elysa

Gadi Shamia
Founder, Bizzy

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On this fine Halloween afternoon, Bizzy took it upon itself to investigate one of the most infamous hauntings of Silicon Valley, the haunted Toys R Us.  Turns out that Bizzy headquarters is exactly 1.1 miles away from Toys R Us, so the pull was undeniable, some may even say irresistable.

*thunder clap*

As background on this place, some among you may have had your childhood irrevocably scarred by a segment on a television show called "That's Incredible" that featured this haunting.  It even included a ghostly photograph said to show the specter in all his glory, leaning against some shelving while a seance was performed in the store.  Sidenote: It always seemed odd to me that his pants had the sillouhette of current fashion at the time, but I digress.  It was a GHOST caught on FILM.

*photo from the old That's Incredible TV series.

We ventured out today to get a glimpse of the ghost, or perhaps see some people fleeing from the scene as we parked.  What follows is the true story of what occured. 

It seemed innocent enough as we approached.  There were no signs of trouble, and no inkling of what was about to happen.  As we approached, however, we caught sight of an unmistakable example of symmetrical stacking, which you might be familiar with from the film, Ghostbusters, where books were stacked in the New York Public Library in a way in which no human could possibly be responsible. 

This stacking was more sinister in nature, mostly because it involved the horizontal stacking (much more rare) of blue shopping carts.

Once inside, we were confronted by what would appear to be a perfectly peaceful scene.  To the trained eye, however, you may be able to just make out what appear to be several aisles branching out from this one central avenue inside the building.

This is a classic paranormal technique meant to confound earthly humans into wandering aimlessly, perhaps getting lost, and accidentally staying past closing, when it is dark and therefore much, much more scary inside.  Had we not been so deeply entrenched on our mission, we may have been lost, like so many before us.  Luckily, we were able to pull ourselves out of the trancelike state that the labyrinthine aisles induced, but not before we saw what we believe to be, incontrovertable evidence of the ongoing haunting on the premises.

This may be too intense for more delicate readers.  Proceed with caution.

First, we found this.

Clearly, whoever was working atop this ladder was chased away by unseen forces.  In high school, friends that worked at this store regaled their fellow teenagers with tales of working late at night on these ladders, and feeling a distinct tapping on their shoulder, only to turn around and find no one was there.  It must still be happening.  Obviously.

There were several examples of toys that had been flown off of the shelves into the middle of the floor.  You almost didn't need to look for them.  The evidence was everywhere.

I can only imagine what terror overwhelmed a child enough to make them drop their bottle and flee the area.  On second thought, I mustn't try to imagine.  I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

The bottle was just too much.  We were overwhelmed by the need to exit the store, but on the way out, we saw the first actual ghost of our adventure.  It was more colorful that we expected, and thankfully we were able to back away slowly and make it to the exit.

Once outside, we collected ourselves in the parking lot.  As we tried to shake off the events of the previous hour, a strange sound arose nearby.   Looking around, we found the source.  A black crow sat perched on the edge of the building and proceeded to menace us, crying at us and shuffling it's wings in our direction. 

Coincedence? Maybe.

 

Maybe not.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Here's the lo-down on the latest Bizzy release!  It's got some goodies in it that you just might want to give a LOVE it of epic proportions. 

Guides - Guides are Bizzy users featured for their *own* epicness.  Bizzy Guides are users that know their way around Bizzy *and* around food.  They are some of the best of the best, and if you follow them, you are going to see some awesome Check Outs from cool places that you might not have discovered yet! 

To follow a Guide, tap the icon to find people to add to your feed.  If there are local Guides in your area, you will see them listed right there, along with a search for your Twitter and Facebook friends.  (Also, if you want to be a Guide show me your stuff by doing some amazeballs Check Outs, then shoot me an email.) 

 

Hashtags - Bizzy now supports hashtags...er...sorry #hashtags.  Include hashtags in your Check Outs to make them searchable by all!  Hashtag search results can even be sorted by distance or for most recent matches.  Did you just find the best #glutenfree #vegan #pastry?  Help your fellow man and hashtag it up. 

 

More Sharing! - You ever finish up a Check Out and think, "Hey, I wish I could send this to someone?"  Now you can!  Share with anyone in your address book or anyone following you on Bizzy, straight from your Check Out receipt. 

 

iOS5 - We are fully compatible.  Yes, we are.  (Android, you are still golden as well.)

 

Epicness - We're shaking things up around here, and it's EPIC.  It's a bit hidden, but we think you can figure it out.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

 

 

Tweaks - The usual minor bug fixes and fine tuning.

