The Urban Roamer at the Blogapalooza 2013

The Urban Roamer had the opportunity the check out one of the biggest events of the year specially targeting bloggers like myself, the Blogapalooza 2013, my first time to be attending such an event.

And I never realized how interesting and fun such an event was, especially with the freebies and other perks attending bloggers get to receive like gift certificates, food, and other prizes courtesy of the featured businesses at the event. After all, the event itself aims to bring bloggers and these businesses together in this new age of interactivity, social media, digital marketing, and everything else in between.

But being a blog called The Urban Roamer’s Journal, it feels weird to write about such stuff that is remotely related to what has been blogged here for the past 4 years. So to make it a bit more relevant, allow me to write about my experience using one of the new apps in the market that has made hailing a taxi a bit less stressful called GrabTaxi.

Available in both iOS and Android, GrabTaxi allows users to hail a taxi cab remotely, without the hassle of waving your arms for any taxi that will pass by or be pissed at drivers who will either refuse to go to your destination or will charge too much for the fare. In addition, you get information on the taxi you choose to take, not only the vehicle plate but also the identity and contact info of your driver, the same way the driver has your name and contact info as well.

Estimated fare information is also available on screen. Not sure though if the fare already includes the P70 service charge for using the service, but considering the value of the service, I suppose it can be considered a fair deal. For that day going to Blogapalooza, I was fortunate to have my fare reimbursed as an offer for that occasion courtesy of the folks from GrabTaxi. Can’t beat that!

Apart from the freebies, it was also a night for charity as donations and pledges were made by the bloggers and businesses to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Mikhaila de Leon, a World Vision volunteer who happened to be in Tacloban during the typhoon and wrote a piece for Huffington Post recounted her experience and asked for help as well.

All in all, it was an eventful night. I’ll be looking forward to next year’s Blogapalooza.

© The Urban Roamer