AOL Tech

Erik Wood

Member since: May 2nd, 2010

Erik Wood's Latest Comments

Blog Activity
Blog# of Comments
ParentDish3 Comments
TUAW.com1 Comment
Switched2 Comments
Just So You Know1 Comment
AOL Small Business1 Comment
AOL Autos - Translogic1 Comment

Recent Comments:

Texting, Driving and Your Kids (ParentDish)

Feb 18th 2011 6:31PM I think we live in a culture where business people need to 'hit the ball over the net'. Teens consider it rude not to reply immediately to texts. Home schedules would grind to a halt without immediate communication. We are conditioned to pursue this level of efficiency but we are all supposed cease this behavior once we sit in our respective 5,000 pound pieces of steel and glass. Anyone can win an argument in a forum like this by saying "Just put the phone away" - but we can see its just not happening.

I just read that 72% of teens text daily - many text more 4000 times a month. New college students no longer have email addresses! They use texting and Facebook - even with their professors. This text and drive issue is in its infancy and I think we need to do more than legislate.

I decided to do something about distracted driving after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver. Instead of a shackle that locks down phones and alienates the user (especially teens) I built a tool called OTTER that is a simple GPS based texting auto reply app for smartphones. It also silences call ringtones while driving unless you have a bluetooth enabled. I think if we can empower the individual then change will come to our highways now and not just our laws.

Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
OTTER app

T-Mobile puts the brakes on texting while driving (AOL Autos - Translogic)

Jan 23rd 2011 9:51PM I think real change on this issue is going to come from the end user - the delivery man, the car pooling mom, or the teen driver deciding to change their habits. From truckers to moms to teens that I spoke with on the issue of text and drive - there was one common thread. If presented with a Big Brother type lock down alternative, they will immediately seek "to get around it". This does not constitute change on our highways. Selling expensive software that is supposed to lock down the activity forgets that it is the end user (the driver) who will ultimately decide. Let's change behavior and we will see those violent crash rates plummet...now.

I decided to do something about distracted driving after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver. Instead of a shackle that locks down phones and alienates the user (especially teens) I built a tool called OTTER that is a simple GPS based, texting auto reply app for smartphones. OTTER also silences those distracting call ringtones unless a bluetooth is enabled. I think if we can empower the individual then change will come to our highways now and not just our laws.

Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
OTTER app

Answer to earlier post - "Yes - OTTER has been available on Android since April 2010 and its only $3.99 with no annoying recurring fees..."

The 8 Rules of Smartphone Etiquette (AOL Small Business)

Dec 16th 2010 2:32PM Technology should help instead of being the culprit! My friend who works at Wells Fargo told me that his team's meeting productivity would increase 40% or more if everyone wasn't texting and checking their texts during meetings.

After my three year old daughter was nearly run down by a texting driver last fall I invented an app to manage texting whether the user is at home, in the office or on the road. The full version has GPS road safety features but the simple text Auto Reply version called OTTER-urban offers a timer and unlimited, grouped, customizable responses. Its simple and easy to schedule "texting blackout periods" so you can focus on the task at hand, like an important meeting. Maybe technology can help us get back to doing one thing at a time with quality results.

Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
OTTER app

iPhone App Reads Your E-Mails to Allow for Smoother Driving (Switched)

Jul 25th 2010 8:01PM How is this not just another form of distracted driving? Playing with technology instead of operating a 5,000 pound piece of steel and glass?

TUAW review: Email while driving with Text'nDrive Pro for iPhone (TUAW.com)

Jul 20th 2010 8:27PM Isn't this just another form of texting while driving?

Francia Raisa Wears Thumb Socks to Promote Safe Driving (Just So You Know)

Jun 6th 2010 12:34PM I think the large cellphone companies, like AT&T and Sprint, have more of a responsibility to the public and its safety than to run a paper campaign against texting and driving. While these marketing campaigns arguably just insure that these large companies do not end up on the wrong side of this issue, tangible results are lacking on our highways. Big cell companies, like big tobacco, are delivering the nicotine of the cell phone industry with texting.

My three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me last fall by a texting driver. It changed me but I don’t hate texting. The way I see it, that would be like hating nightfall – its coming no matter what. 72% of teens text every single day - some over 3000 times a month. This issue is in its infancy.

The texting drivers I spoke with, including teens and truckers, all said that laws, public service announcements, and Big Brother type software devices that "lock down" their phones would not deter them at all. They feel their civil liberties slipping away. So I built a tool called OTTER for the individual to help manage their texting on their terms.

OTTER is a comprehensive text management system for the home, office and certainly, the highway. It has GPS based Parental Control Feature for teen drivers, a GPS Mode for adult who choose to use it. It silences all incoming text alerts and phone ring tones while in a moving vehicle. There is an Auto reply feature with unlimited customized responses. We are getting 4.5 to 5 star rating from the tech community and great response from teen groups and safety organizations. We have heard of teens using OTTER to schedule their own "texting blackout periods" so they can get some homework done without feeling disconnected from their social network. If a teen uses OTTER like this, then we think they will see the benefit of OTTER's road safety features. We are not going to stop until change hits our roads and not just our laws.