 

Grab those updates!

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We’ve talked a bit about how you can use your influence on Bizzy to help your friends discover new places with your Check Outs, especially when they add places to their Try List.  That is the ultimate compliment on Bizzy.

Now, we’re looking for the people helping their friends the most.

We’re going to take the five Check Outs dated between 10/20 (TODAY!) and 10/25 (Next Tuesday!) that are added to the most Try Lists and reward those Checker Outers with a meal from a place on their own Try List.   Now is therefore a good time to add some spots to that list for yourself. ;)

Get out there, Check Out somewhere great, then tell your friends to put it on their Try List!  Good luck and good eats!

 The Fine Print:

• Winners will be announced Thursday 10/27. 
• Five rewards will be distributed to individual Bizzy users, so each user may win only one reward.  
•  Reward is an American Express gift card in the amount of $50 to use at a venue listed on that user’s  own Bizzy Try List. (Yay!)
• Users may not create multiple accounts for the purpose of adding their own Check Outs to Try Lists.   (Those Check Outs will be disqualified if that happens.)
•  Users may post links to their Check Outs from blogs, twitter, facebook, or other online profiles under their own control.
•  Employees of Bizzy are (obviously) not eligible.
• No purchase necessary.
  

 

 

 

 

 

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Ever heard of Klout?  Klout is a company that attempts to take all of your social streams online, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and others, to measure how much engagement you get from your networks on those platforms.  That measurement is your influence, or your Klout, and it fluctuates along with your activity and engagement level.

Here's mine at the moment:

Bizzy users have influence too. 

How does influence manifest itself on Bizzy?

It's pretty straightforward.  When you Check Out on Bizzy, your friends that follow you see your post.  Some will then like it or comment on it.  That's one way to see if people like what you have to say, and one level of influence.

However...

The ULTIMATE show of influence on Bizzy is how many of your friends see you Check Out somewhere great and then add that place to their Try List.

It feels pretty great, like you are a pioneer in a strange land, handing your friends the map to where you found the buried treasure. 

When someone adds that treasure to their Try List and then Checks Out later and loves it too?  YOU FEEL AWESOME.  You feel validated.  You feel cool.  You feel like you've got serious sway.  Plus, your friend got to find an amazing new spot, and YOU helped them do it.

That's right.  You've got influence.  You know it, and we know it too. 

You want influence? This is how you get it.

• Build Your Network - Find your Facebook and Twitter friends on Bizzy and follow them.  Tell your other friends that aren't getting Bizzy yet to GET BIZZY and then follow you!

• Check Out - Get out there!  Be active!  When people see you post conistently, they get a great feel for your taste and the things you like, and it helps them to trust you when you say something kooky like "You've GOT to try the octopus tentacle chowder.  It is AMAZEBALLS!!"

• Go the Extra Pixel - By this I mean, when you DO Check Out, include a tip and take the time to snap a picture.  Check Outs with photos and tips are WAY more interesting to your followers, and they are WAY more likely to want to try a place if they actually see a picture of the delicous burger you are eating.

• Share your Check Outs - When you Check Out, you can share your posts on Twitter or Facebook, which brings you more followers, more everything, so...

• Get Involved - Making friends is a two way street.  Give some love to the folks that *you* follow.  Click on the Nearby tab once in a while too, and see what Check Outs are going on around you.  You may find some awesome new people to follow that way, but even better, you may discover more of that buried treasure.

Influence feels good, my friends.  Go build yours.

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New York City is a wonderland of restaurants. There are 23,499 active restaurants, according to NYC & Company. It would take you nearly 22 years to try them all (assuming you can stuff your face at least three meals a day).

Imagine you're about to start that 22-year face-stuffing journey. Below are the restaurants most wanted through our Try List data and in-person user recommendations from recent NYC Bizzy gatherings. Ready. Set. Add to your Bizzy Try List!

Lulu Cake Boutique

New Yorkers love anything red velvet. Once we heard red velvet fro-yo, we thought we had heard it all. Then we saw check outs from Jen R. and Clay F. Don't let the name fool you. Get here for its homemade twinkies; especially the red velvet ones. 

Macbar

Have you ever looked at your reuben sandwich and thought, "Man, that would make a killer macaroni and cheese." ...yeah, neither did we. Lucky for us, chefs do. 

Burger & Barrel

Here's a simple equation for you: Bacon Jam + Burger = Thumbs Up from Tom F. and Burgerconquest. They know good NYC burgers. 

