Comments on: American Towns, your online “public square” http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/ News About Tech, Money and Innovation Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:11:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: VentureBeat » Smalltown, a small local site, acquires tinier Local2Me http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/comment-page-1/#comment-578776 VentureBeat » Smalltown, a small local site, acquires tinier Local2Me Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:42:01 +0000 http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/#comment-578776 [...] site, Outside.in, raised a $1.5 million second round of funding and a month ago, American Towns raised $3.3 million. Yahoo and Google, despite offering more sophisticated local results, haven’t yet created [...] [...] site, Outside.in, raised a $1.5 million second round of funding and a month ago, American Towns raised $3.3 million. Yahoo and Google, despite offering more sophisticated local results, haven’t yet created [...]

]]> By: chris tolles http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/comment-page-1/#comment-530322 chris tolles Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:56:13 +0000 http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/#comment-530322 Hey Dan, thanks.... Let me know if you and or Matt want to see under the hood here at some point in time. Hey Dan, thanks….

Let me know if you and or Matt want to see under the hood here at some point in time.

]]> By: Dan Kaplan http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/comment-page-1/#comment-530294 Dan Kaplan Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:05:43 +0000 http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/#comment-530294 Chris, thanks for pointing this out. Updated. Chris, thanks for pointing this out. Updated.

]]> By: chris tolles http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/comment-page-1/#comment-530140 chris tolles Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:57:51 +0000 http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/#comment-530140 "None of these hyperlocal services have the scope of American Towns." *cough* Looks like we need to get you in here for an update Matt :-) Topix has commentary in over 1400 towns *daily* with over 60,000 comments a day, as well as climbing into a top 20 news spot on Nielsen, with over 60% of the activity on our site on *our* content (commentary). Anyway, yes, there's certainly a market here, but I would hope you stack up the space in line with the scope and success of the various participants. Chris Tolles CEO, Topix “None of these hyperlocal services have the scope of American Towns.”

*cough* Looks like we need to get you in here for an update Matt :-)

Topix has commentary in over 1400 towns *daily* with over 60,000 comments a day, as well as climbing into a top 20 news spot on Nielsen, with over 60% of the activity on our site on *our* content (commentary).

Anyway, yes, there’s certainly a market here, but I would hope you stack up the space in line with the scope and success of the various participants.

Chris Tolles
CEO, Topix

]]> By: Tim Jones http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/comment-page-1/#comment-530098 Tim Jones Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:26:01 +0000 http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/#comment-530098 I also find American Towns less than compelling, however I don't agree that going "wide then deep" is a problem here. Sites like Topix have shown that you can build community by going wide then deep if you have (or can aggregate) compelling content. The problem I see with American Towns is that they try to do lots of things and end up doing all of them poorly. Their news aggregation is a joke, from what I've seen their events calendar is spotty at best, and their business coverage, as Hal notes, is paltry. Would the site be better if they focused on a few localities? Maybe. But I think it would be even better for them to focus on doing one or two things really well instead. I also find American Towns less than compelling, however I don’t agree that going “wide then deep” is a problem here. Sites like Topix have shown that you can build community by going wide then deep if you have (or can aggregate) compelling content.

The problem I see with American Towns is that they try to do lots of things and end up doing all of them poorly. Their news aggregation is a joke, from what I’ve seen their events calendar is spotty at best, and their business coverage, as Hal notes, is paltry.

Would the site be better if they focused on a few localities? Maybe. But I think it would be even better for them to focus on doing one or two things really well instead.

]]> By: Rodolfo http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/comment-page-1/#comment-529580 Rodolfo Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:31:41 +0000 http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/#comment-529580 I'm a startup founder working on something better than this, and I'm eating rice and beans, no 10M in funding yet. It's a hard problem but not impossible. These sites need two major features done correctly if they're going to be successful, this site has neither. I’m a startup founder working on something better than this, and I’m eating rice and beans, no 10M in funding yet.

It’s a hard problem but not impossible. These sites need two major features done correctly if they’re going to be successful, this site has neither.

]]> By: Hal Rucker http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/comment-page-1/#comment-529496 Hal Rucker Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:40:16 +0000 http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/#comment-529496 One of the most interesting challenges of "cracking the code" on local is to kick-start a hyper-local website with timely and interesting content. The next challenge is to replicate that success in many locations. In general, there are two ways to achieve this: (1) launch hundreds of local sites and hope that they catch on (wide, then deep) or (2) launch one site, focus on getting rich content, and then somehow replicate that one success hundreds of times (deep, then wide). IMHO, "wide, then deep" doesn't work for local. I visited the AmericanTowns website for Burlingame, California and did a search for "pizza". I got no results. (Did I do something wrong?) They have another search option to "find more businesses in Burlingame", but that just took me to a third party online directory. Then I clicked on their "videos" tab and the top video is, ironically, one that Smalltown (wwww.smalltown.com/burlingame) produced for the town of Burlingame. (By the way, that video is copyrighted and used by AmericanTowns without our consent. But that's a whole 'nother topic.) InsiderPages and Backfence did their own unsuccessful versions of "wide, then deep". There are some more examples here on Smalltown's blog: http://hrucker.typepad.com/smalltown_blog/2007/07/which-makes-mor.html One of the most interesting challenges of “cracking the code” on local is to kick-start a hyper-local website with timely and interesting content. The next challenge is to replicate that success in many locations.

In general, there are two ways to achieve this: (1) launch hundreds of local sites and hope that they catch on (wide, then deep) or (2) launch one site, focus on getting rich content, and then somehow replicate that one success hundreds of times (deep, then wide).

IMHO, “wide, then deep” doesn’t work for local. I visited the AmericanTowns website for Burlingame, California and did a search for “pizza”. I got no results. (Did I do something wrong?) They have another search option to “find more businesses in Burlingame”, but that just took me to a third party online directory.

Then I clicked on their “videos” tab and the top video is, ironically, one that Smalltown (wwww.smalltown.com/burlingame) produced for the town of Burlingame. (By the way, that video is copyrighted and used by AmericanTowns without our consent. But that’s a whole ‘nother topic.)

InsiderPages and Backfence did their own unsuccessful versions of “wide, then deep”. There are some more examples here on Smalltown’s blog: http://hrucker.typepad.com/smalltown_blog/2007/07/which-makes-mor.html

]]> By: Baden Gilmore http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/comment-page-1/#comment-529468 Baden Gilmore Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:27:48 +0000 http://venturebeat.com/2007/09/12/american-towns-raises-33-million/#comment-529468 Sounds like "Chortal" Sounds like “Chortal”

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