Dabra Sinick, Kirkland, WA resident is definitely on our wavelength!
The bottom line for us in today’s world is to use the power of the internet and combine it with the people in a neighborhood to make changes and get things done. Carpooling/ride sharing seems a great place to start. (Source: Sometimes it’s the simple solutions)
And she also offers some smart advice on using sites like ours, if you’re concerned about privacy you can use a pseudonym, be selective about what information you provide and: “you can meet someone at an intersection and not in front of your home. (Source: Sometimes it’s the simple solutions)”
Well I am really excited to announce our partnership with John Mayer and Reverb - working together to provide Ridesharing services to get to all of his concerts this summer.
If you are going to any of the shows you have to check out our custom page for this summers tour - http://concerts.pickuppal.com/JohnMayer. Also as part of an incentive to use PickupPal we just got word that there will be special “John Mayer” prize packs given to those that use PickupPal to get to the show - so there really is no reason not to use PickupPal to get to the show.
As a quick side note - I find it really inspirational to be associated with leaders like John Mayer, The Dave Matthews Band and all of our other partners in the music industry. There are a lot of things that an artist can do and say and get involved with and when they take the time to commit to something like a partnership with us I really find it humbling. It is this kind of leadership and trailblazing that paves the path to making a difference. Our joint vision is one that sees music fans getting together and making a significant difference in reducing CO2 emissions and working together to double up and cut down. It is more than words - it is a commitment and one that I find very inspiring.
Cheers - Eric
P.S. If you are going to Monday’s show in Toronto come by our booth at the Eco-Village and say hi! (Tell em Eric sent ya!)
Effective immediately, PickupPal will no longer charge drivers a 7% commission:
No fees, no accounting, nothing but 100% FREE enjoyment of PickupPal!
This also means that any and all commission amounts payable by drivers to PickupPal are canceled and no longer owing, period.
We are scrapping the 7% commission, effective immediately, because of the enormous environmental and user experience benefits that will result.
We have had such tremendous growth and are proud to be the largest internet ride sharing company in the world. We feel that by removing this commission PickupPal will be able to grow even faster and become one of the world’s leading green-house gas emissions reducers.
On behalf of everyone at PickupPal we thank you our valued members for your continued support.
So please, continue to have fun on PickupPal.com – and from now on, you keep the change!
Ohhhh boy what a crazy couple days it has been. Starting things off with the Dave Matthews Band in Toronto on Wednesday! Special thanks to Josh from Reverb for the awesome tickets and the backstage passes and VIP treatment (having dinner with the band and crew - saweeet!). What Seats! What a show! What a night!
Then it was off to Calgary for the Virgin Festival and our booth in the eco-village - two days - thousands of fans! All part of the Rock-n-Roll Rideshare program in conjunction with our partnership to get fans to the festival. A ton of awesome interaction with hundreds of new members entering the “Win a Gibson Guitar” contest!
I got dash but special thanks to all of our partners and all of their support - what an amazing time and great meeting with everyone!
Cheers - Eric
P.S. Also I was able to meet Gord Downie - lead singer of the Tragically Hip - I have been a fan since January of 1990 - (yeah I am old!)
I must apologize for the brief intermission on posting to the blog - it is not because I don’t want to - more we are super busy and finding the time has been a challenge.
So we are off to hit the road - Tomorrow the Dave Matthews Band at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto and then the Virgin Music Festival in Calgary over the weekend. Super excited about seeing DMB live and looking to meet up with our partners, Reverb at the show. Reverb has a crew that travels with the tour and helps take care of all sorts of greening events. We have been working with Reverb and the Dave Matthews Band by providing Ridesharing to all of the DMB concert dates. In any event - looking forward to that.
