adapted from the Cool Cousin whitepaper
Since surfers make up a very small part of the population, parking lot conversations more often entail “How is the water?” My discourse with average beachgoers and travelers cover temperature, tide strengths, rough water, and various life forms including sharks, jellyfish, and manatees. While responses to non-surfers might differ, the practical applications for Cool Cousin regarding diverse audiences has just as much relevance. This organic content is what Cool Cousin is all about.
The Unique Culture of Travel
A Nielsen study found that the majority of travelers (82%) want information about a destination from someone they know. Cool Cousin organically benefits travel cultures. Allow me to provide a really good user case about a popular Jensen Beach beachfront hotel. Several years ago a hurricane made the hotel unusable. I witnessed the slow rebuilding on weekend trips to the beach. The area continued to draw vacationers, but they had to navigate through local roads which caused a lot of traffic. The hotel has been active these past few months, and ever since, I have yet to encounter standstill traffic. Our beachfront economy is also seeing more activity and services are on the rise. There is so much more detail that I can go into about what my area can offer vacationers, retirees, and those moving into the area. I am so glad I found Cool Cousin.
Major Metropolises
If you liked that story, I can tell you about where I grew up, the metropolis of NJ/NY. It is summed up in an overheard quote that stated “one cannot see all of New York City in a lifetime, let alone a single visit”. With over 1,000 cousins in 65 cities, the app is already making unique city guides available throughout the world. Local economies no longer need to worry about how cultures are developing or the type of consumers they are attracting. Cousins will have already adjusted to what conventional marketing had raced to stay the first-step behind.
Transforming the Travel Industry
Travel is currently a $2.3 trillion industry. It is expected to grow by over 50% to $3.5 trillion by 2027. The Cool Cousin app is also seeing profound growth in its user base at 220% over the past 6 months. The main target market is millennials who are the largest living generation. They are known to travel a lot. On average, their spending is approaching $5,000 over 35 days per year.
adapted from the Cool Cousin whitepaper
The overall community has grown by 250% over these past 6 months as well. Quality interactions between cousins are of particular interest and have seen a 310% increase. Business partner integration anticipated by 2019 and mass adoption by 2020 will soon put Cool Cousin on the tongue of every traveler.
Cool Cousin will make the travel industry more personal, individually catered, and inherently honest. Users can access cousin profiles and choose to pay for additional services. Local businesses will benefit from this relationship, but will not be subject to the pay-for-rating that currently dominates travel reviews. The decentralization and distribution of power bring community empowerment to travel. It is a transparent and immutable system when paired with blockchain technology. All of this amounts to real control over the travel environment by the community experiencing it firsthand.
Cool Cousin: PIREPs for Travelers
I am a pilot, and thus, can see similarities between Cool Cousin and PIREPs (reports about weather and other flight concerns witnessed through the eyes of pilots). Venturing into the unknown can be dangerous, especially when information cannot be trusted. I believe that lapses in trust inspired travel cultures to revolutionize the industry. Airbnb is one example. Cool Cousin has more in common with PIREPs and is poised to make an even greater impact. In essence, cousins are the eyes of destinations which vacationers wish experience.
A more Perfect Travel Experience
Like PIREPs, the Cool Cousin app can provide comfort and reassurance. It can be a godsend toward creating the perfect getaway for what a busy person needs or the saving grace for a failing vacation.
Sometimes firsthand, local information is essential. For flights through mountainous terrain, PIREPs are critical. Weather clouds appear out of thin air before radar has a chance to measure these small, local occurrences. On a grander scale, the Internet has brought the world useful real-time status updates. Being aware of a 5-star restaurant incurring a recent health code violation has become as easy as an online search. However, the Internet and its employed AI are not nearly perfect. Human-to-human discourse has a much better chance of discovering that very special vacation; especially when like-minded people, culture, and cousins come together to report an experience.
adapted from the Cool Cousin whitepaper
CUZ Incentivizes the Value of Content and Engagement
Cool Cousin (CUZ) tokens power the ecosystem and incentivizes the platform. Tokens enable in-app services including tipping and additional services. The plan is for CUZ tokens to grow with the platform as new business partnerships and other third-party services are added. In this way, CUZ tokens can provide discounts to restaurants events, bars, etc.
adapted from the Cool Cousin whitepaper
Cousins, pro-cousins (similar to travel agents), contributors, and users all make up the Cool Cousin ecosystem. Also influential to the CUZ driven economy are the board of representatives and business owners. Indeed, this community is working toward the complete decentralization and a fully self-governing body for the travel industry.
It would be a blessing if I could make enough with Cool Cousin to cover my beach day restaurant bill. I believe it would also encourage me to more often venture on longer trips to beaches that are further along the Florida coast. I can even be easily encouraged to explore vacation spots at the request of users. The more I think about it, becoming a Florida pro-cousin sounds like a really fun idea.
Positive Feedback
In addition to what has already been mentioned, the ICO has generated a lot of excitement on social media and discussion boards. People love to travel and the experiences they are rewarded with are intimate.
Check out what the Crypto Sisters UK had to say about Cool Cousin in a YouTube video published on February 20, 2018 [12:16-12:56]:
- “From a simple coffee to an a la carte meal”
- “Absolutely brilliant”
- “It could be anything”
- “Almost like having family in a strange area”
- “We all need someone to help us out when we travel”
- “Helping people connect.. Like-minded people as well”
- “It’s just cool… it’s what people need”
ICO Insider also describes (February 28, 2018) a vision of where the app will be in the near future:
- [0:33] “Trying to revolutionize the travel industry” and on par (though dissimilar) with the impact of Airbnb while solving Trip Advisor’s rating problem
- [2:13] “Cool Cousin is basically trying to connect you with people who have been to (or live in) the places that you are trying to go to”
- [2:32] “Match you with a cousin based on your interests”
adapted from the Cool Cousin whitepaper
Visit the website so that you too can become a cousin, photographer, and invite friends.
adapted from globalcoinreport.com
How bad is Cool Cousin needed? Consider travel safety after reading a Global Coin Report about how a UK writer was able to get a non-existent restaurant listed in a major city on a highly-trusted review website.
You can find a list of media covering a wide range of worldwide cousin locations.
The iPhone app is available and comes with over 200 reviews that received 4.8 out of 5 stars. The Android app is coming soon.
The platform is fully functional and is being integrated into blockchain technology. You can continue your own research at the Cool Cousin ICO website.
Special thanks to the @OriginalWorks who organized the contest.
cc2018