New TrustedPlaces, UK Market More Competitive

I spoke to TrustedPlaces‘ founder Sokratis Papafloratos at some length this past week about the site, the UK local market and a range of issues tied to small businesses. The conversation was largely off the record but he’s thinking very creatively about services and tools for SMBs I have to say.

The site recently simplified (somewhat) and executed a redesign:

For a site that is run by four people it has made striking progress. He cited impressive traffic numbers to me.

And with the entry of Yelp into the UK the market is becoming quite competitive. There are five or six services (or so) that now encroach on Yell’s territory (and Thomson’s) in some way: TrustedPlaces, TouchLocal, Yelp and Qype among others (Local.com is also there). If we’re just talking about restaurants and “things to do” there are scores of other sites (e.g., Time Out).

Then there’s Google of course, which has a greater market share in the UK than in the US. It’s a very interesting market with many parallels to the US but significant differences as well, culturally and competitively.

Newspapers and Behavior Change

As I indicated some time earlier, I resubscribed to the NY Times (print edition) in something akin to patriotic fervor: I would do my part to help the newspapers, plus I have historically enjoyed reading the print version more than online or mobile.

I’m now several weeks “back in” and I’m finding it difficult to actually sit down and read the physical paper. It’s often the case that the newspaper doesn’t make it out of the plastic it arrived in. Yet I’m still obsessively reading news on  my iPod Touch and online. Why am I not reading the paper paper?

I think it’s because in the year or so that I stopped the NY Times print edition my habits and behavior have now shifted perhaps for the duration; I closed the print “hole” with new behaviors (mobile, more online). I also like the efficiency of the Times’ “Article Skimmer” for example.

What does it mean if I, a person who explicitly am buying the print edition to support it, am not finding the time to read it? The answer is fairly self-evident.

Newspapers have been around for hundreds of years. But if one looks at media historically we’re clearly now in a period of what might be called “tectonic change.” Things are being restructured probably in ways that are permanent.

The “news” is alive and well but print newspapers, at least in the US, are not. As with yellow pages, print newspapers now must become merely one of several content delivery “platforms.” The problem of course with that strategy, as YP has found, is revenues and getting money out of the digital products. (That’s a subject I’ve been discussing for a number of weeks.)

This week the NAA holds one of its many events in Las Vegas. I’m not there, although it would be very interesting I’m sure. This is perhaps the most important discussion (or one of them) at the event:

Future Business Models

The newspaper industry is undergoing an unprecedented period of transformation, rethinking every aspect of the franchise to better position the industry for the shifting landscape.  In this session, Jim Chisholm, principal at iMedia Advisory Services, will share the findings and recommendations from a comprehensive analysis on newspaper financial models for the future.  Following Jim, executives from newspapers who are rethinking the traditional publishing model will share the strategies and results from product transformations at their own companies.

Speakers:
Jim Chisholm, principal, iMedia Advisory Services
David Hunke, CEO, Detroit Media Partnership

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Related: A survey of ideas from BusinessWeek on how to save newspapers: social networks, Yahoo!, micropayments, e-readers, etc.

There are two more interesting pieces from MediaPost today. First, Media News Group is testing the concept of a personalized newspaper (anticipated for at least 20 years) that could be viewed online, in mobile and/or printed. There are some quirks in the concept but it’s still interesting. The second piece is about Hearst contemplating making the Seattle PI (whose print edition is definitely ceasing operations) online only. The fate of Hearst’s SF Chronicle is also uncertain. Hearst may sell it or take it online only. It’s clear however that the publisher is seeking deep wage and benefits cuts as part of any scenario.

Regardless of the outcomes of these particular cases, the profession of journalism (except maybe TV journalism) is being hit very hard and degraded. If salaries fall dramatically it may attract many fewer people “going forward.” Of course there will also be fewer journalism jobs period.

Facebook Marketplace: First Real CL Challenger

I spoke last week with Craig Donato, CEO of Oodle, about the company’s new deal with Facebook, which went live earlier today. It’s the latest in a string of impressive Oodle deals that also include AOL, Wal-Mart and MySpace. Notwithstanding MySpace, in my opinion, this is the first real challenger to Craigslist that I’ve seen in the US market.