Best,
Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
http://www.OTTERapp.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_yS0V21CFg

New Teen Driving Act Proposed to Help Save Lives (ParentDish)

May 31st 2010 4:41PM
CLM: From a philosophical perspective I am completely in agreement with you. That said, if you read daily about the legislative debates raging across our country on texting and driving legislation you would realize that civil liberties debates are clouding what I think is a simple public safety issue. What democrat father doesn't want his teen driver to be 23 times safer behind the wheel? What republican mother would not want to prevent their loved one from having their eyes off the road for football fields at a time? Its simple to see that this is not a partisan issue - however text & drive legislation is being held up in debate and is certainly not passing easily through state legislatures. Only half our states have any kind of ban on texting and driving.

Unfortunately, many of the technological responses so far are exacerbating the civil liberties issue by approaching the text & drive issue with an expensive "shackle" by telling this young texting user group that they need to be "locked out" of this activity. How do you think many users (not only teens) are responding to that approach? By pushing back! I showed a group of teens some of these lock down cell phone systems that have recurring fees and within 30 seconds they claimed "they could get around that, easy". When I asked how, they told me if their phone was "locked down", they would just text and drive with their friends phone and that they did this all the time anyway when their battery ran low.

After the incident with my daughter, Eve, last fall I was convinced that laws and education needed to be complimented by a tool and NOT a shackle. My goal was to build OTTER so that it could be used at home, in the office or, most importantly, on the highway. I believe strongly like I indicated in my first posting, that if a teen or an adult uses OTTER's features in other parts of their texting lives, then they will be more likely to to use the highway safety features that OTTER provides as well. I can tell you that I have had OTTER's GPS Mode enabled on my phone for 2 months now and I have not been tempted by that buzz or chime. Also, my phone ringer is silenced when my car moves faster than 10mph unless my Bluetooth is active which stops me from fumbling for a ringing phone. OTTER has allowed me to choose to be a safer driver. Once again, I agree with your fundamental argument - but I see an urgency to this situation. It is completely unacceptable to me to debate this issue without offering this growing user group a bona fide tool. If we wait for the cell phone companies to get sued and tougher laws to be formed it could be years before we realize tangible change on our highways. At a rate of 6,000 accidents a year, many fatalities and some of our youngest drivers facing manslaughter charges for being addicted to the nicotine of the cell phone business - something else needs to happen now - today... An OTTER user is 23 times safer on the road...that is tangible, that is now...

Best,
Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
www.OTTERapp.com
youtube.com/watch?v=f_yS0V21CFg

New Teen Driving Act Proposed to Help Save Lives (ParentDish)

May 31st 2010 12:41PM I decided to do something about teen distracted driving after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me last fall by a texting driver. That incident changed me but I don’t hate texting. The way I see it, that would be like hating nightfall – 72% of teens text every single day - some over 3000 times a month. The texting drivers I spoke with, including teens and truckers, all said that laws and Big Brother type software devices that "lock down" their phones would not deter them at all. They feel their civil liberties slipping away. So I built a tool called OTTER for the individual to help manage their texting on their terms.


OTTER is a comprehensive text management system for the home, office and certainly, the highway. It has GPS based Parental Control Feature for teen drivers, a GPS Mode for adults who choose to use it and an Auto reply with unlimited customized responses. We are getting 4.5 to 5 star rating from the tech community and great response from teen groups and safety organizations. We have heard of teens and business people alike using OTTER to schedule their own "texting blackout periods" so they can get some focused work done without feeling disconnected from their social network. If a someone uses OTTER like this, then we think they will see the benefit of OTTER's road safety features. We are not going to stop until change hits our roads and not just our laws.

Best,
Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
www.OTTERapp.com
youtube.com/watch?v=f_yS0V21CFg

Anti-Distracted Driving Apps Rely on Users to be Effective (Switched)

May 2nd 2010 9:32PM I believe the software and devices featured in this article are invasive and they are polarizing the debate on texting and driving. Instead of the discussion being focused on a simple question of public safety, these Big Brother type applications are turning the debate into a civil liberties infringement issue.

My three year old daughter was nearly run down by a texting driver on a quiet residential street last fall. It changed my life but I don't hate texting as a result. 72% of teens text everyday. 81% of college age drivers admit to some form of texting while driving. This issue isn't even close to a boiling point.

It took the entire 7 months since the incident with my daughter for me to come up with a solution. Teens and adult users alike don't want to be controlled and these high cost options make it sound like you have to launch your own GPS satellite just to launch a simple, easy to use app. Ours is getting 4.5 to 5 star rating and its FOUR BUCKS with no recurring fees. We don't need to be locked down, we just need a tool that allows the user to manage texting at home, in the office and, most importantly, on our nation's highways. Tell me what you think at http://www.OTTERapp.com. And please help spread the word about the dangers of teen texting and driving at http://bthnow.org . Thank you,


ERIK WOOD, owner
OTTER LLC