Comments on: WhatsOpen shows you what nearby stores are open

By: State of Local

State of Local — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:19:09 +0000

[...] has been covered quite a bit lately by VentureBeat, which was where I came across it. From what I can tell, they’re self funded and seem to have [...]

By: Dan Endy

Dan Endy — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:36:06 +0000

I can see how this could end up being kinda cool, but based on the few comments thus far, there’s still some kinks to work out. I have to think that the only way this can be truly effective is through population/updates from the community and shopkeepers. As Ronnie points out, the latter group has so much going on already keeping their info current could be problematic. What are the site’s monetization plans?

By: WhatsOpen - Find Open Store near Your Location - ZePy

WhatsOpen - Find Open Store near Your Location - ZePy — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 05:46:12 +0000

[...] [via] Bookmark this Post Now! [?] Doesn’t want to miss latest tips? Subscribe Full Zepy Feed Here Related Posts:Get Information from Your IP Address [...]

By: Find out what’s open with WhatsOpen | money news blog

Find out what’s open with WhatsOpen | money news blog — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:29:11 +0000

[...] [via VentureBeat] [...]

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:14:15 +0000

yet another company that wants to offer content without doing anything themselves. you pay for what you get.

By: Need To Know What Time That Store’s Open Until? Try WhatsOpen Beta

Need To Know What Time That Store’s Open Until? Try WhatsOpen Beta — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:16:40 +0000

[...] but it is definitely a useful application for the GPS obsessed and for those that aren’t. VentureBeat has been covering a self-funded startup, WhatsOpen, that went live in public beta a couple nights ago. The startup, [...]

By: Ronnie Somerville

Ronnie Somerville — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 09:04:48 +0000

The problem for all local search is getting the info from the small operators who have a hundred other things to think about in a working day rather than updating data for websites.

The only companies who can make this work are either global giants like Google
or/ companies with a local “monopoloy” eg a newspaper or radio station
who can offer enough to make it worthwhile for the operators not to forget to tell them that they are shut because the water pipe has burst…

By: Rob Scott

Rob Scott — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 08:46:32 +0000

There appears to be (was anyway) a mechanism whereby one could submit data; presumably vendors would submit timely updates as to their operating hours.

Eric, I agree that it is a bit better formatted than a straight Google search and I’m sure they’ll go beyond that soon enough. This is just a case where a Beta label *really* means beta. I look forward to the day when they truly show me “what’s open” as mentioned on one of their about pages…and when they start to support phones that represent significant portions of the market.

By: listen_to_blogs

listen_to_blogs — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 04:42:56 +0000

How do they get the ‘hours’ data for these shops/stores???

By: Что открыто at alexmoskalyuk

Что открыто at alexmoskalyuk — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:54:43 +0000

[...] пишет о новом стартапе на рынке локального поиска – WhatsOpen. Пишет, что тот запустил бету для публичного [...]

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:28:20 +0000

it’s incorrect. i was at Pizza my Heart in palo alto last night until 2:15 am, and this site shows that they close at 6:30 pm.

By: Alex Moskalyuk

Alex Moskalyuk — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:27:53 +0000

What happened to the beta? Looks like it’s closed off now, just e-mail sign up form on the front page.

By: Ken

Ken — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:07:35 +0000

Search for Mexican Food shows all businesses that have Mexican and Food in their name. Very poor taxonomy and search. Many seach techology out there. Showing resuls in Google maps is trivial.

Amazed that such sites are getting press in Venture Beat

By: Eric Eldon

Eric Eldon — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:01:04 +0000

Rob Scott, as far as I can tell, the company does a better job of showing you “whatsopen” than its competitors. That’s useful. So I wrote about it last night, when the public beta went live.

By: Rob Scott

Rob Scott — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:11:20 +0000

Its a bit too soon to look at this site I believe. Comparing their results with a straight Google search shows the same misses. (Coffee in Cupertino suggests Coffeetree Apartments but misses places that serve coffee but don’t have the word in their name.) The limited user editing functionality appears to be turned off as well. Maybe check again in 2 months.