"In 2008, we published the first listing on a bare-bones website called RunMyErrand.com: a single task, posted by someone who needed help, to be completed by an individual who had opted into making their time and abilities available. At the time, it was an untested idea, launched in the midst of the worst financial downturn in a generation, and there was no established language for what we were building."
"Platforms like TaskRabbit helped make flexible, on-demand work visible, available, and scalable, while also enabling new ways for individuals to participate in the economy outside of traditional full-time employment. Over time, these models contributed to the rise of portfolio careers and multiple income streams, blurring the boundary between salaried work and independent labor in ways that have since become normalized."
In 2008 a single-task marketplace launched on RunMyErrand.com, connecting people who needed help with individuals offering time and skills. The concept predated Uber, Instacart, and Postmates and emerged amid the worst financial downturn in a generation. Smartphones, location data, and mobile computing were still nascent, allowing new forms of exchange as engineers explored combined mobile and social capabilities. Platform marketplaces made flexible, on-demand work visible, accessible, and scalable, enabling participation outside traditional full-time employment. These platforms contributed to portfolio careers and multiple income streams, blurring boundaries between salaried work and independent labor. The labor market is now entering a new, different inflection point.
Read at Fast Company
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