Writing for The Economist (October 27), Patrick Lane makes the rather obvious observation that “Geography matters as much as ever, despite the digital revolution” and that “The digital and the physical world are interacting ever more closely.” Technology and geography have always interacted closely—merely consider the invention of the wheel, cartography, or the Industrial Age. Coming to the conclusion that digitization has also impacted the relationship between space and time is hardly surprising.
What does make Lane’s article interesting is the way he illustrates his final comment that “The digital and the physical are becoming one.” He leads up to that conclusion by pointing out the importance of the internet, digital devices such as smart phones, and the ever-increasing proliferation of electronic “apps”—but the literary “hook” that he employs to snag the attention of the reader is what makes the article special: “THERE WAS SOMETHING odd about the black car at the junction of Sutter and Hyde Streets. It was an ordinary saloon. Its windows were clear, and it looked in good condition. And yet, as the lights changed and the car pulled away into the bright San Francisco morning, a question remained. Why was it sporting a luxuriant pink moustache at its front?”
Lane goes on to devote nearly half of his article to a fascinating description of “Lyft,” an app developed by a ride-sharing service called Zimride, co-founded by Logan Green and John Zimmer. “Zimride connects drivers and passengers through social networking and is the largest rideshare program in the United States. The service has over 350,000 users, is active on 125 university campuses, and has partnerships with Facebook and Zipcar… Users sign in to Zimride through their Facebook account, which creates a profile for them on the Zimride system. When a user posts available seats in his or her car, along with personal details like smoking and musical preferences, passengers can find a match for their destination. The service connects people that work at the same company, go to the same school, or have mutual Facebook friends. By doing this, the anxiety of ridesharing with a stranger is eliminated. When looking back on why carpooling had failed in the past, Zimmer said that the number one reason was trust” (Wikipedia: Zimride).
“Creating a Zimride profile is free. The site uses an algorithm that accounts for the distance to pick someone up and the time for detouring to a passenger drop-off point. The site then ranks the options and assigns a score to the best matches, similar to Google’s PageRank. Drivers decide what to charge passengers, although Zimride offers suggested charges based on gas costs. Passengers can pay with PayPal or credit card, and will receive a full refund if the driver fails to pick up. The routes between San Francisco and Los Angeles and San Francisco to Lake Tahoe are both public routes, which means drivers can sell seats in their cars to buyers, who purchase the trip like a plane ticket. The majority of Zimride users are women” (Ibid.).
As Lane points out, stating the obvious yet again, “Every ride using Lyft involves not only a physical trip but also several much longer digital journeys: between the passenger’s and the driver’s smartphones, via Wi-Fi and cellular base-stations, along telecoms carriers’ networks and through switches and routers to and from the servers of Lyft as well as, ultimately, the passenger’s, the driver’s and Zimride’s banks. But it also demonstrates the importance of physical location to today’s digital realm. It is central to services such as Lyft, connecting a passenger in one place with a driver in another so that both can travel to a third. Geography still matters” (Lane, Ibid.).
Editor’s note: Many thanks to grad student Antonio Medrano for suggesting this material. Thanks also to Geography alumna Maral Tashjian (BA 2006) for pointing out that Logan Green, co-founder and CEO of Zimride, also happens to be a distinguished UCSB alumnus: “Green attended New Roads High School in Santa Monica, California. Green graduated from UCSB in 2006 with a B.A. in Business Economics. While a student, Green created The Green Initiative Fund, served as a board member for the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District, and was the youngest director for the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District. From August 2007 to February 2008, Green was the Sustainability Director at UCSB” (Wikipedia: Logan Green)
Article by Bill Norrington