21 Club

This old speakeasy with delicious food and impeccable service is a must-go in New York. It's one of the few restaurants left where a man must wear a suit jacket. Pro tip: if you're in town for restaurant week, it's a killer value here.

Momufuku Milk Bar

It's a no brainer that cereal and milk are like peanut butter and jelly. Each combination fits so well together. And just like Smucker's Goober PB & J combines both together, Milk Bar infuses milk with cornflake cereal to get a one-of-a-kind result: Cereal Milk.

Lombardi's Pizza

Lombardi's claims to be the first pizza in the city. Over 100 years later, it's still around. Bring friends and split a variation of its traditional pie and a variation of its white pie. 

Max (and its other location TriBeCa)

One of the greatest things about New York City is that you can get high-quality, homemade pasta for under $15. Rachel B. was chatting this place up and we totally agree! We hear rav reviews about the meatballs, gnocchi, and lasagna.

Looking for more places to discover? Follow our NYC Community Manager, Lea, as she stuffs her face all over New York City. 

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** This is a guest post by Shelby, Seattle Bizzy user extrordinaire, recounting her adventure at what can only be described as food truck utopia last weekend in Seattle.  If you would like to do some on-the-ground reporting for Bizzy, drop us a line. ***

First off, dear reader, let me illustrate the routine path my mind decides to stumble down around 10:43 a.m. Monday through Friday:

Almost 11… I should look up… no, I need to be sure that tweet is written and schedu—well, I’ll just look for just a second. But I’m at work! I can’t be caught mindlessly scrolling through photos! If anyone sees me, they’ll think I have a problem. Do I? Ohh, what if I do and I just don’t know?! There’s really nothing “wrong” about this, right? It’s not like HR will send me a letter telling me I need to stop...

OH, TO HELL WITH IT – I’M GOING TO SEE WHAT FOOD TRUCKS ARE OPEN TODAY.

When I heard the news about Seattle’s Mobile Food Rodeo on, September 17, it was if an invitation to the event was delivered to me on a cloud of baby giggles and Hollandaise. All of my favorite ways to whittle away the lunch hour would be collected in one glorious arena!

And glorious it was.

Usually, when there is a line out the door at a restaurant, it’s a good sign. There was a line down the street when I pulled up to the rodeo, so I figured that was a plus. According to one hungry (and incredibly grouchy – from an empty stomach, I assume) attendee, the line to get in took two hours. TWO HOURS.

I really wanted to develop a game plan to hit the 20 plus trucks organizing by cuisine, but as the crowds rolled in, it became apparent the only want to get the best of the best was to get in line as fast as the queue began to swell.

So I just started eating. I didn’t stop for FOUR. HOURS.

I’m not going to go into great detail about every single truck (you can visit my Bizzy profile for the complete list) because it will induce an elaborate display of stomach acrobatics in your person. I visited 13 trucks, and here were my favorites in no particular order because it was pretty much a tornado of meat and condiments:

• Street Donuts Dude. Duuuude. Have you ever had an Elephant Ear at the Fair? Oh, that’s cool. Anyway, so these donuts are amazing. Tiny mini-donuts in a bowl covered in cinnamon and caramel were well worth the 45-minute wait in the Seattle drizzle. Many people also reported an overall feeling of wow with the cardamom ginger variety.

• Where Ya at Matt? Po’ Boys, Gumbo, Muffaletta and oh, the beignets! I had the Big, Bold Creole Pork Po’ Boy with Granny Smith Apple Slaw, grilled onions and cilantro puree, proceeded to die due to complications with my taste buds when they wondered how they could ever taste anything so glorious, then came back to life to send you all to WYAM. The coolest thing about this truck is that Matt actually hands you your order and is a super nice guy.

• Bigfood I’m kind of a tech nerd, so I was into this truck immediately because they had a lovely plasma set up on the exterior. I ordered the Yeti – spicy pulled pork with green mango chutney and slaw on grilled, fluffy warm flatbread. I missed out on the Duck Confit, so that tells you something.

• The Box There’s been a lot of buzz around this Asian fusion truck lately, and I was thrilled to finally get a crack at this menu. Definitely not a disappointment. I don’t even need to tell you what else was on the menu when I say these words: Pork. Belly. Hum. Bao.

And that’s all I can recall. The rest was a haze through Tasty Town, but everything I tried was good. Again, check out my Bizzy profile for the rundown of the showdown.

