A woman — armed with a Nexus One and the Google Maps mobile app — recently completed a scavenger hunt in New York City that led to a very special prize: a marriage proposal.
Google software engineer Ari Gilder orchestrated the “ultimate romantic scavenger hunt” for his girlfriend, Faigy, to ask for her hand in marriage.
“On the road to ‘The Big Question,’ I wanted Faigy to visit places around New York City that were filled with memories of our relationship,” Gilder wrote on Google’s blog. “I used My Maps to plan out the route — from the Trader Joe’s we shop at on the Upper West Side, to Magnolia Bakery where we spent part of our first date, to Hudson Bar & Lounge where we enjoyed a night of dancing, to Carnegie Hall where Faigy once surprised me with tickets to a Beethoven concert, all the way to the lighthouse on Roosevelt Island where we went on our second date.”
At each of the six locations, a friend handed Faigy a red rose, took a picture (see gallery below) of her and reminded her to use Google Maps to check in to the venue. When Faigy checked in to a location, a custom app Gilder and fellow Google engineers built asked Faigy to input a password based on questions the stationed friends asked.
“When Faigy entered the password, the app would automatically initiate walking navigation to the next location,” Gilder said. “When she got to the checkered pin that marked her last destination, her seventh and final rose also came with a question — but this one was from me, and it wasn’t any ordinary question. I’ll leave it to you to guess what her answer was!”
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Geekiest Marriage Proposals
This is by no means not the first time someone has used technology to propose: In January, a Cincinnati man used Groupon to get engaged. Last fall in San Francisco, a man leveraged Twitter, Foursquare and live streaming mobile service Qik to propose. Other people also have used social media outlets — a tweet on Twitter, a checkin on Foursquare and Google’s Street View — to put a ring on it.
"Faigy & Ari's Engagement Route"
Google software engineer Ari Gilder orchestrated the “ultimate romantic scavenger hunt” for his girlfriend, Faigy, to ask for her hand in marriage.
“On the road to ‘The Big Question,’ I wanted Faigy to visit places around New York City that were filled with memories of our relationship,” Gilder wrote on Google’s blog. “I used My Maps to plan out the route — from the Trader Joe’s we shop at on the Upper West Side, to Magnolia Bakery where we spent part of our first date, to Hudson Bar & Lounge where we enjoyed a night of dancing, to Carnegie Hall where Faigy once surprised me with tickets to a Beethoven concert, all the way to the lighthouse on Roosevelt Island where we went on our second date.”
At each of the six locations, a friend handed Faigy a red rose, took a picture (see gallery below) of her and reminded her to use Google Maps to check in to the venue. When Faigy checked in to a location, a custom app Gilder and fellow Google engineers built asked Faigy to input a password based on questions the stationed friends asked.
“When Faigy entered the password, the app would automatically initiate walking navigation to the next location,” Gilder said. “When she got to the checkered pin that marked her last destination, her seventh and final rose also came with a question — but this one was from me, and it wasn’t any ordinary question. I’ll leave it to you to guess what her answer was!”
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Geekiest Marriage Proposals
This is by no means not the first time someone has used technology to propose: In January, a Cincinnati man used Groupon to get engaged. Last fall in San Francisco, a man leveraged Twitter, Foursquare and live streaming mobile service Qik to propose. Other people also have used social media outlets — a tweet on Twitter, a checkin on Foursquare and Google’s Street View — to put a ring on it.
"Faigy & Ari's Engagement Route"