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> Local Guides The Next Big Thing in Local Search
Critter
post Sep 24 2004, 12:21 PM [ Post #1 ]


Christopher Paige
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Yahoo Local is an amazing operation.

I understand that most of the information on Yahoo Local is licensed from CitySearch, but Yahoo Local is still amazing.

However, it seems clear that LOCAL will eventually have to be a lot more than just listing local businesses. For example, consider temp agencies.

On most of the major search engines (and at about.com), the temp agencies listed in the local results for New York City are mostly temp agencies I've never heard of. Also, before this website, the lucrative Word Processing Center Market for temps had essentially never been addressed by any website on temping.

In other words, while the major search engines can and will beat out any one in the number of local businesses they can list and how many fancy features (like maps and directions) they can add to the results, it appears that there will be a need for a LOCAL GUIDE to local search results who is intimately familiar with his/her city.

While Yahoo Local can list more restaurants than Zagat's (and provide directions and maps), it does not seem as though Zagat's is in any major danger of losing its position as the ultimate GUIDE to restaurants in New York City.

BASED on all of the above, if in fact LOCAL SEARCH is the latest thing, then LOCAL GUIDES will be the NEXT BIG THING.


IS ABOUT.COM LOCAL?

The Mining Company (renamed ABOUT.COM) is the granddaddy/inventor the "guided" search egine. However, ABOUT.COM does not seem to me to be LOCAL, it seems more TOPIC focused than city focused.

I think for ABOUT.COM to become more LOCAL, it will need a lot more guides and those guides will have to spend a lot more time covering their subject matter. In other words, the pay structure/arrangement that ABOUT.COM appears to have with its guides is not going to work for a LOCAL GUIDE SYSTEM. Also, it seems to me that the perfect way to get Local Guides to be totally focused on their local subject and to be totally focused on maximizing advertising revenue on their subject is to have those guides own their own Adsense-enabled Websites.

And here again we have Google and ABOUT.COM in the perfect marriage.

Google Local is already capable of incorporating a LOCAL GUIDE SYSTEM simply by creating the title LOCAL GUIDE and linking to the website of the designated LOCAL GUIDE in the local search results. Google Local is already constructed in a manner that provides for linking to DESIGNATED websites on different businesse/subject matters.

We have have aleady stated our position that ABOUT.COM seems to be a perfect buy for Google. And, Google seems to be the perfect entity with the ability and the desire to turn ABOUT.COM into the ultimate LOCAL GUIDE SYSTEM.
 
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Critter
post Sep 24 2004, 01:17 PM [ Post #2 ]


Christopher Paige
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The Enablers Google Ebay IBM and The Second Law of Thermodynamics


Some years ago some guy published some report in which he stated that biological systems do not obey the second law of thermodynamics, ay least not in the way that the second law of thermodynamics had been interpreted up to that time.

Let me put this another way.

For the longest time, the LAW was that all things in life more toward a state of greater DISorder. Some years ago the above mentioned scientist reported that Biological systems move toward a state of greater order.

The most important and most astounding declaration ever made in the history of the world is:

Biological Systems Move Toward A State of Greater Order

Everything you need to know about life, about business, about God, about religion, everything in life flows from the above declaration.

Google, Ebay and IBM are enablers.

Google, Ebay and IBM are in the casino gambling that biological systems move toward a state of greater order. And,

when you are betting money on the fact that biological systems move toward a state of greater order, it is impossible to lose.
 
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