What happens when an iPhone/Android app startup wants to get out of its Silicon Valley offices and into local communities to meet users, support local businesses, and see the country? A killer road trip transpires, of course. My Bizzy colleagues and I packed our bags and hit the road in a rented minivan this past July to drive cross-country from San Francisco to Boston. We hosted dinners and meet-ups in 16 cities along the way. In fact, we had such a great response that some of the team hit the road again in mid-September to travel from Portland, OR, to Seattle, WA.
If you hit the road, be sure to have these apps on hand.
1) Bizzy
Of course I'm going to include this. After all, we created Bizzy to allow you to easily share your experiences out and about with a simple "Check Out". Others can follow your journey and add any places they may like to their "Try List" with only one touch.
2) Twitter
Twitter proved essential when we wanted to quickly spread the word we were in town. Having the app in the palm of our hands made tweeting, searching, and DM'ing super easy on the go.
3) Evernote
Throughout the trip we talked with prospective users and current users about our app. Evernote proved useful for quickly jotting down user feedback. Thanks to quick synching, we could then pick up the note on the Evernote site or Mac desktop app later.
4) Google Maps
One cannot survive with in-car GPS alone. A must have.
5) TripIt
Logistically, a road trip can be a major stress. Stay sane and keep all your hotels, flights, and rentals in one spot.
6) Foursquare
Get points, possible specials, and check in to announce where you are. Bonus: Bizzy integrates with Foursquare. Connect it through Bizzy and, when you check-in, we ask, "How was it?" with a check-out push notification.
7) Glympse
Bizzy user, Eric Leist, shared this app with me when we met on the road trip in Boston. Glympse lets you privately share your location with the people you select to know. There are multiple control features for privacy. I'm still deciding if it's cool that someone can know how fast we're driving (if I give them that permission, of course).
