Unclassifieds

Why does everything need a specific category?

Lets replace the classified advertisements with a more modern approach. I could post a wanted classified advertisement on Craigslist, or pay for one in my local newspaper, but there is no guarantee anyone will ever see those. Even if the right person does, who is to say it will be in time?

It is almost 2015: we live in an age where instant feedback is expected. We could hit refresh every 10 seconds on Craigslist but that does not seem very time efficient.

The idea (and a rough example).

Lets create a platform where people can post their requests and display them to relevant, applicable people. For example, pretend I want to play frisbee right now:

I post a request (except lets call them buzzes) saying “Looking for people to play some frisbee.” Sounds great, but this could potentially be millions of people. So lets narrow it down a bit.

In my buzz criteria, I will put “Drexel University students in a one mile range”. I can also add “able to play sometime this afternoon”.

By adding specific criteria, we can make sure not to spam random people and guarantee our buzz is seen by people who want to see it! If all went well, Drexel students currently in the area who like frisbee and are not marked as busy would see this post and be able to respond to it. If someone was really into frisbee, they could setup push notifications whenever a buzz was posted with the keyword frisbee.

That still sounds like categories.

Sure, it may seem like that example falls in the sports or frisbee category, but the point is not to limit people. What if you wanted to eat toast while skateboarding by a river while its raining?

I want to create the declassifieds, because no experience ever falls into one category. Something like playing frisbee may seem basic at face value, but it will always be a unique experience!

Buzz at 10:21pm: Looking to bake a cake; I can provide eggs, flour, and an oven.
               	 Open to all friends of friends within a mile.
               	 This buzz will expire in one hour if not answered.

This is the first post in my new Ideas series, where I will be blogging about different ideas that come to mind.

Justin Maslin

Maybe likes avocados a little too much

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