MapQuest Local Adds Twitter Feed

I got off the phone with Mark Law, product VP for MapQuest, a few minutes ago. He and I discussed the new additions to MapQuest local content, including Jobs from AOL Careers (via CareerBuilder) and a widget that offers a local Twitter feed:

The site also recently added local events content from When (an AOL events site powered by Zvents). 

The Twitter feed is interesting because there’s lots of value “buried” in Twitter around local recommendations that is difficult to find or extract. This widget won’t necessarily do that. But Law painted a scenario where would-be tourists can identify local experts and make contact with them through this widget and Twitter.  I’m sure other use cases will emerge in time. 

In addition Law informed me that in the 20 days since AOL launched My MapQuest, the site has 1 million users that have signed up for the service. That’s impressive because it flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that people won’t actively personalize sites. It is still a small percentage of MapQuest’s almost 50 million users so we’ll see how and whether it continues. But its a fast start for the new feature. 

Here’s my original post on MapQuest Local when it launched in early September. 

_____

Another interesting thing that Law and I discussed is the “packaging” of some of MapQuest Local’s content under the concept of “staycation,” responding to the recession and the increasing reluctance to travel.