Wedding planning uber-vertical TheKnot.com launched/relaunched Lilaguide.com (which has been down) today. From the press release:
The Knot Inc., a leading life event media and services company, proudly announces the arrival of its latest addition: Lilaguide.com, the web’s first hub for real parent reviews of local baby stores, gear, and services. Lilaguide.com launches with 32,000 listings and over 120,000 reviews from real parents who want to share their advice on baby products, services, and activities in 5,000 neighborhoods across the U.S. from New York to L.A., Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Miami.
TheKnot acquired Lilaguide in the summer of 2006 from its founders. Here’s an article from the SeattlePI about the site and its origins pre-acquisition. There’s also a Zagat-like books series for local baby related buying. This is not unlike the physical “best of” guides that InsiderPages briefly published in Pasadena, CA. The difference is that this is a well-established book series that is national in scope.
I had a very informal, brief discussion with folks at TheKnot, which bills itself as “a leading lifestage media and services company.” From that conversation there appears an intention to retain the site’s current baby specific focus and not evolve into a broader business directory/social network. But it certainly could. Moms who want to know about local pediatricians also need to find plumbers and painters.
I’ve written a great deal about the power of the “Momster segment,” social networks and local. What’s the difference between a site like Lilaguide or a Parents Connect or a Mother’s Click and a typical directory site with reviews? The difference is engagement and trust. A parents network has much greater capacity to build engagement, chiefly because of trust, than a traditional directory site.
TheKnot also runs sites The Nest (www.thenest.com), PartySpot.com, PromSpot.com, and online personals site, GreatBoyfriends.com. It publishes books and produces video content for cable TV and the Internet.
Screenwerk 