Ep. 54 Hivemapper: Google Maps killer?

<p>Preamble rant:</p><p><em>The recent collapse of FTX, a large crypto exchange, and its associated entities, left many of us disappointed and disgusted with flashbacks to Enron and Lehman Brothers. Nothing is new under the sun. Unfortunately, whenever humans are involved, there is a potential for bad actors to make poor choices that wreak havoc. This has proven true across industries, countries, and time. But regulation and controls can help safeguard the little guy. I expect more regulation, legislation, and guidelines in the months and years to come.</em></p><p><em>Still, I worry that the wrong lessons are being learned. Some folks might see the FTX implosion as vindication that “crypto is bad”. Others might see it as the death knell for crypto and blockchain technology at large. This is a mistake. Technology is neither good nor bad. Humans use technology for good or bad. That’s an important distinction. One of my takeaways is to double-down and continue uncovering ways in which crypto and blockchain technologies can solve real-world problems. Let’s go!</em></p><p>Giant maps and summer road trips</p><p>When I was a kid, my family would go on road trips every summer. It was a great adventure. From time to time, we would pull over to the side of the road while our parents struggled and fumbled through giant fold-out maps. This was Nigeria in the 1990s. There was no internet. The maps were sometimes outdated. As you can imagine, we got lost a couple times. One day, we narrowly escaped being detained by the military because we inadvertently were driving towards Aso Rock, which was then the presidential palace of Abacha, one of Nigeria’s brutal dictators! Yikes!! </p><p>Today, I can’t remember the last time I opened up a giant fold-out map. Thank God for Google Maps! I now use it every day to find the optimal route for my commute. It’s been a massive time-saver as I’ve learned to deal with the joys of New Jersey’s clogged up highways. If you are like me, you might not have realized that some companies such as Uber