize fake driving and energy wastage

Matan Field:

"Distribution of Zooz tokens for those who will be riding with the "Zooz-mining app" in the background does NOT incentivise unnecessary driving.

The VALUE of tokens to be distributed will ALWAYS be LOWER than the COST of drive. So there won't be any reason to DRIVE IN ORDER to get Zooz tokens.

Distribution of Zooz tokens is there only to incentivise those who ride ANYWAY, to SHARE their location (and other riding) information, and by that help in building the "collaborative transportation network" (and in particular "real-time ride sharing").

Please be sure: we incentivise COOPERATION of people, in order to take cars OFF the roads -- not the opposite."