MySpace and Citysearch partner for MySpace Local
MySpace and Citysearch have partnered for the launch of a local business directory called MySpace Local. The new site lets MySpace users review, search, and share content about their favorite businesses, while leveraging Citysearch’s stockpile of local business directory info. Though MySpace Local is currently in private beta, users can expect an official launch in the coming weeks.
After getting a look behind the curtain, I can say that MySpace Local is fairly straightforward. Essentially, MySpace… Continue Reading
Roundup: Xbox defects rise, Windows Live Messenger comes to websites, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Joystiq reports rising Xbox 360 defects — Errors with the E74 code have been rising since the New Xbox Experience update on Xbox Live, according to a survey.
Windows Live Messenger adds chat to websites – In the words of TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld, “AIM, the ball is in your court.”
MySpace brings in Fotoflexer to allow photo customization — Up until this point, those features have only been available through third-party photo-editing tools.
Sohu files for an… Continue Reading
Facebook to Google: my Connect is bigger than yours
Facebook and Google have both opened services to the public today that intend to let you easily access any web site using versions of your pre-existing online identity. They both intend to help you find friends on other web sites to interact with, thereby making social interaction much simpler potentially anywhere on the web.
Facebook’s service, Connect, is now available for any web developer to access and implement. So is Google’s service, Friend Connect. Both sites… Continue Reading
Revamped Citysearch brings Facebook to local listings
Citysearch, the local listings and review site owned by media conglomerate IAC, is unveiling a test version of its new site today as it tries to stay competitive with up-and-comers like Yelp, as well as the increasing amount of local information available from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. The most exciting new feature involves integrating your Facebook account into Citysearch, but, chief executive Jay Herratti says the new site isn’t just becoming more social, but more… Continue Reading
CitySquares finds funds for “hyper local” info
CitySquares Online, a website that allows users to find detailed information about their immediate neighborhoods, brought in a first round of funding from individuals Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and Jonathan Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns the New England Patriots.
The Boston-based company says that it specializes in “hyper local” online searches, providing information on nearby businesses, including full contact information, maps and other users’ reviews. The site, which had more than 1 million… Continue Reading
Citysearch, Merchantcircle connect their local business services
Citysearch, an online guide service about local US businesses, has partnered with MerchantCircle, in an effort to hold their own in the increasingly competitive area of local reviews.
The move comes as Citysearch is under attack from newer, fresher sites like Yelp, which offers reviews about locales and is appearing as high, if not higher than Citysearch in search engine results.
Citysearch, a division of IAC, has a large collection of local data that includes 14.5 million… Continue Reading
Citysearch snaps up Insider Pages in local search race
Citysearch, the division of IAC focuses on local reviews of restaurants and other services, has acquired the struggling local review start-up, Insider Pages.
The purchase (amount undisclosed) comes at a time of increasing competition in the race to deliver a compelling local search services. Citysearch’s parent, IAC, has already bolstered its local search offerings, namely with Ask City, a property that packages everything from local search to local maps, reviews, and ticket services.
However, more entrants have… Continue Reading
Local review site Yelp raises $10 million from Benchmark
Yelp, the Web site offering user-generated reviews of bars, restaurants and other places, has raised $10 million in venture capital from Benchmark Capital.
We recently mentioned Yelp’s wave-making with its parties.
Yelp, like other recent Internet companies, is challenging incumbent sites like Citysearch by developing a community of local reviewers. By encouraging loyalist users to review often, Yelp bets its site will be fresher and more compelling.
It is noteworthy that the venture money comes from Peter… Continue Reading
Taking Washington seriously
Silicon Valley can be a smug, protected place, and along the leafy streets of studied Palo Alto, quite conducive for dreaming up lines like “do no evil.”
What happens when your platform outgrows this place? We learn that Google has retained the services of DCI Group, which specializes in “corporate-financed grass-roots organizing,” such as setting up front groups to “agitate for a client’s position, placing letters to the editor with key newspapers, and using phone banks… Continue Reading