By the end of the day, my feet hurt and I was desperate for a nap, but I must say I did an excellent job of pacing myself and sharing food. I met a lot of really cool people that shared a love of great food, listened to some down home live tunes and ran into a few familiar faces – Mobile Food Rodeo Judges Shauna Causey from Social/Digital Media fame at Nordstrom and GeekWire’s brand spankin’ new tech lifestyle reporter, Monica Guzman.

All the stomach-stretching goodness of this endeavor culminated in these essential tips for my (and your) next food truck eat-a-thon. 

PRO TIPS FOR FOOD EVENTS:

• Bring as many friends as there are food trucks/stands/tents/whatever. Split up, order enough for everyone to have a bite and re-convene.

• Bring enough cash to make it rain. You never know if the ATM will quit you.

• Be patient and wait in line. Make friends. HAVE A GOOD TIME.

And finally:

• Do not make dinner plans.

Thanks for following me on Bizzy, and hope to see you at the next food fiesta!

 

Shelby

 

 

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Our latest app updates introduced foursquare integration to Bizzy, and to say we are now bizzier than ever would vastly undersell what has been happening ever since.  It has been bananas around here, as people everywhere have linked their foursquare checkins to their Bizzy account. Amazeballs.

There are a lot of new faces on Bizzy.  

We decided one of the best ways to help some of those new faces have the best experience possible on Bizzy would be to hook them up with some suggestions for people in their area that are kick-ass follows.  What earns someone that very special designation?

Well...there are a few things that make you stand out as really fun to follow on Bizzy.

 

- You have a picture and a bio on your Bizzy account.  (That's a gimme.)

 

- You go out regularly and check out when you do. (You don't have to have a bazillion Check Outs, you just need to be pretty consistent.)

 

- You usually include pics with your check outs, cus let’s face it...a feed with pictures like this is just better, and more (WOW) delicious.

 

- You offer little tidbits about the places you go, in the form of a tip or a rundown of what you had. 

 

- You show off a little of your personality along the way, and it never hurts to be a bit entertaining. :)

Our team is working on identifying the first batch of Bizzy users to be featured within the apps as we speak. 

You want to throw your hat in the ring?  First order of business is to get Bizzy. Literally.  Get out there and show us what’s what!  Get involved with the Bizzy community where you are, whether that means following your friends, or tapping over to the Nearby feed to discover other folks that are Checking Out nearby.  Check Out, try new places, and be active!

Want to nominate yourself to be featured?  Drop us a note and introduce yourself.  We can’t wait to meet you.

Do you follow someone already that you think we should know about?  Let us know! 

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We've got updates in the iPhone and Android store today that do something absolutely MAGICAL.

For those of you that are avid foursquare users (like me), you will DIG it.

Starting now, you can link your foursquare account with your Bizzy account.  Whenever you check into a venue on foursquare, Bizzy will send you a push notification a little while later to ask you one question. 

"How was it?"

One tap on that notification will send you to the Check Out screen for the venue.  Quick sentiment, optional tip and photo and you are donezo.  You can spread the love to all those folks following you and waiting with baited breath for the next great spot you show them. Because you are awesome, they will add it to their Try List, thus proving, once again, that you are no one to be trifled with when it comes to knowing the best spots to eat and drink in your hood.

Other updates in this release:

• User Bios - Tell everyone a little something about yourself on your Bizzy profile.  Are you an Eagle Scout?  Assistant to the Regional Manager? Just plain awesome? Put it all in your bio.

• Share Check Outs and venues via email - When you see a Check Out from somewhere that looks like the perfect place for a certain someone, share it via email and let them know.  You can even drop hints like, "Maybe you can take me here for my birthday." or "This looks like a great spot to people watch.  Let's DO it!"
  

• Bug Fixes and UI Tweaks – The usual improvements here and there, mostly there.

Have you got the updates yet?  Grab them here.

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We loved our roadtrip, but you know what it was missing?  Pine trees and coffee.  We missed them so much that we decided to go cruise the Pacific Northwest for a couple days.  We can't get enough, clearly.

Mark these dates on your calendar!

Portland - 9/12

Join us at Bailey's Tap Room to mix and mingle, meet our team and all the other fantastic folks that like to get Bizzy around PDX.  Show us your Bizzy app on your iPhone or Android and get in on our draft beer open bar from 8pm until 9pm-ish.  Come tell us all about the awesomeness that is Portland!  You might just find some great local people to follow on Bizzy too.  Bring your friends.  Let's pack this place!  DO IT.  RSVP here so we know you are coming!

