Mapping the Gig Economy with Texting

GroundSource x Hudson Valley

Texting to understand the changing local economy.

To get a long term look at the gig economy in the Hudson Valley, journalists at the Poughkeepsie Journal started texting. They wanted to get a more personal look at what residents are doing for a living in the ever-evolving area and by working with GroundSource, they were able to connect with hundreds of workers quickly and easily, conducting interviews and getting direct questions answered at scale.

They put a call out on their website asking freelancers, gig workers and entrepreneurs to text in using a keyword: “Text GIG to 63735 to get started.” From there, the responses came pouring in. They expanded the outreach to ask workers to text in pictures of their work environment.

GroundSource was the pivotal tool for the Poughkeepsie journalists to reach so many people with first hand experience on the topic. With texting, they were able to explore the large scale local gig economy on a deeply personal level.