🙋‍♀️ It’s Wednesday, friend. This is plane crazy. Millions of people were glued to their phones tracking where Taylor Swift’s private jet was taking off and landing. Jack Sweeney, a 20-something programmer turned celeb flight-tracking into a viral sensation.

He spilled the sky-high tea on A-listers like Taylor, Musk, Zuckerberg and Kim K. (Nope, not this Kim K.) The stars? Not thrilled. The fans? Obsessed. The FAA just rolled out a new private registration system that hides flight info from the public. It’s wheels down for Jack’s hobby. 🛬

Help me help you stay tech-ahead. Just hit reply to this email. It signals to your email provider that you actually want to hear from me. Otherwise, I risk getting tossed into the spam abyss, and nobody wants that (especially me). — Kim

When I saw this, my first thought was, “That’s strange.” But I hate standing in lines. And what if you physically can’t do it but need to?

Then yesterday, I read a story in the WSJ (paywalled) about what a nightmare DMVs are right now with everyone scrambling to get a new ID. Starting May 7, you need a REAL ID to travel. The lines are wrapped around the buildings by people who need it. (I’m one of them!)

Roughly 70% of people won’t wait more than 15 minutes in line. And if you thought, “I don’t mind waiting,” keep reading. You can make money doing it.

⏰ Toe the line

Just like you can hire someone to put together a desk or walk your dog, you pay someone to stand in line. Simply open the app or website (like TaskRabbit or Spotblaze), and choose the “Line Sitter” or “Wait in Line” task. 

Enter the time, place and any instructions. Browse workers, review their hourly rates, book and pay securely through the app (no awkward cash exchange, woo!).

It’s a great option if you have mobility issues. People also use line sitters for:

• Broadway rush tickets
• Product launches, sneaker drops and limited-edition merch
• Bin store restock days
• College admissions and registration
• Passport and DMV appointments
• Meet-and-greets, festivals and chances to meet a celeb

💵 OK, how much does it cost?

Pricing depends on your location, how long the line is and how popular the time slot is. 

On TaskRabbit, most line sitters charge $25 to $35 an hour. Spotblaze has similar pricing, averaging around $30/hour.

Big cities (think NYC, LA, San Francisco) have higher rates, sometimes beyond $40/hour during peak events.

Expect a 5% to 10% service fee from most apps, and higher rates if the line involves bad weather or late-night hours. A 15% to 20% tip is standard, too. 

💼 Want to make money standing in line?

It’s an easy side hustle. 

1. Sign up as a “Tasker” on TaskRabbit.com and create your profile.
2. Set an hourly rate and choose “Waiting in Line” as one of your services.
3. Get booked by people in your area.
4. Get paid through the app, with tips included.

Speaking of crowds, did you hear about the massive line for the new Barbie doll at a toy store? Some might call it a barbecue (cue the eye rolls).

Must-have, helpful stuff at great prices? Yes, please.

• Keep your leftovers fresh with glass containers (15% off). I ditched plastic ones.
• A portable oven (58% off) is perfect for picnics and road trips.
• A countertop ice maker (29% off) is essential.
• An electric wine opener ($30) makes happy hour happier.
• Easter’s almost here! Replace your bottles with new gel food coloring set (5% off).

🐱 For your furry friends: Snag a water and pet feeder combo ($30) or a stainless steel fountain (13% off) for a nice spring upgrade.

💔 When will people wake up? A 63-year-old woman was ready to leave her husband for a scammer pretending to be Enrique Iglesias. Over two years, he talked her out of thousands of dollars. When her cash dried up, he told her to steal it. Hubby traced the messages to Nigeria and begged her to stop. She even went on TV and still swears it’s Iglesias. So sad.

Keep an eye on your Social Security payouts: Hackers are breaking into retirement accounts and changing the payment info to cash in for themselves. It’s shady and happening more than you’d think. Take a sec today, log in to your SS account and make sure everything looks right. Better safe than suddenly broke.

Alexa+ is here ... kinda: The gall! Amazon’s new $20/month (Yikes!) AI assistant is rolling out to newer Alexa devices, but a few hyped-up features are MIA. Right now, you can order an Uber, get cooking advice and upload docs for summaries. Storytelling for kids, recognizing who’s in the room and chore reminders are coming. FYI, smarter Alexa is free if you pay for Prime.

