4/25/07 – Local search has become a notoriously difficult business to break into, with numerous companies attempting to create effective and accurate local business listings—from pioneers like CitySearch, to popular “directory” companies like Local.com, to sites that incorporate social networking , like Judy’s Book and Yelp. Most of these entries have achieved various levels of success, but have run into distinct problems, from unreliable data to questionable user ratings.
Burbank-based startup Yellowbot is taking a new approach that combines elements of various local-focused ventures to create networks of trusted connections and recommendations, all linked by searchable tags. Led by CitySearch and “local” veteran Erron Silverstein, the Yellowbot team seeks to create local listings and reviews organized in a more intuitive way than the traditional top-down directory approach employed by most sites.
Silverstein calls Yellowbot a “hybrid of social and local.”
“At its core, YellowBot was designed to connect you and your friends to the businesses you frequent by finding, creating and sharing information,” said Silverstein. “We use social networking-style language to enable our users to search for and tag businesses in our database, which is built to accommodate the structural rigor of an Internet Yellow Pages.”
The inspiration for the site, according to Silverstein, was his experience with the local search world, and what he describes as a lack of reliable results and an unmet need for more and better user-generated content.
“The difference between us and your typical web 2.0 widget is that we are taking a very comprehensive approach to being useful, in terms of whom we are looking to serve. That, ultimately, should unlock value for all,” said Silverstein.
Yellowbot makes use of tags in order to facilitate discovery of specific local businesses for specific needs. Searches can be conducted either via tag “cloud,” or via specific city and service search.
Tags are linked to specific listings by registered users. Silverstein says the goal is to create an accurate directory of local businesses based on trusted connections.
The site is still in development, and Silverstein sees its growth as an ongoing, evolutionary process.
“We’re not trying to sell anyone in this. We’re focused on getting it right for the user.” said Silverstein. “The ultimate vision of YellowBot is to return the community aspect to local by creating an ecosystem that provides usefulness for searchers, content creators, advertisers and merchants.”
Yellowbot - www.yellowbot.com
