Blackline Safety
Blackline GPS introduced a car-tracking device that uses GPS in 2008.[1] Named GPS Snitch, it can be controlled via the internet or by texting to a special phone number.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau claimed one car theft "every 33 seconds",[2] and this type of device, the New York Times said, will "improve the chances of recovering your wheels once they’ve gone missing."
Another offering from Blackline is named Blip.[3][4]
History
The idea for the initial product originated in 2004,[5][6] but success was limited by the lack of a reliable income stream.[7] Outside funding enabled growth in the consumer market, but by 2010 "the decision was made to leave the consumer GPS market and focus solely on the industrial GPS market".[5]
They've flipped: in 2013 85% of the company's income was from consumer sales; in 2018 85% was from industrial sales.[8]
Income stream
The company requires monthly (or yearly) fees. Success is based on having an ongoing income stream;[9] getting more customers is not enough.[5]
See also
References
- ^ John Biggs (June 5, 2008). "Track Down Your Car, With Help From an Electronic Sidekick". The New York Times. p. C7.
- ^ John R. Quain (July 9, 2010). "Better Antitheft Technology, but Smarter Car Thieves". The New York Times.
- ^ Viktor Mayer-Schönberger (2011). Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age. ISBN 1400838452.
- ^ James Allan Brady (March 26, 2008). "BlackLine GPS Blip – Buddy Beacon for your GPS-enabled BlackBerry".
do everything you'd normally have to do at a computer with the Snitch, on your BlackBerry
- ^ a b c Craig Elias (May 10, 2013). "GPS maker says farewell to fickle customers". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Brendon Cook and Patrick Rousseau
- ^ "consumers were fickle, keeping their monthly tracking service contracts active for just five or six months."
- ^ the web-version of the original print-edition article has an "Updated April 3, 2018" tag
- ^ J. Spronk (1981). Interactive Multiple Goal Programming: Applications to Financial ... ISBN 0898380642.
an income stream is positively effected by its level, and negatively by its riskiness
External links
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