All posts in: Postmates

03 Jan 2014

Yow Yow’s Yearly Recap

Wowowow. What a year it has been for Yow Yow!

I’m not all that sad to see 2013 go because I am so looking forward to what 2014 has in store for us. 2013 was a big transition year for Yow Yow! Postings became a little bit more consistent because I was no longer in school and it started to become predictable that I would just log on right after work. It’s nice to be able to have a set schedule to be honest. When I was in school, I would post any free moment I had, which was great because maybe sometimes I would be inclined to write a post about something because it was convenient. However, I appreciate now, that I get to wait until the end of the day to sort out my thoughts and to spend some time thinking a little bit more about what I am writing. Yow Yow! has turned 5-years old! It’s hard to believe that this blog has been with me for that long and that some of you have watched me transition, grow, and hopefully write better content in that time. Thank you x 23984298 to everyone who has supported the blog during this time. If I didn’t have that, I may not still be writing today. We know for sure though that Jennie and Ashley have at least helped me keep Wedding Mondays alive.

Stats from 2012 will be on the left and italicized while stats from 2013 will be right and bold.

1,130,911 total visits to Yow Yow! – – – – – – – – – – –  1,294,886 total visits to Yow Yow!

*In just 2013, there were 163,975 visits to Yow Yow!

7,067 Posts, 2,187 Comments 10,229 Tags – – – – –  9,167 Posts 3,152 Comments 12,122Tags (cumulative)

Top Post of 2013 – “Hipster Disney Princesses In Real Life” – 15,726 views (written in 2012)

Top Post Written in 2013 – “Meet: Hollis Wong-Wear” – 2,071 views

Busiest Month in Terms of Views – October 2012 (49,821 views) – – – – – January 2013 (24,905 views)

Highest Average Visits Per Day – October 2012 (1,607 views) – – – – –  – January 2013 (803 views)

*Busiest Day – October 5, 2010 (4,239 views)

Credits + References

Worked with

  • Gilt City
  • Postmates
  • Dry Soda
  • Gratify
  • Nordstrom Wedding Suite at the Seattle Nordstrom Flagship

“Women Who Are Making It” Series:

  • SuChin Pak
  • Molly Young
  • Kendall Herbst
  • Hollis Wong-Wear

Top Referring Sites in 2013 Were:

  • Pinterest.com
  • Facebook.com
  • Twitter.com
  • Android.pinterest.com
  • holliswongwear.com

Most of My Visitors Came From:

  • The United States
  • Canada
  • The United Kingdom

Music Festivals Covered:

  • Capitol Hill Block Party
  • Bumbershoot

Other:

*We started a new series on Fridays called “Take Me There” and “Truth and Words” Sundays

*We ended the series “Thought Catalog Roundup.”

*New graphics and headers by Leanna Robb! [Facebook, Twitter, Blog]

* We made a Facebook page! Like us.

*We packed up and moved to the Bay area! [Seattle, forever <3 – I promise]

*Veronica became an official part of Yow Yow!

*We received our very first press passes for Yow Yow!

*We started “Conversations From 20-Somethings.”

*We hit 1,000+ subscribers!

*We followed-up with some of our previous guest writers from a year ago:

*We made some videos! Like this unveiling video below:

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/72560700]

and one last hoo-rah with Space Girl

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/64044836]

*We had a memorable Twitter interaction:

Here’s to what we hope will be a very exciting 2014!

30 Aug 2013

Gratafy

homescreen

Last month, Veronica and I attended an event sponsored by two Seattle startups that we are becoming fast fans of. We have previously introduced you to Postmates and now we’d like to do a special write-up for Gratafy.

How many times have you found yourself missing a very important celebration with no way of making it up to your friend or family member? It happens to all of us. Things come up unexpectedly and we feel like an awful friend for not being there for them. It’s not the same as being present, but Gratafy allows you to take some of the heat off from your absence.

How exactly does it work? Say you’re missing a birthday party at a restaurant or a bar downtown – with Gratafy, you can still buy them dinner or an extra round of drinks even if you can’t be there! Everyone loves gifts so why not surprise your friend with one? After all… you owe them one, right?

