We Stopped Talking to Each Other
I grew up where if something happened on your street, everybody knew within the hour. Your neighbor saw something, they knocked on your door. Simple.
That doesn't happen anymore.
I don't know the person who parks next to me every day. I've seen the same cars in the same spots for months. Couldn't tell you a thing about any of them. We're all just existing next to each other in silence.
And it goes beyond parking lots. You can see it everywhere. In how we date now, swiping past each other instead of actually connecting. In how quick we are to be hostile online toward people we've never met. We lost the instinct to look out for each other. We lost community. Not because people stopped caring, but because somewhere along the way we stopped having reasons to interact.
People still notice things. They see a car with its headlights left on. They see someone trying door handles in the parking garage. They see the tow truck making rounds. But then what? There's no way to pass it along. So nothing happens.
Your battery dies and three people noticed your lights were on. A tow truck hits your block and six neighbors lose their cars. Someone double parks you in and you're just stuck. All situations where a 10-second message would've helped, but nobody could send one.
The license plate is right there
Every car already has an identifier on it. Front and back. A license plate is basically a phone number that's always visible but nobody can call.
So I built ATME. It lets you message any vehicle anonymously using the plate. You don't know who you're messaging. They don't know who you are. You just need the plate and something worth saying.
"Your lights are on." "Tow truck on the block." "You left your window down." "Someone was looking into cars on level 3."
That's it. No drama. Just people looking out for each other the way we used to, with a tool that actually makes it possible.
The information was always there. People already see things. They already care. They just need a way to act on it.
Joe Ogundeyi is the founder of ATME. Download free on iOS and Android.
