Gabby Gutierrez

Seeing this post appear among the rest made me super happy! While I’ve never built a custom keyboard myself, I’ve been researching to figure out what keycaps and sets I should be saving up for. I think that having your own personalized work area improves productivity by tons- and in general gives you those little serotonin boosts you need to get through the day. Custom keyboard hobbyists also traverse the world of ASMR videos- as the different options in switches give you a variety of different sounds.

Sorry, accidentally pressed the enter button there! But here is an example of a video featuring the keyboard switch sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVInBOLSqoM. When it comes to computer equipment, I’m willing to spend a great amount for the best quality and for customization- and for products like keyboards, with proper care, you can ensure that they last for years. My own RGB Cherry MX Red keyboard hardly sees any upkeep but has still lasted me more than five years. That being said, it’s a pretty typical keyboard right now- so I’m looking to build a custom soon! I think that the best marketing strategies MassDrop can go for is sponsoring popular channels and influencers in materials to either build a keyboard on stream/video or to send them an entire keyboard to use in general.

Hi Gabby,

Custom keyboards are definitely a niche market, but I can see how certain customers would be willing to shell out a pretty penny for these. Professional gamers are one such group—I’ve seen gaming mice go for hundreds of dollars. It’s crazy how much the computer accessory market has exploded (and continues to grow) as more people and more people get into building their own PCs. I think MassDrop and similar online sellers could easily increase their brand presence by sponsoring eSports events.

I don’t think I would be too price sensitive in regards to products that would make me more productive. Custom keyboard layouts could definitely be useful in some lines of work. They could also be beneficial for persons with disabilities., especially those that impact their ability to type on a typical QWERTY keyboard.

Great article, Gabby!
If a system like this were to be introduced in Philly, it would have many happy residents, I think. However, I think the city would need to think about location, weather, & crime impact.
The location needs to be considered because some areas may need this technology more than others. If the majority of the residents walk or take public transportation, this technology may not be useful in that area.
Weather is an important factor since it may impact the speed and need to get off the road of drivers on the road.
Finally, crime would need to be considered since that can impact the amount of traffic in a given area as well slow down the time for emergency responders to get where they need to.

Regarding if more people would drive rather than use public transit, I don’t think people will switch to driving for a variety of reasons. The first reason would be that many people are mindful of the environmental impact driving has in the world and have decided to take public transport to decrease emissions. Second, many have found that using public transit has become a part of their routine, even with covid. Many people use that time in the morning or afternoon to get ready to go or leave work. They may listen to a podcast, music, e-book, etc. This gives them something to look forward to. While people can do this in the car, driving requires a lot more attention on the road than what you are consuming.

Hi Gabby,

I read today that in the future, employees of Canva need to be in office only 8 times a year. I am certain they must be using one of these tools.
I remember the time before covid when WFH was a privilege and was much welcomed. Now, most of us are worn out of being at home, and this concept of virtual meetings in our avatars could be interesting.
It also reiterates the fact that metaverse is real and is coming!!
I have personally never used one of these apps but would love to experience them.

Thank you for this post1