Then it is off to Calgary where we have a booth at the Eco-Village they will have setup there. O.K. some PickupPal honesty here - coming up with a booth idea that does not suck is a hard thing to do. We went through a ton of ideas and we scrapped them all and came down to a basic concept - the question I asked myself - what kinda mood am I in when I am at a multi-day festival - the answer is indulgence! So in that vain we came up with this concept - come by our booth - get your picture taken striking your best Rockstar pose in front of a massive backdrop of a couple thousand fans - then when you get home come by our website and enter your picture into our Rock-n-Roll Rideshare contest where you can win a Gibson Flying V. We are going to let all the members of PickupPal vote on who has the be Rockstar pose and the one with the most votes wins a Gibson Flying V.
The idea is that all of you PickupPal members are Rockstars - you are taking part and making a difference by doubling up and cutting down - it comes down to individual actions that make the biggest impact. Not to leave anyone out, those that are not up for posing but join in on the voting are automatically entered to win merchandise from our clothing sponsor Killthe8.com. It was awesome to get sponsored by Gibson and instead of an Ipod or something techie we went with what ever Rock and Roll maniac wants in their collection - a sweet Flying V - an Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Randy Rhodes iconic symbol of flat out grind. So that is what we are doing in Calgary - if you are reading this and are going to be at the show come by our booth - we are between the beer tent and the food and we are facing the main stage.
One note - when STP are on stage on Saturday don’t bother coming by because the booth will be empty! Then on Sunday when the Tragically Hip take center stage - again I doubt you will see me at the booth.
NOTE: I am a huge Hip fan and I am heading out west with my bride and she is equally a huge Hip fan - so If I don’t lose here to STP definitely will have to drag her away from the Hip. Actually our first official date was seeing the Tragically Hip at Federation Hall in 1990 after I won tickets to the show on their “Up to Here” tour - so yeah I am a fan that goes way back!
Cheers - Eric
P.S. The Rock-n-Roll Rideshare “Gibson Grand Prize” is open to all PickupPal members - however I will post more details when the contest officially launches in the coming weeks.
I love maps, I love trying to find places i have lived or visited just by scrolling around Google Earth seeing if i can remember my way around… I look for places i have stayed on holiday like the little B&B whose name I’ve long ago forgotten but I remember that road up from the little beach on Ios, how the road veered left and it was at the top of the hill - following the road on a map and looking at the street names brings back great memories. Also, I love to travel, and in some ways looking at a map temporarily satisfies that hunger in me.
So imagine how thrilling it is for me to spend part of my day looking at points on a map, looking up our members’ routes and matches; helping them enter a pickup request or a driver route.
This brings me to the trusty PickupPal Globe icon. I want all our members to know and love the Globe icon because well, there’s a lot to love in PickupPal’s little Globe! What? This: when you are entering your start and stop addresses you can click on it and the glorious interactive Google map appears! It is awesome, you can see your start point or your end point, you zoom out and you see both points on the same map. You scroll a little to the right: you see where you went to High School - You scroll a little to the left: there’s that great beach!
So my PickupPal friends, you need to click on the PuP Globe! To see where you are and where you want to go, and if you have a minute, spend some time moving around the map, it is a really great way to reconnect to the places you live, work and play…. And all the while you make sure the route you are entering is not taking you from Portland, Oregon to Sydney, Australia!! Two Waldos - one little globe shaped stone.
We are proud to announce that Van’s Warped Tour has chosen to team up with PickupPal to get punk fans to all of their 46 festival dates. This is a huge honour for me personally because I was and still am a fan of punk music.
It started with Patti Smith and a bit of Iggy Pop then moved onto the Clash, Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedy’s and to round out to Black Flag, but that is old punk - some would say “Classic Punk”. I do have to qualify and say I was not as hard core as others because I could not really commit - I think it had to do with the fact that I had friends who were really committed and I just could not go as hard as they did. Out of all my “Punk Loving” friends from High School one still lives the Punk lifestyle, Shane Smith, (Vice Magazine and TV Go to 2:15 in the clip it is pretty funny).
In any event with such acts as: Norma Jean, All American Rejects, and Matisyahu - and tons of indie punk bands this years lineup is definitely awesome! For more info you can check it out on Van’s World Tour website.