I’ve tried so many password managers: I did a deep dive to find the best option on the market right now. My thoroughly tested recommendation and pick, NordPass, uses military-grade encryption. Hit my special link for 52% off.*

🤖 AI saved his life: I love this. Meet Joseph Coates. Just over a year ago, this 37-year-old was on death’s door from a rare blood disorder called POEMS syndrome. But an AI nonprofit called Every Cure found a new drug combo that started working within a week. Today, he’s in remission. Imagine more cures AI can find with drugs we already have.

Strike a pose: Retailers like H&M are now creating AI versions of 30 real models. Yep, digital clones that look just like the real gals and guys. The models still own the rights to their AI twins. Surprise, the paycheck is way smaller than a real photo shoot. And it’s only a matter of time before companies skip the humans altogether and go full-on AI.

🔮 Dream of taking a phone call from your vacuum cleaner? No? Samsung did it anyway. Their new cordless vacuum, the Bespoke AI Jet Ultra, lets you text and call, and so does their new washer/dryer. What’s next, the fridge? “Hey, handsome, you need eggs, and your kid is calling.”

🎬 Better foreign films? On May 9, AMC is screening the Swedish sci-fi movie Watch the Skies that’s been visually dubbed into English using AI. Instead of just swapping voices, the AI tool TrueSync adjusts the actors’ lip movements to match the English audio perfectly. Say goodbye to cringey, mismatched voice-overs. The first sentence you should learn when learning a foreign language is, “My friend is paying.”

💰 Struggling with debt? Ask your favorite chatbot to pretend to be your creditor to practice your pitch. Just say, “Imagine you’re my creditor. Let’s role-play negotiating an [adjustment, extension, etc.] to my payment plan, and then critique my strategy.” Leave out private info when chatting with the bot.

Hot topics: Check Google Trends. Search keywords related to your biz to see what people are chatting about. You can filter by country, time and category. This can help boost your SEO, so your business stays in the know with what folks are googling.

🖼️ Before texting your pic: Remove the location data to hide where you snapped it from snoops. On Google Photos, just find the pic and tap the three-dot icon in the top right. Then, hit the pencil icon next to the location and select Remove Location. This helps protect your privacy.

LinkedIn growth hack: When it comes to followers, 150 is a magic number. Once you reach that many, your page will grow nine times faster than pages with fewer than 150 followers. If you run a biz, ask your employees (and everyone else you know) to follow. Psst, if you’re hiring, use my link to post a job for free.*

Lucky’s the name: Rename your phone from “Pixel 9” or “My little phoney” to something helpful like “Reward if found - Call 555-123-4567.” For iPhones, head to Settings > General > About > Name. On Android, go to Settings > About phone > Device name. It’ll pop up on Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or when it’s plugged into a computer.

📦 Prime, who? Score free shipping without signing up for Amazon Prime. Just add at least $35 worth of goodies to your cart and pick “Free Amazon Shipping” at checkout. That way, you can save $14.99 a month for something fun instead. So good to know! 

🍕 Pizza Hut just solved a real gamer problem: cold pizza. The 3D-printable pizza warmer sits on your console and uses its heat to keep your slice ooey gooey. It’s free to download, and it actually works. 🌺 I burned my Hawaiian pizza today. I should have cooked it at aloha temperature. (I saw that smile, mahalo!)

“Kim, what gives?!” Donavan in Port Charlotte, Florida, wrote to ask why he can’t listen to my national radio show’s podcast all in one download anymore. It’s called progress. Instead of one (loooong) podcast, we’re breaking it up to make it easier to enjoy. 

✅ Hit this link to get my show’s podcast in your favorite podcast player. Make sure to subscribe, so you never miss an episode! Bonus points if you leave a nice review. Reminds me, did you see the review for the scary movie about pogo sticks? “It has its ups and downs, but too many jump scares.”

And just like that, you’re logging off smarter than you logged on. It’s an honor to be in your inbox. I’ll see you right back here tomorrow with the best free tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim

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