Seattle - 9/13 The party happens at Barca! We're raising a glass to the good people of Seattle.  Show us the Bizzy app on your iPhone or Android, cus we're hosting another draft beer open bar from 8pm until 9pm-ish for those sporting our app.  We want to pack the house!  Bring your pals and let's get DOWN. RSVP to let us know to expect you, and see you there!
Need more info on what exactly we do?  Here's a handy video explanation for you...

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In startup land, you get one question a lot. 

"What is it that you guys do?"

You have to be really good at answering that question.  You have to have that DOWN, whether you are talking to potential users, friends, investors, or your family that wonders just where you've disappeared to. 

The short answer is that we make it easy for you to share all the great places you go and discover new places to try. 

As some folks are visual learners, we have a little longer answer for you in the form of an awesome video.  Enjoy!

Big thanks to Brad Chmielewski at Digital Hitchhiker for putting this together for us.  He's both a fantastic video designer AND an avid Bizzy user.  Best combination ever.  Another huge round of applause to Heather Capri for lending us her voice talents. So great.

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Yesterday, while sitting in a conference room with a whiteboard full of sticky notes (don't ask), I was excitedly talking to our team about the dinner I had in San Francisco the night before.  We talk about food here a lot.  We pretty much talk about it all day.  What made this particular meal so fabulous went way beyond just what appeared on the plate. 

We've been working hard and long on something we really believe in.  We all use Bizzy religiously, as anyone building any app should.  Are there things we still want to work on / add / tweak / change?  Absolutely.  But...we use Bizzy all the time, not just because we work on it, but because it WORKS for us. 

This brings us to that dinner in San Francisco. 

A couple days ago, two people that I follow on Bizzy had lunch together in the city, at a place called Anchor and Hope.  They both checked out with tips and pictures of what they had. 

Ask anyone.  I am particular about my food.  That said, these two have taste that I trust after seeing them Check Out from so many places that I already know and like.  They loved it, so that's good enough for me.  I immediately tapped Anchor and Hope onto my Try List, as any self-respecting foodie would. 

Now, fast forward just a few hours, and I find myself in San Francisco in the midst of a hectic drop off for my daughter to visit some friends.  I am in San Francisco, hungry, and with a few hours to kill right around dinner time.  Even better, I'm double parked.  What could possibly go wrong? 

In a hurry to find somewhere to go, I opened Bizzy, tapped on my Try List and lo and behold, Anchor and Hope is .2 miles away.  Decision made and parking situation rectified in approximately 45 seconds flat.  With hunger crankiness on the horizon, I found a place that wasn't just handy, it was a place I REALLY wanted to try, and I was reminded of it at the exact right time and place. 

The best part of the whole story is, naturally, that I LOVED the restaurant. 

Game. Set. Match.

- Gadi

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The best part of working on Bizzy, aside from always having a perfect excuse to eat out, is the people that we meet.  It is SO interesting to see where you guys go, and what you like.  I end up following people all over the country, living vicariously through their burgers, dumplings, and macaroni and cheese.  My Try It list is getting awfully ambitious. 

One AWESOME guy to follow is Bradley in New York City.

He has pledged to Check Out 365 places in 365 days.  No kidding.

He's off to a bang up start too.  Where else are you going to learn about jargaritas?

Not to mention, see glorious photos of macaroni and cheese from Macbar?

There is a whole lot more where that came from. 

Follow Brad as he checks out NYC!

 

 

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The primary reason we hit the road in a minivan for 16 days straight was to meet our users. We shared our top experiences along the way, but our local users had something to say too. They came out, chatted with the team, told us great local places to try, and shared their Check Outs at our meetups. 

This is the roadtrip through their eyes, er well, Bizzy check outs.

{Protip: Click the links on their names. Bizzy's more fun when you follow awesome people!}

 

San Diego | Sugar J. had fun with us at The Tipsy Crow. Sugar, we had fun hanging out with you too! 

Phoenix | MoniQue S., do they sell these glasses? If not, they totally should. We want a bunch for the Bizzy office. 

Austin | Jonathan took a great shot of the crowd. The Ginger Man is always a blast! 

Dallas | Melanie N. captured someone rocking the Bizzy t-shirt and a can of beer. 

D.C. | Danielle P. joined us for a late-night run to a 24/7 Krispy Kreme. We can confirm that it tastes good any time of day. 

New York City | Bradley L., OMG pickle platter? ZOMG is more like it. 

Boston | Stacey S. highlights a local, Cambridge Brewing Company brew in the foreground and some fun shirts in the background. 

