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GoSee4Me turns amateur photographers into Internet spies

Want to see the inside of that hotel or apartment you're thinking about staying at? Check out GoSee4Me, which turns people into digital gophers for your photographic needs.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
2 min read

GoSee4Me is a new service hoping to help give people with cameras and too much time on their hands a spare buck or two. Similar to some of the question and answer services out there, GoSee4Me is a network for people to get pictures from all over the globe by utilizing a pay-per-picture system generated by users who can "claim" shots like they would an assignment. This isn't aimed at the folks who would be content just looking for something by tags or description in Flickr, Zooomr, or other photo-sharing sites. Instead it's aimed at unearthing very specific locales, or very detailed parts of a city or building.

This has a variety of uses, mostly for people who simply can't get to a certain location to give it the once-over. For instance, say you want to see the inside of a hotel, or the neighborhood around it in another country. If GoSee4Me has someone in that area who's willing to take on the job, you could get a fairly unbiased view of how it looks prior to booking reservations there and hopefully at a low price. As a photographer, you also might be getting an excuse to get out and take some shots or see something new.

Frankly I don't see this site working on the travel angle alone, as most established hotels and restaurants have reviews and a decent amount of pictures lined up for users to find without too much trouble. For people who are moving to a new city however, it would be nice to be able to hire someone out to take some shots of a place you're thinking about moving into, as Craigslist and real estate photos often times hide the important details.

Also, for hotels or other city buildings, there's a separate service called EveryScape, which we took a look at last week. The site offers 3D views of some interior locations, but there's no paid-for option to have people do some gopher work for you.