When we’re young, there are many things that capture our imaginations. Often times, it is only temporary. For Alex Payne, it’s been far from temporary. When his friend’s father brought home an early laptop when he was a kid, it immediately captured his imagination, spurring an interest in technology for years to come.
At the beginning of Karma, we tried to pinpoint exactly who a typical Karma customer would be. Now that we are a few months in, we’ve come to realize one thing: there is no typical Karma customer. In order to express just how unique they are, we’re going to highlight some of them in a series of interviews. Next up: Thomas Crenshaw.
A few weeks back, we unveiled our new login process. Since then, we’ve been receiving some great feedback from our community. We only considered it to be step one though. Today, we’re taking the next step!
At the beginning of Karma, we tried to pinpoint exactly who a typical Karma customer would be. Now that we are a few months in, we’ve come to realize one thing: there is no typical Karma customer. In order to express just how unique they are, we’re going to highlight some of them in a series of interviews. First up: Kingsley Harris, partner at Freshthrills.
Since launching a few months ago, we’ve been constantly listening to what you have to say. One big thing was to have the option to join Karma with something other than Facebook. After all, social networks aren’t for everybody and we understand that.
When we started building the Karma platform we decided to build it on top of Amazon Web Services (AWS). The great thing about AWS is that it gives us a lot of flexibility to learn about what kind of infrastructure we need to grow. One of the most defining choices we made was not to build on top of a standard Amazon EC2 set up, but instead move straight to Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).
When you’re building the website of a mobile provider, one thing is very important: the coverage map. It’s how your potential customers know if they can use your service when they need it.
Look at this little guy. He’s all yours. In fact, he already has your name. Mine is called Robert’s Karma. Anyone looking for Wi-Fi around me can see that name in their network list, and connect to my hotspot.
There are hundreds of unread messages in your inbox. Tweets mentioning your company are piling up. Facebook likes are turning in to replies. And it’s not even noon yet! What do you do?
I love taking trips, but it’s not just because of the places I go to or the people I meet. It’s not just about the pictures I take, or the souvenirs I buy. What I like most about travel is optimization. It forces you to only have things with you that are brutally necessary for you to complete your journey. What kind of shirts can I do without? Will I need a pair of sneakers, boots, or only dress shoes? What gadgets do I bring, a tablet or a laptop? Even if you pack your things tightly, there’s not a lot you can take with you. Only the best stuff gets in, and only the most necessary things you have are going with you. After all, travel is hectic enough without you worrying about the things you did or did not bring.
How do you reinvent the mobile provider? That’s the question we’ve been trying to answer for almost a year at Karma. I’ve thought about it daily at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s been on my mind in the subway, at the dentist, and at the supermarket. Today, thanks to our team, our mentors, and our partners, we can finally show you the answer. Our simple and honest mobile provider has launched, with our mobile hotspot available on our website, right now.
You’ve probably never heard of Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr but she laid the ground work for a technology you use every day: Wi-Fi. Since she filed a patent for a ‘secret communication system’ in the 40’s, Wi-Fi has grown into a worldwide standard we love. It is what you look for when you’re on a trip, at your local coffee shop, at home, in the park, or at the office. You need it like you need your phone. It gets you online, fast and easy.
When Graham Bell made the first telephone call in 1876, he ironically described the first limitation as well. He could only hear somebody on the other end of the wire, not see them. “Watson, come over here, I want to see you”, he said. Now, over a century later, we are where Bell wanted to be. In a matter of seconds we can make a video call, and we’re staring each other in the eyes. That’s how far we have come.