With brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• From TechCrunch:
"DoorDash has made a name for itself as a restaurant delivery service that has in later years expanded to categories like groceries and convenience store items. But the company is now running a test of a surprising new feature: a rewards program that offers consumers credits for dining out at local restaurants.
"The feature, called simply 'Dine Out,' allows users to earn credits by swiping to 'check in' while they’re at a restaurant. As a page on DoorDash’s customer support site explains, the amount of the credit varies and will be stated in the offer. Plus, if a restaurant has multiple locations, the credit may be limited to certain locations. Customers are also limited to one eligible restaurant per day."
No decision reportedly has been made about whether to move the program beyond the limited test phase.
• From the Wall Street Journal:
"Indonesia was one of the first countries where TikTok launched TikTok Shop, betting on the app’s potential to become a successful retail platform for the company’s second-largest user base.
"Now, the country has become the first to block the feature.
"TikTok, a hugely popular short-form video platform, shut down its Shop apparatus in Indonesia on Wednesday after the country banned commerce on social media platforms to protect local business owners, a setback for the app’s new venture in a major market."
According to the story, "The app itself was not banned in Indonesia. But people there could no longer buy or sell goods through TikTok or other social media platforms after the trade ministry issued new regulations last week. The rules, which essentially mandate the separation of e-commerce and social media, are meant to protect local merchants, prevent algorithms from dominating the market and stop the use of personal data for business purposes, the ministry said."
• Axios reports that "Northwest Arkansas National Airport has a new guest pass system allowing visitors to dine at airport restaurants and wave goodbye to traveling loved ones at the gate … Passes can be obtained at a designated kiosk by scanning your ID — but you still have to go through security."
The story notes that before 9-11, people were able to walk friends and family to their airport gates, or pick meet them there upon arrival. That changed, but the suggestion is that technology may be making it possible to return to those halcyon days - people with guest passes can do everything that people with boarding passes can, except board the plane.
There is a part of me that hopes this works and can be rolled out elsewhere. But there's a problem - airports these days are pretty crowded, and adding non-fliers to the post-security experience could be problematic.
