Vancouver’s Ayoudo Goes National

Ayoudo….a very weird sounding name when you first look at it, but after reading the description of this Vancouver based startup the “Aha!” sound commences and I giggle for I am tickled by this very unique new social networking website and mobile app (and even more so because it’s Canadian).

What is Ayoudo?

Basically there are things you are faced with that you need to do. Whether it is paint the fence, mow the lawn, or make space in your garage. These are things you don’t want to do (but inevitably need to do), but feel silly asking your facebook friends to help you, and feel unsafe asking someone on craigslist to help you. With “A You Do” it’s free and easy to ask for help. Just type your request, name your price (or ask for volunteers), and one click can get you the help you need. What is really nice about this is that it combines the social network of Facebook, the shortness of Twitter and the ratings of eBay. Users are able to find help by finishing the sentence “I need someone to help me …” After you find someone to help you can rate their work and they can rate you making you a more trusted source.

Based in Vancouver, the Ayoudo startup launched in February 1st and already has a team of 13 people based in Vancouver as well as New York, San Francsisco, Paris and India. In addition, they have already accumulated up to 4,000 members with over 10,000 views monthly. This July 1^st, on Canada Day, Ayoudo plans to launch throughout the nation, a date that was timed to coincide with Canada’s Media History — 1927 when CBC broadcasted its signal to the nation for the first time, 1958 when Canada had its first cross-country television broadcast and in 1966 when colour television was in ever Canadian home.

What I really like about Ayoudo is that it allows you to make a contribution through social media. For example Ayoudo recently responded to the flooding crisis in BC with its Help Action, an initiative to connect people in the affected areas offer the help they need. The company has also partnered with Ustream to publish a guide on how to use social media in the event of an emergency.

If you want to start checking off those things on your to do list, you can register for free or sign in through your facebook at http://www.ayoudo.com. In addition, Ayoudo’s iPhone and iPad app is free to download on iTunes. For all of you Android users, an Android app is planned and the web app is at http://www.ayoudo.com.

What do you think of this new app which blends all the best things of social media? Would you use it to mark those to dos of your list?