It has been just over 1 week since we launched TaskRabbit in San Francisco, and I can’t help but be amused by some of the jobs posted. Here are my top 5 favorites so far:
5. Help me set up my new office in Dogpatch!
Kevin and I are living in Mission Bay, which is right next to the Dogpatch neighborhood. We’ve started exploring a little bit, and this is such a cool spot. All kinds of industrial lofts with big views of the Bay.
4. Locate stores that have a keg of Russian River Pliny The Elder
Who wouldn’t love this task. Alcohol? Check. Keg? Check. Learning about a new local beer? Awesome! I had to look up the info on this beer, since someone obviously thinks its good enough to get this research done. I’m familiar with the Russian River Valley and wines they produce, and know I know about this fabulous beer too!
3. 2 eye masks so The Boyfriend will sleep without complaining
Doesn’t the title say it all? Too funny! I completely understand what these guys are going through, because I can not sleep without my eye mask either. It becomes an addictive little habit to sleep in a cozy darkness. Almost like a security blanket wrapped around your eyes. Hopefully a crisis was averted with the completion of this Task!
2. Workout accountability phone calls
Brilliant! With a description of: “Call me at a specific time each day to make sure I have done the workout I promised to do.” When the Task was complete, the Sender left this review of the Runner: “Erica was fantastic! Besides just making the calls to make sure I did what I promised to, she added bits of motivation and encouragement with a very peppy attitude. Thanks!” I love it!
1. Wait in line for my iPhone 4
I confess. This was my Task … BUT … I wasn’t the only one who had the idea. Last Thursday was a BIG day at Apple Stores around the country. My Runner, David E., waited in line for 4 hours. 4 Looooong Hours! There was a Chipotle cart of burritos roaming around, and some free swag and beverages. This, apparently, tried to make the wait bearable. David texted me when he was 15 minutes away, which gave me ample time to get there. In fact, when I arrived, I was numero uno in line and only waited about 30 seconds to get into the store. The sanity saved here was priceless!
We made it! Boston to SF in 7 days, we even made it to my sister’s wedding in Nashville on time! It was quite the ride. Kansas was just as long and flat as everyone said it would be. 8 hours of nothing but fields and the highway dragging on as far as the eye could see. You can view a few of our photos on my Facebook page.
Growing up we spent summers in Florida visiting my Grandparents – Poppie and Nana to me. We would always drive, Boston to Orlando – 3 days in the Dodge Caravan, where my sister and I would each get our own row. It was pretty plush, but back then I can’t even remember what we had to distract ourselves with. No electronic games, no movie screens, no headphones to play music. I remember sleeping a lot and getting really fidgety and ultimately slap stick silly with my sister in the back seat. We must have drove my parents crazy, although it was their choice to drive.
Our road trip was more than manageable with all of the pieces of technology we had in the car to keep us busy – 3 laptops, a 3g card, 2 iPads, 2 iPhones, a video camera, and the ultimate power adapter to keep everything charged. It felt like the freakin bat mobile. At any moment we could download a new song, or audio book (ahemmm … I am now obsessed with the Twilight Saga). We could get anything we needed at our whim. I could stay connected to email and voice mail, even throughout the spotty areas on Kansas and Wyoming. How the times have changed!
People also mentioned that they had fun following along on our trip every time I checked in on Gowalla and Foursquare. Taking a look at my feed, you can clearly see our progress each day, and some of the fun site we saw. I was diligent about checking in on both platforms, with the goal of assessing the number of users across the country that are using each product. In the end, I definitely saw much more activity on Gowalla across the board. Foursquare seems to have more of a following in the press, but I’m not so sure they are winning the majority of consumers. Gowalla’s product is far superior in my opinion. It was created by some pretty kick ass designers who provide a high quality visual and user experience. We shall see who comes out on top in the end, but as far as our cross country trip is concerned, I am giving the win to Gowalla, solely based on the number of users checked in at each location I checked.