I’m not going to be able to do justice to all the nuances and features. I’ll just say that it’s very thoughtfully designed and takes full advantage of the social architecture of Facebook. For example, listings that I post will show up in my news feed and my network will immediately discover that I’m selling my washing machine or giving away my puppy, etc. (push classifieds).

There’s also significant integration with charitable causes. Each product I list gets a page and so does each charity to whom I want some or all of the sales proceeds to go. It’s not mandatory but this will be a popular feature of the site and a differentiator to be sure.

Over time these charity profiles will become more filled with merchandise, to the point that some people might start shopping on the profile page of a charitable cause they support.

The ability to “sell it,” “sell it for a cause,” “give it away” or “ask for it” is relatively unique — especially Ask for It.

There’s also a more conventional classifieds view and experience available featuring search and category browse functionality. Again, however, Oodle has taken advantage of the structure and culture of Facebook (i.e., sort by friends). (Facebook or MySpace wasn’t the first to introduce “social classifieds,” it was actually Microsoft Expo which was shuttered awhile ago.)

I’ve been having a kind of running conversation with Craig Donato about the nature of classifieds for the past three years or more. I think they did a very nice job with this integration. Right now the listings are exclusive to Facebook but over time more Oodle network listings will make it in there and, presumably, the Facebook listings will go out to the broader Oodle syndicate.

Craigslist remains a vital and successful site but I could see Facebook marketplace peeling off some users and creating a large alternative marketplace. Why do I say that? Because I can imagine my wife using it — she’s on Facebook often playing Scrabble and it would be quite easy for her to simply post there what she might have posted elsewhere.

But as Craig Donato points out (do you have to be named Craig to run a classifieds site?) the thing that makes classifieds sites sink or swim is critical mass, both of users and listings. Facebook certainly has the former and we’ll see if it develops the latter.

NY Times Offers More Balance on Yelp

Claire Cain Miller has a piece in the NY Times (sent to me by several people) about Yelp and some of the recent controversy that has surrounded the site. My comments don’t appear in the article but I spoke to her at some length about the story and some of the allegations leveled against the site.

The article generally focuses on the balancing act that Yelp faces in maintaining its fidelity to consumers while seeking to expand advertiser rolls and services offered to SMBs. She identifies many of the policies and practices that some SMBs have complained about:

• Reviews are removed from time to time and businesses typically don’t understand why. They get upset when good reviews disappear
• SMBs don’t get to respond to reviewers publicly on the site (this is something that I’ve spoken to CEO Jeremy Stoppelman about explicitly. He feels the “back and forth” reviews and explanations would compromise the user experience). Business owners can email reviewers privately to resolve issues and complaints
• Advertisers get to select a (typically positive) review to show up at the top of their Yelp profile. This, for some, suggests manipulation of the system and implies that others are punished for declining to advertise

This article, however, should put to rest the allegations of review manipulation to reward or punish small business advertisers (or prospects) at Yelp. It will also help further the debate about what features and services Yelp should offer to create more balance between its consumer-users and local businesses to whom it sells advertising.

Live Search Showing New Features

I’m unable to duplicate them in Safari or Firefox for Mac, but Vanessa Fox has a long post about some new features that are sneaking out over at Live.com. A new search brand is also coming.

These are among a number of UI/UX changes being implemented by Microsoft or that will be implemented over the next several months.

In addition to trying to duplicate Vanessa’s results I tried a number of local searches to see if there was anything new that I could find. Nothing new showed up for me.

LocalPrice: ‘Comparison Shopping for Services’

I spoke last week with Rob Shields the founder of new home services site LocalPrice.com. The site is only active in Atlanta right now but has broader geographic ambitions. It uses a product comparison shopping metaphor and  seeks to provide detailed side-by-side comparison data to consumers.

Here’s an example comparison for granite countertop providers:

These detailed data come directly from the businesses themselves. LocalPrice is thus going against conventional thinking somewhat in relying on local businesses to provide considerable amounts of information to the site. Shields said there was really no other way to get this information reliably. 

Previously, on the old Dex site, users were able to check boxes beside business listings and see a similar side-by-side grid display. That feature has been eliminated with the redesign and relaunch. I also remember the feature on a previous version of Superpages, although it’s not available today. It may exist on other services or home improvement sites, but I’m  unaware of it. 

LocalPrice currently has no vendor/provider reviews or consumer ratings. Shields told me this is the most requested feature by those using the new site and that they will be working on adding them, in the future, either directly or via links to third party sites. 

