Will Do My Stuff get people to do your stuff?
New site that's like Craigslist meets eBay for things people don't want to do.
Thrillist, a NYC-based e-mail list that features everything from bar picks to gadgets, has tipped us off to some pretty cool webware recently. (The site currently operates "everywhere," NYC, and LA versions with San Francisco coming soon.) They do, however, tend to be targeted toward Thrillist's key demographic of party-ready slackers. Like this one, for example: Do My Stuff. It's a way for you to find people to, well, do your stuff: lawn mowing, house painting, moving, posing for photographs (ahem), you name it.
The thinking behind it is sort of an eBay-Craigslist hybrid, with a dash of slacker attitude thrown in. Like eBay, you can register as either a buyer ("to get stuff done"), a seller ("to do stuff"), or both. And also like eBay, you don't just put your name in the hat: you place bids. Therefore, potential hires are practically jumping at the chance to be in your employ. There are also message board features so that you can offer suggestions or advice without actually bidding.
If you browse the lists of tasks that people have posted on Do My Stuff, you'll see a pretty wide variety--right now, as I look at it, there's "clean my house," "sell my truck," and "organize my home office." So it's looking like Do My Stuff is turning out exactly as it was intended: a way to get people to do stuff you don't want to do, Tom-Sawyer-gone-digital-style. (Except we hope you'll actually pay them.) It makes me wonder if we're now seeing the same for classifieds sites as we have for social networking sites: MySpace is big, and that has its advantages, but there are some niche-based networks on the rise that cater to people who are looking for a smaller, easier-to-navigate community. Likewise, Craigslist is huge; will "niche" classifieds sites start to spring up in the wake of its growth?
If Do My Stuff is successful, we could indeed be seeing a pattern.