Transport Social Media Studio

Courtesy of: CreditDonkey

Courtesy of CreditDonkey

What is Skuzme?

Skuzme is a simple way to connect with other commuters going the same way you are. Combining crowd-sourced traffic alerts and social sharing, with traffic alerts from service providers and other social networks, we’ve made it easy to make better trip choices. The next time your transport service provider doesn’t give you the full picture about a delay, commute social with Skuzme and make the best alternative trip choice to get you there safely. Skuzme empowers you to help create safer, sustainable and convenient transportation choices. Socially, we can make better transport choices.

Why Skuzme?

Its the only social network where you can define your commute around any combination of modes; light rail, commuter train, bus, ride share, car pool, ferry, park ‘n rides, commercial airlines, freight deliveries, even your own solo commute. Skuzme is the only social network where you can send traffic alerts directly to the friends and followers of a transportation service, immediately, un-edited. And, it’s one of the only networks where the users regulate the quality of the data and information.

How does it work?

Skuzme offers two types of user accounts.  One for COMMUTERS and one for the SERVICE(s) they commute.  Social sharing among COMMUTERS who use the same SERVICE(s) is what is at the core of what makes Skuzme work.  We use it to supplement and strengthen officially sourced travel information and data.   The more the users interact, the richer the experience.  Skuzme’s traffic SkuzeAlert, a unique “crowd-sourcing” tool, lets commuters send travel alerts directly to other commuters who have an interest in the same commute patterns, and the transport providers serving them. In short, the SkuzAlert solves a fundamental problem with conventional social networks - read more.

Why does it work?

Traffic, transit and flight information for the commuter, by the commuter. Commuters are the best source for transit, traffic and flight information. They provide the best up to the minute information when freeways come to a standstill, trains run late, buses are slow, and flights are cancelled. Our approach leverages social interaction and trust to deliver the best information for commuters. The notion is that internet oriented  social sharing and networking is a powerful and credible basis for influencing commuters’ transport mode, route and service choices, and ultimately the quality of transport services.

What makes Skuzme different?

Skuzme is focused on the user’s experience:

·        Traffic data is crowd-sourced directly from commuters - read more.

·        Users are able to customize transportation Services around their commutes – read more.

·        The user is able to regulate the quality of alerts and advisories by reducing spamming – read more.

What are Skuzme’s data sources?

Skuzme offers three sources for travel alerts and advisories:

1.     External Feeds - Traffic, transit and airline alerts are sourced from external RSS feeds provided by the transportation service providers.  Alerts from one or more service provider are “pushed” to the followers of a SERVICE representing their commute on Skuzme – read more.

2.    Commuter Crowd Sourcing - Real time alerts are crowd-sourced from COMMUTERS who send their own traffic and transit SkuzAlerts directly to a SERVICE.  These alerts are self-moderated and blended with the “official” alerts - read more.

3.    Social Sharing - Commuters with similar travel patterns connect and follow each other. They share their own transportation experiences and choices with their followers through  SkuzAll status updates and SkuzDirect messages - read more.

Integrated with other Social Networks?

·        Facebook – Skuzme allows you to register and/or login with your Facebook account.  You can also share traffic alerts with your Facebook friends and recommend commuter services for your Facebook friends to follow.  [Coming soon> The Skuzme app on Facebook lets you receive Skuzme traffic alerts with your Facebook news feed, and post SkuzAlerts from Facebook to Skuzme.<Coming soon]

·        Twitter – You can share traffic alerts from Skuzme with your Twitter followers, as well as recommend recommend commuter services to your Twitter followers.  You can also access traffic alerts from a transport service provider’s Twitter account using RSS feed, and feed these into you commuter service account on Skuzme.

·        LinkedIn - You can share traffic alerts from Skuzme with your LinkedIn connections, as well as recommend recommend commuter services to your LinkedIn connections.

Read more – Commuters.

Read more - Services.

Read more – Relationships.

Read more - Sharing.

Read more - FAQs.

Click here to CommuteSocial with Skuzme!

Note:  This blog was posted to FB via and email sent to Posterous.  I was not logged into Posterous.  The Posterous app is able to post to FB without logging in to Posterous.

What is Skuzme?

Skuzme is a simple way to connect with other commuters going the same way you are. Combining crowd-sourced traffic alerts and social sharing, with traffic alerts from service providers and other social networks, we’ve made it easy to make better trip choices. The next time your transport service provider doesn’t give you the full picture about a delay, commute social with Skuzme and make the best alternative trip choice to get you there safely. Skuzme empowers you to help create safer, sustainable and convenient transportation choices. Socially, we can make better transport choices.

Why Skuzme?

Its the only social network where you can define your commute around any combination of modes; light rail, commuter train, bus, ride share, car pool, ferry, park ‘n rides, commercial airlines, freight deliveries, even your own solo commute. Skuzme is the only social network where you can send traffic alerts directly to the friends and followers of a transportation service, immediately, un-edited. And, it’s one of the only networks where the users regulate the quality of the data and information.

How does it work?

Skuzme offers two types of user accounts.  One for COMMUTERS and one for the SERVICE(s) they commute.  Social sharing among COMMUTERS who use the same SERVICE(s) is what is at the core of what makes Skuzme work.  We use it to supplement and strengthen officially sourced travel information and data.   The more the users interact, the richer the experience.  Skuzme’s traffic SkuzeAlert, a unique “crowd-sourcing” tool, lets commuters send travel alerts directly to other commuters who have an interest in the same commute patterns, and the transport providers serving them. In short, the SkuzAlert solves a fundamental problem with conventional social networks - read more.

Why does it work?