Well in the immortal words of Otis Redding and covered ohh so well by the Black Crowes:
“Baby here I am
I’m the man on the scene
I can give you what you want
But you gotta come home with me”
[NOTE: It was on this tour when I first saw the Black Crowes - Awesome band live! I cannot wait to see them in July at Bluesfest]
The Ottawa Bluesfest has team up with PickupPal providing fans an excellent way to double up and cut down - all part of our Rock n Roll Rideshare initiative. As a loyal fan of the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest year after year this is quite the pleasure to team up with such a prestigious festival. If you are going to Bluesfest sign up to PickupPal from the Ottawa Bluesfest Site and bring someone with you or find a ride to the various shows.
This years line up is massive - here is a sampling:
James Taylor; Steely Dan; The Tragically Hip; Feist; Wyclef Jean; The Black Crowes; Fergie; Widespread Panic; Brian Wilson; Great Big Sea; Boz Scaggs; Three Days Grace; Primus; Zappa Plays Zappa; Taj Mahal; Donna Summer; Matthew Good and His Band; Don McLean; Keb’ Mo’; Theory of a Dead Man; Blind Boys of Alabama; Joan Armatrading; Jakob Dylan; Dr. John; Canned Heat; Corb Lund, Metric; The Wailers; Johnny Winter; Bettye LaVette; Sam Roberts Band; Martha Wainwright; Jose Gonzalez; The Hammerheads; Sonny Landreth; Back Door Slam; Brothers Chaffey; Theory of a Dead Man; Billy Joe Green, Mumbo Jumbo Voodoo Combo; Tokyo Police Club; Three Days Grace
And special note - our very own Brothers Chaffey are performing on Friday, July 11 at 6:00 pm on the Rogers Stage - you have to check them out! (If you have watched the PickupPal Video - you may have noticed a wicked little ditty - custom written for us by the Brothers Chaffey).
Well it has been really hard to keep this under my hat for so long but I can now announce that we have formally partnered with Reverb and The Dave Matthews Band.
From the Dave Matthews Band Website:
“DMB and Reverb are further expanding the greening efforts for the summer tour with a special partnership they have created with PickupPal. The Eco-Rideshare program is the first of its kind in the music tour industry and will help drivers and riders carpool to shows, thus helping concertgoers reduce their carbon footprint. PickupPal has generously agreed to waive their driver commission for DMB fans traveling to shows this summer. To learn more about the program, register with PickupPal (free) and enter shows that you may be driving to or need a ride to, please click here. DMB concertgoers who participate will also be eligible to win some cool prizes provided by Dave Matthews Band.” (Source).
We have been working closely with Reverb for several months now and we are so excited about this partnership. The Dave Matthews Band have been true pioneers in the field of raising awareness and walking the eco-walk by going the extra mile to make their tours as eco-friendly as possible. We look forward to participating at the various eco-villages that travel with the tour and I hope to see some of you there.
It is really awesome the way in which festival and concert organizers have come on board with our PickupPal Eco-Rideshare program. Getting fans to festivals by using PickupPal is one of the best ways they can reduce their carbon footprint. Two new ones that launched today come from the UK and they are our first major festivals in the UK. NASS 2008 (www.nassfest.com) and Rip Curl Boardmasters 2008 (www.ripcurlboardmasters.com) - Skateboarding, BMX, Inline Skating, Motocross, Surfing, Hard driving bands - lots and lots of energy. Just listening to the intro music on their websites makes it very hard not to let the mind wander.
In other concert news, we are deep in planning mode right now - there are a few tours we will be on the road with and we will be at both the Calgary and Toronto Virgin Festival Canada 2008 by Virgin Mobile. We call it the “Rock n Roll Rideshare” and we have come up with some cool ideas to get people to come by our booth at the EcoVillage. I can’t get into details right now - however we will be giving away some amazing prizes for those that join in.
Also stayed tuned - this week we are launching our biggest partner tour and I cannot wait to spread the good word!
