08-04-2019, 12:37 PM | #1 |
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Cruising my neighborhood, drone in tow
My 1st drone video with my segway.
https://youtu.be/cFPonXsYw0k |
08-05-2019, 10:04 AM | #2 | |
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Quote:
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08-06-2019, 12:42 AM | #3 |
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Thanks, as “airdale” were you in the navy? I was on a few carriers myself with a couple VF squadrons.
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08-07-2019, 11:42 AM | #4 |
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Awesome!! Excellent video.
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09-02-2019, 01:01 PM | #5 |
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Bravo! Thanks for sharing.
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09-05-2019, 10:52 AM | #6 |
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Cruising my neighborhood, drone in tow
Great post. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
The post is a little bittersweet for me. When I bought my Segway I2 There were stores in my area now unfortunately they are gone. The original Segway was such a great invention. Wish it would have caught on as the original designer intended it to. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk |
09-06-2019, 11:12 AM | #7 |
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“Hoped it would catch on” is more accurate. Segway’s failures in understanding their market are, in my opinion, legendary. This happens far too often when inventors or engineers, committed to the beauty and righteousness of their creations, are allowed to make marketing decisions.
It’s right up there with New Coke in the marketing “Debacle Rating”, though likely much smaller financially. Sales numbers started off OK, but then flattened out very quickly. The Segway example should be taught in university marketing classes as an example of how not to do it. |
09-10-2019, 02:07 PM | #8 |
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What would you do in their stead, Civicsman?
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09-13-2019, 03:16 PM | #9 |
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Segway did not understand their would-be customer base. They (or maybe just the boss/inventor) were certain that self-balancing, two-wheeled devices would re-make the world. Wrong.
Whatever they did (or did not do) for market research was terribly flawed. Far too many "hip" people absolutely HATED the concept of a machine that was seen as an expensive replacement for walking, and often said so on their product review/editorial websites. Segway attempts to change that the impression of what are now referred to as "influencers" were ineffective, and eventually discontinued. Pricing was WAY out of line for individuals, which is why, after Gen1, there was almost zero effort to market to individuals. Bottom line: there were not anywhere enough customers interested in an expensive self-balancing two-wheeled device. Segway's internal efforts to achieve cost reductions were not effective. Sales numbers never went up enough to get any real economies of scale. Self-balancing two-wheelers have found a new place under the new owners as less-expensive devices (more toy-like than Gen 1 or Gen 2), without the materials and systems redundancies that made the original Segway HT/PT as strong and as safe as it was (and still is). Back in the day, I would have performed a robust market research study. It would have saved investors a TON of money. What I would do now is moot. Patents for self-balancing personal transports either have expired, or are about to do so. Kamen's "IT" became "that thing", and the fairy-dust marketing aura is long gone. The ship sailed more than a decade ago. |
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