To redeem a gift, all your friend has to do is make their usual order and when the bill arrives, your friend will open up their Gratafy app and show the server their personal gift code. Pretty simple, right?

Gratafy is available for use NOW in Seattle and as of this week – Los Angeles! Founded by two University of Washington alums Ryan Halper and Brian Erke, Gratafy plans to expand beyond these two cities and into several other major US Markets later this year.

Gratafy not only allows users to buy a bottle of Prosecco to commemorate a friend’s recent promotion, or thank a co-worker for a job well done, the app also enables merchant partners to open up a new revenue stream by selling merchandise without the buyer having to set foot inside of the establishment. “In a digital world where everyone craves more personal connections, Gratafy offers a new adventure in personal gifting and a sense of camaraderie for pure, simple-to-give fun for life’s moments: big, small and embarrassing,” says Ryan Halper, Gratafy co-founder and COO. “The process of giving, receiving, and redeeming is effortless, and can happen anytime from anywhere using a smartphone.”

Gratafy has also gone to great lengths to ensure that the gift redemption side of the product is an easy and seamless experience for both consumers and merchant partners.  “Gratafy’s technology and simple-to-use interface allowed us to get up and running in a matter of hours,” notes John Howie, owner of John Howie Steak and Seastar. “Training staff is quick and painless. The guests love it! It’s a no brainer for any restaurant.”

The app is free to download and available for iPhone and Android in the App Store or on Google Play.

*Because we love Gratafy so much, they are gifting Seattle and Los Angeles Yow Yow! readers with $5 credit. All you have to do when using the app is enter in our promo code YowYow

Happy gifting!

11 Aug 2013

Yow Yow! Loves Postmates

Readers, last week I hinted that we would be featuring a new app on the blog soon and I am now thrilled to introduce to you all Postmates! I sat down with Seattle’s community manager Ayako Igari this week to chat with her a little bit more about the app – what it is and where it’s going. The start-up based out of San Francisco is now expanding to both Seattle and New York so you can begin using it right now!

“Be hungover IN BED not in line” is just one of their many taglines that you can find on their flyer handouts and alludes to the fact that you can save time doing whatever it is that you need to do while enlisting Postmates to help you as well.

Postmates, currently an iOs app (for now. Android and web coming soon!) enables you to order almost anything (but alcohol in Seattle) and it’ll be delivered to you IN AN HOUR OR LESS. It’s food, groceries, office supplies, coffee, cakes, sunglasses…the list goes on.

Simply pull up the merchant/restaurant/location in the app and pick it from the menu or type in your custom order. Postmates is a courier service at its core and they do pickups and deliveries of documents as well. Moreover, it seems that the firm uses route optimisation software applications to avoid time wastage and efficiently plan routes that would prevent delayed parcel deliveries and reduced customer satisfaction.

Honestly, these kind of technological solutions happen to be gaining popularity in the contemporary world. Several courier service providers seem to have excellent courier software which allows them to plan routes efficiently so that customers can receive their orders on time and in one piece too. If you were to choose a couriering service, you’d want one with superior courier software so that you knew packages were being delivered properly and Postmates offers a service that does just that. Likewise, you should know when your courier is scheduled to arrive to avoid delays in sending the courier. For example, some companies in the e-commerce space are in need of delivering the products as soon as possible because any delay could negatively affect the customer experience. Therefore, it might be prudent to use a same day courier service or an earliest delivery service that does not hamper the customer’s or your time. However, before you choose a delivery service, take into account the software used by them for effective supervision of their fleet, i.e. their delivery vans (or any vehicles for that matter). The need for an efficient fleet management software becomes essential as their work pattern and flow might affect the delivery and safety of the items that you intend to deliver.

-Hours are 8am-midnight.
-Delivery area is all of Seattle. Up to N 145 in Northgate and down to White
Center/Rainier Valley. WS and Ballard included.
-There are no minimums on the item, you can order a can or soda or have a courier pick up an already-paid for item.
-Delivery fees start at $4 and only go to $12.
-Like the Uber app, you can watch your courier do your delivery around town, call them/they can call you and there is a ratings
system for accountability.

To learn more about the service, click here to visit their website.