One of the trade-offs of working my job is, I don’t get to blog as much 😐
I take this kinda seriously because I really do want to keep on writing about the people and groups that I’ve been covering so far. It’s frustrating when I learn about new startups and NGO’s, and I don’t get to write about them immediately. The upside though is, I’ve filed them for future use 🙂
Here are some tech start-ups that I’ve been keeping my eye on for a while and finally, I’m writing about them.
- GrabTaxi – Here’s something I’m sure many people have been praying for. GrabTaxi is an app for booking taxis here in Metro Manila. Heaven sent, right? A smartphone + GrabTaxi means getting a cab in those dreaded middle-of-the-night, rainy moments is no longer as impossible as it used to be. All you have to do is input your Point A and Point B, and click “BOOK NOW.” GrabTaxi will assign the cab driver nearest to you from the ones that are available. Considering the app keeps track of your bookings (date and location), it’s a step up in securing yourself a safe ride home. GrabTaxi has around 16 partner fleets to date, and you can even get to know some of their drivers here 🙂 To be upfront though, there’s a P70 booking fee – something that I think we can forgive in our times of need. Here’s a more comprehensive review of the app, from Paige Occenola, who’s tried it out.
- Tripid – Tripid is a transportation service that makes the old school charm of school buses modern and, not to mention, useful. What it is, is a carpool that you can sign up for online. You can join Tripid either as a driver or a passenger. For a driver, the process is: Post a route – Accept passengers – Start your trip. For passengers, it’s: Look for a route – Choose a driver – Start your trip – End your trip and rate your driver. Across all these steps, you have full control. Drivers and passengers both have access to information about each other like profile details, mutual friends, and previous ratings. They also have a feature called “Community Call,” that makes sure your emergency contact is called in case anything happens – points for security! It’s an old system that’s worth another try, especially for people who are saving. I especially like the community, pay-it-forward vibe 🙂 Might just try this one of these days, more so because parking is so expensive where I work!
- Amplify.ph – Amplify.ph is something I knew about a little before they released their beta website because I knew one of the people behind it. It already sounds good as an idea, but when you see it for real, you realize how valuable it really is. Amplify.ph is a music website that features local and independent music. They’ve got loads of stuff on their site from a wide variety of genres: jazz, hiphop, acoustic, pop, rock, ballad, indie, and electronica. All music is ready for playing on the site, and they even have playlists of recommendations and whatnot 🙂 Also, did I mention that you can download the music for FREE? 😀 I too did a virtual double-take when I read this. All you have to do is sit through a video advertisement before your download starts, whose proceeds go to their partner artists. And Amplify.ph is doing more than that in helping out our artists. They’re making it easier for the music to reach the people, and more patronage means a thriving music industry. There are tons of bands and artists out there for us to discover and now, instead of waiting for word of mouth to start the buzz, just a few clicks will get you to the music that gets you going. I’m on it almost everyday now 🙂 It’s a must-visit.
New things to test out. If you happen to like them or have any points for improvement to suggest, drop them a line 🙂