100 days in the San Francisco Bay
A personal journal through start-ups
I have always strongly felt that the culture, society and neighborhood of an area affects how a product in that area is designed and developed. After all, products are built by people and people’s views, experiences, and identities are shaped by the area they live in.
And so after accepting an offer to work at Amplitude and moving to the Bay Area, I was eager to take notice of the impact the culture of the area had on its people and therefore on the products that were developed here. San Francisco is known to be home to earliest adopters of new technology products and so I wanted to see how new services affected the communities they were adopted within.
As one way to do so, I measured my own behavior and habits to see if they would change over time. I decided to casually log and journal various products, apps, and services I used and I looked out for common stereotypes that San Francisco is known for. This by no way was a calculated nor a systematic way to understand the area and its people but rather a fun experiment for myself to review all the things I’ve tried and share my thoughts on each.
So after 100 days in the San Francisco Bay, here’s what I’ve done so far.
I was surprised to learn that in addition to standard public transport services, Amplitude offered commuter perks using Uber/Lyft as well — something I’ve never seen back in Toronto.
Other than the obvious convenience of the service, what I enjoyed most were the great conversations I had with the drivers. I spoke with single mothers working 12 hours a day, grandfathers who had their grandsons riding along with them, artists who like driving while they’re taking breaks from work, first time parents who were driving to just take a break from their baby crying at home, and even drivers who were slowly making their way across the state by taking rides along the way.
Here’s the “real” shocker: Believe it or not, even in this age with location based apps, local trending topics, and so many of us connected to each other digitally, it turns out that actually talking to real people in person is the best way to connect to them!
I felt much closer to the city by learning the stories of all the real people who live here.
After spending a few weeks trying Uber, I thought I’d give Lyft a try. I found some subtle but important differences between the two apps. The overall riding experience was very similar but the way the two apps are structured and the elements they focus on are different. A simple example is how Lyft offers a way to tip the drivers right after a ride has ended.
It made me realize that I should force myself to use competing services more often, even if I’m already hooked to one, to simply observe their different approaches.
I initially started using Splitwise and Venmo to pay friends back for various things during my move but now have continued to use them to split phone bills, meals, and other costs. Splitwise’s visual design could really use an update but their UX is pretty solid. Venmo is killing it both in terms of visuals and UX.
The world of near-instant delivery thrives in San Francisco. It was great to be able to order new AAA batteries for my headphones and get them on my desk before lunch but, to my surprise, the convenience wasn’t anything earth shattering. I had always thought that having same day delivery services would significantly change my online buying habits but after a few weeks, I stopped using most of them altogether.
There’s an analogy that any problem that a start-up tries to solve can be compared to either candy, vitamins, or aspirin. For delivery services like these, until they become faster, more affordable, and have a much wider selection, they’ll be analogous to candy or vitamins at best rather than aspirin.
My dear Slack, oh how I love thee.
I had used Slack a number of times before for a few projects but this was my first time using it full time at work. It’s limited my use of email significantly and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. Sure, there are some inefficiencies and it does introduces its own set of behaviors that can eventually be hard to manage — but that comes with any new service or technology. For now, it’s far more effective than email.
And being able to tag any emoji as a reaction to a message? Genius.
Have you ever replaced an old kitchen appliance or tool and only after realized that its new replacement could make things that much better? That’s the case with Expensify, Zenefits, and Gusto. They improve on experiences that most people have come to accept as being painful and tedious.
Expensify’s UX feels overly complicated at times, like how Jira can feel at times (trying to do too many things for too many workflows) but boy is it better than keeping a spreadsheet of expenses or managing them through email. Zenefits and Gusto are nice too but I haven’t used either too heavily yet.
We use Zesty, EatClub, and Caviar for our lunch and dinners at Amplitude. Zesty is pretty good most days — but the days it’s not it’s pretty awful. The ability to choose your own meal with EatClub and Caviar is a significantly better experience even if the choice ends up being worse than what Zesty would have picked for you since you’re the own who decides.
There’s a strange comfort in being able to blame yourself.
Everything anyone has ever said about people in San Francisco eating a lot of Kale, Quinoa, and a massive amount of snack bars is true. Every joke, every jab, every snarky remake is absolutely true.
The other day, at lunch, we actually had “Gluten free turkey quinoa meatballs.” No this isn’t an HBO comedy, this is real life.
Everyone seems to use SnapChat in San Francisco.
My manager, on my first day, ended her on-boarding email with “if you ever need me, you can reach me by phone or snapchat.” It’s great and I’m totally hooked to the service. It doesn’t replace my use of WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter — but it doesn’t have to. Major key alert.
I was really intrigued by the concept behind ClassPass: every month you get 3 passes to all the gyms in a single area for $99. However, after only a month of use, I found myself only going to the free gym time slots rather than actual classes so cancelled it after one month.
Their app’s UI is pretty and well branded but their UX (especially for changing area coverage) can be pretty clunky at times.
I expected many more people in the Bay Area to drink Soylent 2.0.
Having tried it a few times back in Toronto, I ordered a pack here and drink it every few days when I need to skip breakfast or need a boost after a hard work out. When cold, as Ayman Nadeem puts it, it tastes like unsweetened cake batter. When warm, it tastes like sadness. Never have it warm. Just don’t. Go hungry instead and wait for it to cool . You’ll thank me.
One of the services I’ve been most impressed with has to be Luxe, an on-demand car valet service. The idea that you could drive your car to somewhere busy, like downtown San Francisco, and just have someone waiting for you when you arrive to park it actually feels magical. A quick tap when you want it back and it’s there in around 15 minutes. The times I’ve tried it, it has worked incredibly well and I look forward to using it more often.
Honourable mentions:
- Amazon Marketplace (got a pair of ANC headphones)
- LetGo (found a lot of stuff but haven’t bought anything yet)
- Fancy (got a sweet Batman decal for my Macbook)
- Philz Coffee (Philtered soul FTW)
- Nespresso (I have way too much now, even more than before)
- Stephen Curry (How is he.. how?)
- RobinHood (how Dieter Rams would mange his portfolio if he was a Millennial)
- Food Trucks (too many options, so wow, much taste)
- Harmless Coconut Water, Boba Tea (drink way too much of both)
As you’ll notice, some of my changes in behavior can be attributed to the lack of adoption or availability of that service back in Toronto rather than living in the SF Bay itself encouraging its use. And so, I’m interested to see if many of these services are a one time thing or things I’ll continue to use in the future.
I’ve really enjoyed it here so far and I’ll be continuing to log what I do. I’m very interested to observe and understand more about what makes this area so special.
With the new sharing economy, advancements in AI and Machine Learning, and the rise of VR/AR, it’s certainly an exciting time to be in tech and I’m happy to be in the San Francisco Bay to experience it all.