LocalPrice hopes to bring a great deal more information than is customarily available on service providers online, including and especially price, to the surface and enable better “apples to apples” comparisons between them. 

I didn’t anticipate writing two back-to-back posts about new home improvement sites that use price as central feature and marketing angle to consumers. ServiceLive uses a quasi reverse auction model and LocalPrice simply tries to offer more transparency to consumers around pricing. 

Shields has introduced LocalPrice at a challenging time for startups, but he’s doing something valuable and fairly different in the services segment. The site isn’t gimmicky and tries to deliver real information about the cost of services. And price is definitely the right angle for the times.

Sears Takes a Page from ServiceMagic

After to what appears to be a several month contractor-enrollment period, Sears has launched ServiceLive:

It basically takes the lead-gen model of ServiceMagic or a Matchpoint and adds a reverse auction element. Local contractors are “pre-screened” (criminal, civil and vehicle background checks). 

ServiceLive envisions that eventually contractors will have rich profile pages that look something like this. I looked and there are very few completed profiles on the site. However there’s lots of potential detail there and it appears several ways to search for service providers (including by spoken languages). 

A few comments: 

• In a troubled economy any additional help for contractors isn’t a bad thing
• However another site fragments the market further (YP, local sites, verticals, search)
• The reverse auction is a potential differentiator but may create problems (often a visit is required before a job can be estimated)  

Another interesting element is what the site calls a “ServiceLive Wallet.” Consumers are asked to transfer money or use a credit card to deposit funds with the site prior to the initiation of the job. After the job is completed funds are transferred to the contractor. There must be a contemplated revenue stream in this feature. It’s also probably positioned as a competitive differentiator to contractors (i.e., “we ensure you get paid.”)

For better or worse Sears branding is nowhere on the site. In this case, the Sears brand might give the site more credibility and drive near-term word of mouth. Given the absence of the branding I wonder if Sears is going to use its stores or other marketing channels to promote the site.

ServiceLive offers an introductory and explanatory video featuring HGTV home improvement show host Carter Oosterhouse.

I haven’t spoken to anyone from ServiceLive but one question that comes to mind is motivation. Why exactly is Sears doing this? Is for revenue? Is it to extend the Sears brand somehow? (though the brand is absent) ServiceMagic makes good money but it would take years for ServiceLive to reach those numbers. 

The question therefore arises: does Sears have the stomach to further invest in this, promote it, fix and refine it? It would take such a commitment over a period of years for this to really succeed.

Google & the Twitter ‘Threat’

I’ve been meaning for about a week to respond to this Mercury News piece and John Battelle’s discussion about Twitter and Google. Both say that “real-time” search (offered by Twitter) is the next potential threat to Google’s dominance of the market. I have a somewhat different take, although my view is kind of an extension of what Battelle is alluding to.

There’s no way that Twitter can replace Google. Facebook didn’t. Think about it. But there are some current Google use cases that Twitter could, if it evolved somewhat, start to erode and later perhaps come to dominate.

I’ve been talking for a number of months now about how Twitter has an opportunity to move into what, over at LMS, we have called “social directory assistance,” an idea that came out of discussions with Orange’s Mark Plakias two years ago. It’s something I wrote about in late 2007 over at LMS in the context of Mosio. And it’s a bit different than the new catch phrase being used in the pieces I link to: “real-time search.”

In terms of news, happenings and events, Twitter is a great way to hear what people are saying or catch “buzz.” (In fact, where’s the Twitter “buzz ranking”?) In that sense it can provide “real-time” information that Google does not. But despite the Summize acquisition, Twitter is currently not a search engine and is full of useless noise. Any search, on any topic, I do at Search.Twitter.com is going to be full of irrelevant information. It’s very inefficient in most respects as a search engine.

However, Twitter might evolve into something quite interesting (Yahoo! can do this with oneConnect/Mobile as well). This would be a scenario in which I would be able to query my network of contacts/followers with a question (most likely but not exclusively in a mobile environment):

• What’s the best dive bar in Midtown Manhattan?
• Does anyone know a good dentist in Walnut Creek, CA?
• How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
• Who won the best supporting actress award last week?
• What group recorded “Time of the Season”?