Traffic, transit and flight information for the commuter, by the commuter. Commuters are the best source for transit, traffic and flight information. They provide the best up to the minute information when freeways come to a standstill, trains run late, buses are slow, and flights are cancelled. Our approach leverages social interaction and trust to deliver the best information for commuters. The notion is that internet oriented  social sharing and networking is a powerful and credible basis for influencing commuters’ transport mode, route and service choices, and ultimately the quality of transport services.

What makes Skuzme different?

Skuzme is focused on the user’s experience:

·        Traffic data is crowd-sourced directly from commuters - read more.

·        Users are able to customize transportation Services around their commutes – read more.

·        The user is able to regulate the quality of alerts and advisories by reducing spamming – read more.

What are Skuzme’s data sources?

Skuzme offers three sources for travel alerts and advisories:

1.     External Feeds - Traffic, transit and airline alerts are sourced from external RSS feeds provided by the transportation service providers.  Alerts from one or more service provider are “pushed” to the followers of a SERVICE representing their commute on Skuzme – read more.

2.    Commuter Crowd Sourcing - Real time alerts are crowd-sourced from COMMUTERS who send their own traffic and transit SkuzAlerts directly to a SERVICE.  These alerts are self-moderated and blended with the “official” alerts - read more.

3.    Social Sharing - Commuters with similar travel patterns connect and follow each other. They share their own transportation experiences and choices with their followers through  SkuzAll status updates and SkuzDirect messages - read more.

Integrated with other Social Networks?

·        Facebook – Skuzme allows you to register and/or login with your Facebook account.  You can also share traffic alerts with your Facebook friends and recommend commuter services for your Facebook friends to follow.  [Coming soon> The Skuzme app on Facebook lets you receive Skuzme traffic alerts with your Facebook news feed, and post SkuzAlerts from Facebook to Skuzme.<Coming soon]

·        Twitter – You can share traffic alerts from Skuzme with your Twitter followers, as well as recommend recommend commuter services to your Twitter followers.  You can also access traffic alerts from a transport service provider’s Twitter account using RSS feed, and feed these into you commuter service account on Skuzme.

·        LinkedIn - You can share traffic alerts from Skuzme with your LinkedIn connections, as well as recommend recommend commuter services to your LinkedIn connections.

Read more – Commuters.

Read more - Services.

Read more – Relationships.

Read more - Sharing.

Read more - FAQs.

Click here to CommuteSocial with Skuzme!

Note:  This blog was posted to FB via and email sent to Posterous.  I was not logged into Posterous.  The Posterous app is able to post to FB without logging in to Posterous.

We are moving into a new age of network commuting. Socially, that is.

What seems to drive the consumer’s seemingly insatiable appetite for the mobile device, is not the device, but the media we access through the device.

Skuzme, a new so-called  ”commute social” network, is a great example of the new age of social network commuting. It allows the commuter to become the new frontline on up-to-the-minute information about the transportation system. They provide the best up to the minute information when freeways come to a standstill, trains run late, buses are slow, and flights are cancelled. 

Getting around on public transportation has its benefits. For many Americans, it’s an essential part of their daily lives. However, for most commuters, it plays second fiddle to the car, and it’s likely not because transit is hard to navigate on.

Thanks to some social media applications, using public transit is becoming easier for the infrequent user. Getting around on public transport is becoming less difficult, especially when it comes figuring out the routes and schedules. For instance, local transit agencies are tapping into Google Maps’  ”get directions” feature to help commuters pick a route and schedule.  The Google application allows the user options for a variety of modes - car, transit, bike and walking.

Another social media application is HopStop which has made riding the bus or subway, or even walking, easier in America and Europe’s biggest and more transit friendly cities. 

The Clever Commute is an e-mail based exchange among fellow riders, to avoid delays and make mode choices. The information is shared on a timely basis among people making the same trip/route.  In addition to choosing an alternative route, users can also use the information to make a mode shift toward public transit to avoid delays from traffic congestion. 

Not least are the transit agencies themselves, which are increasingly embracing social media as a way to engage their customers.  BART  in San Fransisco is one of the leaders. They use You Tube videos, streaming videos, Facebook, Twitter and Posterous, and other tools, to take their news and information directly to the riders, and to allow the riders to share their experiences. They have also opened their web interface to outside developers, allowing them to integrate BART’s data into third party applications.   

Social media makes public transit more accessible and user friendly for the commuting population. 

Ridesharing allows commuters to combine driving their car or participate in a carpool with other modes of public transportation. We all know about the benefits of ridesharing - it reduces traffic, emissions, and saves you gas money. But for all its benefits, it can also have its drawbacks. For one, you can’t always choose who you ride with.

But social media networks can help you solve that problem. Social network applications like Zimride  offer commuters with greater options and choices. They offer a critical mass of commuters with similar goals in mind - share rides, save money and reduce their carbon footprint.  

The ability of social media to create critical mass is a powerful value proposition for transport uses such as ridesharing.   

Search-driven referrals still rule the internet.  But social-driven are closing the gap on search engines as the leading source of referrals.  What’s more is, social-driven referrals carry more loyalty and yield more page views than search-driven referrals. 

The agencies responsible for providing public transportation systems and services are increasingly using social media as a means for engaging their customers. Earlier in 2010, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)  and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) took a look at the degree their member agencies are doing in the social media (SM) arena, and published the following reports.

Here is a summary of how SM is being used:

• Using You Tube videos, streaming video, opted e-mail accounts, Facebook and Twitter to communicate directly with the public.
• Using Twitter to report traffic and systems information.  
• They publish clear clear guidelines for communications to keep the dialog appropriate.  
• Pro-actively disseminate their own information before others can mis-inform
• Use SM to save money on traditional/legacy communications services and methods.
• Challenges: Institutional resistances, funding, learning new tools, staff resources (development and maintenance).    

 Use of Social Media in Public Transit - The FTA funded a video that looks at several case studies in the transit sector.