 

Get the complete Bizzy roadtrip experience through the stomachs of check outs on our Facebook page. We visited 69 places in total! 

 

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While raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens ain't bad, our favorite things usually fall into the tech, photography, shopping, drinks or food categories. We posted our favorite photos from the trip, and our favorite apps, sites and gear from the trip. Now it's time to tell you our favorite foods and places from July's roadtrip across America.

Bright copper kettles aside, here are a few of our favorite things from the trip:

New Orleans, LA

This city is incredible, from the beautiful surroundings of the French Quarter, like picturesque Jackson Square above, to Hurricane's at Pat O'Brien's. Every corner seems to have top-notch, can't-stop-eating types of restaurants. We could spend 15 days alone eating raw oysters at Cooter Brown's Tavern, beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde, macaroni and cheese at Cochon, brunch at Stanley, and the unforgettable, one-of-a-kind creation that is alligator sausage cheesecake at Jacques-Imo's Cafe.

Incredible sandwiches from a gas station

Do you hesitate at the thought of eating shrimp po'boys from a gas station in Mississippi? Don't. Get Bizzy at Seafood Express. Trust us. 

7lbs of sopapailla

We'll never forget trying to conquer the enormity of this 7lb monster. Get thee to Sadie's Dining Room in Albuquerque, and try the challenge for yourself. It made for quite an epic Facebook album. 

Surprisingly good food in the middle of nowhere

We're looking at you, Yuma, Arizona. River City Grill was just off a desolate stretch of highway and MAGNIFICENT. It was like a crazy delicous present wrapped up in plain brown wrapping paper. SURPRISE!

Fast food that nails it every. time.

Not only does Chick-fil-A make a breakfast that's deliciously sinful, they also had these way cool Heinz ketchup packets. Speaking of cool, Sonic did the job of keeping us delightfully chilled a few times out on the road with their milkshakes. Starbucks saved us when there was no local coffee spots close by too. High-fives to some of our regional favorites: Raising Cane's and Wawa. 

Stellar fare in Austin - day and night

How to kill it in Austin: Late-night BBQ at our favorite spot, Bar-B-Que Heaven, wake up a few hours later to eat breakfast and drink tea at The Steeping Room, pound some Amy's ice cream to prep for dinner at La Traviata, then feast on another late-night munch at One Taco. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Independence Hall

America, we love you. Between all the eating and traveling, it was super fun to view the places where it all began, like Independence Hall in Philadelphia.  That table is where they signed the Declaration of Independence. That's crazy talk.

Eating lobster rolls in a roast beef sandwich shop attached to a Mardi Gras themed furniture store with an IMAX theater

This place is like the eating establishment version of a platypus. Don't ask questions. It just seems to work. Thanks, Kelly's Roast Beef, for a lunch experience we could have never even imagined in our wildest dreams.

Burgers that tell it like it is

It's good to know what kind of surgery may be necessary after you stuff yourself at The Vortex Bar & Grill in Atlanta. Try out "The Coronary Bypass" or go big with "The Triple Coronary Bypass" burger.  This place was as cool as the other side of the pillow.

Yeah, I'll say it.  New England clam chowder IN CALIFORNIA

Who would have thought that California could best New England in a chowder off? They totally do.  Splash Cafe serves up ridiculous bread bowls of seafood-filled chowder with extra seafood topping (for only $1 more). I'm not naming names, but one of us cried when they tasted it.  CRIED.

Hotels that look like castles

New England may need to step it up in the chowder department, but they are WINNING the castle building contest.  We stayed at this Sheraton right out of Will and Kate's home movies. I know, right?  Not only can you sleep ON a king, you can also sleep LIKE a king.  

Were there more awesome sites, sounds, and people on this trip?  Absolutely.  There were so many moments we will keep with us forever.  We can't wait to get back out there and do it up in another part of the country and collect even more favorites from all over the place.

 

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Driving from San Francisco to Boston in 16 days is a long haul. We filled the Bizzy Mobile (A Chrysler Town & Country) with a Koolatron cooler, piles of Bizzy swag, a lock box for our laptops, luggage equipped with the Eagle Creek Pack-It System, and -ahem- a mesh laundry bag. You know, the one with holes for ventilation. There were daily stops for coffee, Clif bars, and endless bottles of Dr. Pepper, which seemed to always turn up half-empty and crammed in some random crevice in the van. Water was a no-brainer as it sure got hot out there! 