You can do this now with Mosio or ChaCha or Text411/kgb. Mosio relies on one’s contacts whereas the other two use paid agents, though many are students, stay at home moms, retirees, etc.

With conventional DA you don’t have this sort of flexibility and can’t ask most of these questions. With search engines you can often get this information but the process — especially in mobile — can be cumbersome. So the “ask a human a specific question” model is very efficient and offers a potentially much better user experience. (If the agents are paid, there’s a question of cost and scalability that arises. But if they’re just other people “out there” there are no such issues.)

Another potential problem with the anonymous-human scenario is that I may not trust the answer (as much) if I’m not asking a factual question. If I’m asking a question such as “What’s the best place in Palo Alto to have a business lunch?” I would prefer a recommendation from a trusted/known source.

Online I can go to Yelp or Citysearch and look at consensus views and ratings. But in my vision of Twitter’s future I simply query my Twitter network and I get a bunch of responses to the lunch recommendation question. And I get them more or less instantaneously — or in “real time” if you prefer.

Making good on this scenario would require some technical tweaks, as opposed to Tweets. But it’s not that far fetched. Mosio can do this now but it doesn’t have the brand or critical mass that Twitter already does.

The kind of  functionality I’m describing might cause people, especially in mobile, to use a service like this before they tried conventional search, as a back up. That’s the primary “threat” to Google from Twitter. Twitter would need to evolve and change to make good on this as I see it. But it could certainly be done.

A secondary though much lesser threat that I see is that Twitter could become a substitute in some cases for AdWords. Twitter doesn’t have any advertising programs currently. What I’m suggesting is that Twitter becomes a very efficient promotional tool and reduces the need for some (not all) to spend on AdWords.

How about this: an initial AdWords campaign that prompts people, “to receive deals, product alerts, etc.” to sign up to follow a brand or retailer on Twitter. That wouldn’t eliminate the need to advertise in search or do SEO but in some cases people might not spend as much on Google ads. Dell has already shown how Twitter can be used very effectively as a promotional tool.

Stepping back, Twitter is never going to be a substitute for Google — and especially if Google buys it — but it could erode growth at the margins and/or turn Google into a secondary “use case” for a large number of people in a mobile context, assuming Twitter evolves into this social DA tool that I’m advocating.

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This “social DA” scenario would not only be a potential threat to Google but to Yellowpages.com and others.

NYT Update on Yahoo!-Newspaper Consortium

There’s a nice update on the state of the Yahoo!-Newspaper consortium today in the NY Times (by Miguel Helft). It basically says:

• Newspapers are pretty happy with the partnership and seeing money
• Yahoo!’s happy and, while it’s not a “material” source of revenue now, it will become more significant later
• Yahoo! extends its sales reach into local though roughly 7,500 newspaper reps in different markets
• Newspaper reps are selling into Yahoo! as well as their print and online properties. This enables claim of more complete local market coverage
• The targeting flavors of the APT platform (that they’re almost now all accessing) allow for a boost in CPM rates (and corresponding revenues)

Some excerpts from the piece:

Through the partnership, ad salespeople at newspapers pitch local businesses on advertising packages that let them reach visitors to the newspapers’ Web sites and Yahoo users in the area. The newspapers also use Yahoo technology that lets them charge more for ads on their sites . . .

The partnership began in 2006 and was initially focused on sharing employment classifieds. But over the last year, about half of the newspapers in the alliance, including some smaller newspapers owned by The New York Times Company, have agreed to begin testing two new elements of the relationship.

One is a new [APT] ad system from Yahoo, currently installed at about 100 newspapers, that allows them to sell graphical ads on their sites that are aimed at specific audiences . . . a technique known as behavioral targeting . . . An advertiser may have paid 50 cents to reach every thousand visitors to a high school sports page, for example, said Leon Levitt, vice president for digital at Cox Newspapers. “Now it doesn’t matter where the page is on the site,” Mr. Levitt said. “All of a sudden we can sell that page for $15” for every 1,000 visitors who are interested in travel, he said.

The other new element of the partnership allows newspapers to sell ads on Yahoo pages, with the two sides sharing the resulting revenue. That lets newspapers promise advertisers that their messages will reach a larger portion of the local audience, helping the newspapers compete more effectively with television.

The people in the Times’ photo, Hilary Schneider (now in charge of North America for Yahoo!) and Lem LLoyd are both former Knight Ridder executives.