What's That App Again?

(Image courtesy of Johan Larsson)

If you're like us, you can't go anywhere without your phone. Whether you're just texting, snapping photos for your Instagram, checking the weather or looking for a great restaurant to try, your first source for information is your smartphone.

With such a demand for easier access to information, it's no wonder that start-ups are popping up on a daily basis and being based in the Bay Area, we're right in the middle of the action! Read what writer Kim Lucian from Apartment Therapy had to say about the new app craze that seems to be hitting us. Do you agree?

I get press releases on a near daily basis that go something like this... "check out our innovative new start-up." The services range from the ordinary (housekeeping, art curating, personal shopping, flower delivery) to the less than ordinary— a service that provides you with a personal valet to park and retrieve you car for you as needed, and the now infamous "Yo" app.

While I am well aware that living in a city known for its techie fever means I'm probably exposed to more of this than most, I have to admit, it gets a bit overwhelming. While there are definitely a few "startup" services that I have come to love (Open Table, Bloom That and Lyft to name a few), I've started to wonder... at what point are we getting ahead of ourselves?

As a good friend recently pointed out, "start-up" is just a trendy word for a new business and when you look at it through that lens, do we really need a business to address every one of life's little inconveniences? Or should we, I don't know, suck it up, put on some pants and go to the store ourselves once in a while?

What "start-ups" do you love and what do you think crosses the line into the unnecessary or just plain ridiculous? Leave your response in the comments below.