The experience of Checking Out across America was like no other. We spent months building Bizzy to help you share your mini-reviews while out and about, discover great local places, and follow your friends and fellow locals to see what they think about the places they go - anywhere in the country. This trip really put the app to the test.  Now we're back in California, with a pile of feedback from the road, and working hard to make Bizzy better than ever. 

When you have a passion for one kind of tech, you seem to have a passion for all tech. Case in point, our minivan was filled with iPhones, the latest Verizon Mifi 4G LTE, cords of every kind and car power adapters galore. All that gear enabled us to use our essential apps from our mobile control center.

Curious to know which we used most? Here they are:

1. Turntable.fm

On a normal day, we typically have a Bizzy Turntable room going. It's a fun way to listen to a collaborative playlist, rub shoulders with our users, and collect points in a quest for an AWESOME gorilla avatar. For this trip we created a turntable room called "DJ Our Roadtrip". When the Verizon Mifi was cooperating, we had a room full of people using us as their personal music hostages as we blazed down the highways. Protip: electronica isn't the best choice for sleepy drivers. 

2. Instagr.am

We use this one all the time, along with Camera+, to edit photos that we use with our Bizzy Check Outs.  It's a must-have app for iPhone users with a love of sharing and photography. We were constantly sharing our snapshots from the road with friends, family, and followers on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Posterous and Tumblr. Instagr.am also makes it easy to group photos through hashtags. See all of our 62 #BizzyTour Instagr.am photos here. Plus, most of our top ten photos from the trip have that Instagr.am touch.  

3. Foodspotting

Taking pictures of food!  YES!  We do that!  We were thrilled to have Foodspotting co-founder, Soraya Darabi, join us for dinner in New York City, since we've been huge fans of the iPhone and Android app since they launched in 2010. Sharing photos of delicious dishes is right up our alley. Exhibit A: late-night macaroni and cheese in San Diego.  Plus, Foodspotting also gave rise to another favorite hobby of ours, Foodspottingspotting.

4. Google Maps

The real win here is that Google Maps takes traffic conditions into account when determining travel time. We found it to be more nimble than the Hertz NeverLost GPS that came with the van.  Plus, we are practically neighbors, so there is that.  High five to the hometown team!

5. Basecamp

This was our project management tool for the trip. Setting off in a van for 16 days and attempting to hit 16 cities in that time is like begging for a logistical cocktail of badness.  I mean, things can get bananas and FAST.  We had a lot of moving parts to keep aligned, people on the road, and several teams involved in coordinating each event along the way. Basecamp made for a wonderful organizational tool to make sure we were all on the same page - at anytime.  Total win.  We were impressed with its mobile site as well, which was handy since we were...you know...so mobile.

6. TripIt

 Our mornings on the road always seemed to go a little like this: "Hey, what's our hotel address in (insert city name)? I need to put it into the GPS before we leave the parking lot." TripIt, with its streamlined and organized layout for our travel itineraries made this oh, so much more pleasant.   We may have spent forever searching our inboxes for the answer, and that's no good when you need to get out of that parking lot and into the nearest Waffle House. 

7. Gowalla & Foursquare

Location, location, location.  This trip was all about location, right?  We Check Out a lot, but we always check in first, so Gowalla and Foursquare are never off our first page of apps.  Our team has had raging debates on which one of the two is their favorite.  (Seriously, this is a never ending debate.)  All things being equal, for a road trip, it was fun to use Gowalla to collect pins for each new state we visited.  However, we still love Foursquare a whole bunch too.

Of course, the most important ingredient for having this trip turn out so epically was everyone we met along the way, everyone who DJ'd our Turntable room, and everyone who met up and Checked Out with us.  We took this trip to meet all of YOU, and we are damn glad we did.  Thanks for checking out America with us.

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Any good stuff we should bring with us next time? Share with us in the comments or answer on Facebook. 

 

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The Proclaimers may want to walk 500 miles, but we opted for a minivan to get that far - plus 2,251 miles more. We're still getting situated back at the office, and man...there is a lot to process and share.  Let's start with some photos. :)

With instagram-ready iPhones in our pockets, and a Canon DSLR standing by, we captured little bits of America to share with you. We ended up with a LOT of photos.  Here are some of our favorites:

Martini *hic* with olives at The Barking Kudu:

The remains of raw oysters with crackers at Cooter Brown's Tavern: 

Funny-faced Ryan at our meetup in Boston. This was our last stop, and he might have just cracked: 

We saw a lot of freeways and cars, but this vintage Ford pick-up truck in New Mexico was a big hit: 

How 'bout some atmosphere? Sunlight sneaking into Jacques-Imo's Cafe:

Cocktail and drink tickets at Hula's Modern Tiki: 

The clouds were seriously WOW inducing outside the WOW Diner in New Mexico: 

McGillian's Olde Ale House is Philadelphia's oldest bar. Super cool: 

Clay looking a little beaten down after trying to conquer a 7lb sopaipilla at Sadie's Dining Room: 

Yikes! (Not so) appropriate headline timing: 

Want to see more great photos, including albums for each of our meetups across the country? For the full vacation slide show experience, Check out our Facebook page. 

