(Uber)

By now you’ve probably heard of Uber, the alternative to traditional taxis that lets you beckon a driver to your location using a mobile app and then handles payment and other transaction details for you. But have you heard of the 9,867 other Ubers?

We’re just making that number up, but you get the idea. Uber has become shorthand for “an on-demand service you order via your phone” the way Google has become a synonym for “search.” Why Uber has achieved this exalted status is unclear; we suspect an evil plot involving the Illuminati and Oliver Stone.

Our colleagues in the journalism racket are especially guilty of using the shorthand “an Uber for X” to do the heavy lifting in stories about yet another on-demand service. But what does that mean, exactly?

Here’s what it means: A service that comes to wherever you happen to be at the moment, which you order and pay for from an app on your phone. Simple, no?

Here’s just a sample of the many wannabe Ubers, some odder than others.

Uber for weed

(VentureBeat) 

Too stoned to get off the couch and re-up your stash? Launch Eaze, select your favorite strain of medical Mary Jane, and the app will locate a dispensary offering your bud of choice and send a delivery driver to your door. Available in San Francisco. Where else?

Uber for housecleaning

(Forbes) 

Handybook is just one of a half dozen on-demand services yearning to clean your house or fix your broken toilet. Others include Porter,Homejoy, and Uber Maids (duh). There’s sure to be one near you.

Uber for laundry

(TechCrunch) 

Washio doesn’t actually wash anything, but its “ninjas” will pick up your dirty laundry, drop it at the cleaners, and bring it back a day later. Why they need masks and samurai swords to do this, however, remains a mystery. Available in select neighborhoods in L.A., S.F., and D.C.

Uber for high fliers

(TechCrunch) 

So you’re trying to make it to Jay Z’s party in the Hamptons, and Virgin Air first class is completely booked. No worries. Just launch the BlackJet app on your mobile to charter a private plane. Available wherever Beautiful People are in 10 major metro areas.

Uber for pizza

(Forbes) 

Wait, don’t pizzerias already deliver direct to your door? Yes, they do. But Push For Pizza makes this process even simpler for those too lazy and/or incapacitated to order from a menu (see “Uber for weed”). Three taps on the screen and your pie is on the way. So far, your choices are limited to cheese or pepperoni.

Uber for foodies

(Ozy.com) 

For $10, Caviar will deliver food from high-end restaurants to your door in seven major U.S. cities. And no, not just fish eggs.

Uber for snowplows

(BetaBeat) 

Think Uber car with a big friggin’ plow on the grille, and that’s pretty much all you need to know about PlowMe. (No sniggering, please.) Available in the snowier regions of New England, Chicago, and Denver.

Uber for medical emergencies

(TechCrunch) 

Isn’t that what 911 is for? Apparently not. When you just need a ride to the doc’s, Stat will be there waiting for your call — at least, if you live in Philadelphia or Austin, Texas. The rest of you sickies will just have to wait.

And we’re guilty too. In Alyssa Bereznak’s February story about Glamsquad, a New York-based service that sends a hairdresser to your home, she called it an “Uber for hair care.” Don’t like it? Find an Uber for attorneys and sue us.

Questions, complaints, kudos? Email Dan Tynan at ModFamily1@yahoo.com.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/this-story-is-like-an-uber-for-articles-97245790459.html