Citysearch Rebuilds Site with a More Social, Local and Mobile
Citysearch appears to be going for the jugular with its newly rebuilt site. While many sites add a little social here and a little mobile there, Citysearch is going for the three hottest trends all at once: Social, Local, Mobile.
"We rebuilt the Citysearch platform to give our users what they asked for -- a new site that drills down to the hyper-local level with content for specific neighborhoods," said Jay Herratti, CEO of Citysearch. "We also expanded our social and community tools by integrating Facebook Connect deeply into our site experience. Now users will be able to see their Facebook friends on Citysearch and share reviews and recommendations."
This is a completely smart strategy as the economy gets tighter. Expect to see these trends grow even hotter despite the Wall Street-Capitol Hill drama.
I can see all sorts of possibilities. People are relocating or working in a different part of town. The ability to check out new local restaurants, entertainment venues, etc via their mobile and connect with people socially will be powerful.
Here's what Citysearch is saying the new experience will be like:
-- More local -- Citysearch is expanding its local coverage from 140 local city guides to over 75,000 cities and neighborhoods nationwide. New geo- targeted search technology provides a truly local experience to users, allowing them to target businesses according to zip code. Citysearch also restores balance to local business coverage by providing content from three distinct voices: users, editors and merchants.
-- More social -- With Facebook Connect, users can log into Citysearch using their Facebook account, allowing them to discover new local businesses and share reviews with their friends online and providing a personal view of their neighborhood and favorite local spots. New social features also enable users to create profiles, more easily review businesses and infuse their opinions and unique local content into their social graph. Connectivity to more major social networks will follow in the coming months.
-- More mobile -- Mobile by Citysearch puts reviewing into the palm of the consumer's hand. Key features include an interface tailored to each individual mobile device -- optimizing content layout and keystrokes required to surface search results -- on-the-go reviews, and mobile menus.
-- More intuitive -- The new interface offers a streamlined registration process, easy review writing interface, new search refinement and navigation tools. Other new features include a follow-along map with integrated content that moves as the user scrolls down the page, making it easier for users to see everything they need in one place.
What do you think of the update? Let us know in the comments.
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Google Invests in Low-Cost Internet Connectivity for Developing Nations
Google has announced an investment in 03b Networks, whose goal it is to get internet connectivity to developing nations. Of course, the idea is that the internet will be high-speed and low-cost.
Google Product Manager Larry Alder explains why this is so difficult, but how it can be accomplished:
Most of today's developed countries are linked by thousands of kilometers of submarine fiber optic cables to carry core Internet traffic. This is a very cost-effective solution, once the fiber is in place; but in many developing and remote areas, fiber isn't available due to economic and sometimes political roadblocks. Though existing geo-synchronous satellites are able to reach theses areas, they provide slow Internet connectivity because of their distance from the Earth - and they're expensive and often fully subscribed. O3b plans to deliver fiber-like Internet backhaul service using a constellation of medium-orbit satellites. This means data can be quickly transmitted to and from even the most remote locations such as inland Africa or small Pacific islands.
What do you think of this initiative? Will it work? Let us know your impressions in the comments.
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