 

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It's a wrap. I'm not talking about another lunch. The Bizzy Check Out America Tour has officially logged its last mile. The Bizzy Mobile has even lost its good looks with the removal of its wrap. 

The Bizzy Mobile looking good in New Mexico at Billy The Kid's gravesite: 

Losing its pretty, pretty wrapper in Boston:

WOW. What an incredible experience driving across the country - from San Francisco to Boston - in 16 days. America is a delicious, fun, welcoming, and beautiful country. We'll write and share more in the coming week, but, for now, we can't give enough hugs, high-fives and thank yous to all those that came out to meet us. It's been a blast, and we enjoyed meeting each of you.

The home stretch of the tour started on Monday in New York City, where we discovered that pretzel croissants are the way to go at City Bakery. That night, our NYC Community Manager, Lea, threw a rocking meetup at The Brooklyneer. We laughed, ate, drank, chatted, checked out, hugged, and took photos. See those on our Facebook page. 

The last stop on the road trip took us several hours north of Manhattan to Boston. We quickly got Bizzy around town at a furniture store/coffee house, Mohr & McPherson Cafe, Union Oyster House (America's oldest restaurant), and Harvard.  We had an awesome dinner with Mike Scneider, Eric Leist and The Boston Foodie at The Blue Room, followed by a meetup at Cambridge Brewing Company. Of course, you can see photos of the Boston meetup on our Facebook page too.

 

We ended our tour on a Boston high note, sleeping in a castle, an ACTUAL castle.

And just when we were ready to close the book, we were steered to an unexpectedly great place to finish. We ate lobster rolls in a roast beef sandwich shop, attached to a Mardi Gras themed furniture store with an IMAX theater inside.  WHAT?!? Welcome to Kelly's Roast Beef in Natick, MA. 

More later when we finish digesting... We've still got a lot to share. 

 

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This past weekend was a Bizzy one checking out America. 

We started our Friday night off right with a meetup at Busy Bee Cafe and The Hive in Raleigh, NC. There, our friend, @DJMooney, spun the beats that kept us Jersey Shore fist-pumping. (OK, just Lea was doing that since she's from the Jersey Shore. The rest of us enjoyed an outstanding meal, martinis, beer, and good company.)

On Saturday we made our way to our nation's capital, the magnificent Washington D.C. We parked the Bizzy Mobile outside of Georgetown, and spent the remainder of the afternoon checking out the sites. 

That night, we met up with some mighty fine folks at a Dupont Circle favorite, Big Hunt, and tried to escape the 100+ degree weather. We had a lot of fun chatting with D.C. locals, and were thrilled when Bizzy super user, Danielle, even drove up from Charlotte to join us! SO AWESOME!

Missed out? See photos of the DC meetup on our Facbook page. 

Deciding that 10PM is too early to call it a night in D.C., we moved the fun to a spot with lovely air conditioning, James Hoban's Irish Restaurant and Bar. The night really hit a high note when one brave Bizzy user actually completed a Bizzy dare: 

Do you think having friends talk to people in a British accent is great? Well, I may have found something better, A 24-hour Krispy Kreme in the heart of Dupont Circle. District of Columbia, you are some lucky doughnut lovers! 

The next morning, dependable Starbucks in hand, we headed out to Philadelphia, a city full of brotherly love, Tony Luke's cheesesteaks, and chicken cutlet sandwiches worth waiting over an hour and a half for. 

We drove the Bizzy Mobile over to old city Philadelphia where we took our Dallas-native product manager, Clay, through a tour of Independence Hall. Without the signing of the Declaration of Independence, there would be no America for us to check out. Unacceptable! We finished the weekend with friends and karaoke at McGillian's Olde Ale House, also known as Philadelphia's oldest bar since 1860.

Speaking of bars, tonight is the last meetup of our road trip. Boston, we hope you will come out and join us at Cambridge Brewing Company!

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