New iPhone app pays users by the gig

MIAMI – Your freeloading iPhone can now start paying for itself. Maybe even take you someplace nice for dinner.

A 2-month-old app called Gigwalk pays you to use your iPhone. Users who download the app act as on-the-ground inspectors for big companies, checking local menus, store displays or verifying street signs. The Gigwalkers, as they’re known, snap photos of the task and send it to Gigwalk, which pays anywhere from $3 to $90 for a gig. As users prove themselves and earn “StreetCred,” they can unlock higher-paying gigs that are more complicated.

Gigwalk is the brainchild of three former Yahoo employees: Ariel Seidman, Matt Crampton and David Watanabe. Gigwalk launched in eight cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle and Miami. Its clients include Microsoft, which uses the app to check information for Bing, its search engine.

The idea behind it was to make use of smartphones and social systems, Seidman said.

“We’re solving problems for companies and trying to rethink how people find work,” he said.

Josh Tarkoff, 30, a pediatric resident at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital, was one of the first to sign up. Tarkoff’s done nearly 140 gigs and earned $350 in the past month alone.

“In this day and age, everyone would take a few extra bucks,” he said.

Most gigs involve taking panoramic photos inside a shop or restaurant and a couple from across the street. Tarkoff’s favorite kind is checking if the business is still open at the address. If it’s shut down, a simple shot of the new business pays five bucks.

“That’s where the real gold is,” he said.

The Gigwalk app does have some limitations. It’s available only for iPhones, and some gigs specifically require the iPhone 4 camera. Batteries run out after a couple of gigs and photo uploads can eat into your data plan.