Archive for October, 2008
Yahoo! Search: more local content thanks to SearchMonkey
31 Oct. 2008 | Author: 
Through integrating content from its open developer platform SearchMonkey, Yahoo! is now able to offer even more local content in its web search results.
About five months ago Yahoo! enabled access to the SearchMonkey platform for general use. In a press release, Yahoo! outlined the platform as being a free open-source solution, whereby website operators could individually define and control the content and display of their own search results. Using this they can integrate photos, information snippets and links into algorithmic search results. Yahoo! calls this method of editing results ‘Structured Data’ and hopes that searchers will rapidly augment the results generated. Typical results will hopefully display the most important information such as price details, ratings or contact addresses at first glance, without needing further clicks.
The SearchMonkey applications are available to searchers in the Yahoo! Gallery (among other locations) in various thematic areas, such as “local”. Here, logged-in users can activate modules of choice referring to their search needs, or deactivate others which are not appropriate.
From time to time Yahoo! introduces proven applications directly into their web search, thus automatically making them available (and visible) to all users. Recently, the US-edition of Yahoo! Search added applications such as CitySearch (local search and rating platform) and Zagat (restaurant and hotel guide) to their existing Yelp and Yahoo! Local search modules. (This was mentioned by the SearchMonkey team in the Yahoo! Search Blog). Through this innovation, searches for local companies are speeded up on Yahoo! Search, and more immediately accessible. So during a local search for restaurants, an application like CitySearch can deliver ratings, opening times, addresses and phone numbers, directly displayed on the search results page. And links to each restaurant profile, user feedback and to a map view are also generated. The user is here able to find much more information than usually delivered by a ’standard’ search.
In the German edition of Yahoo! Search, users are still required to personally choose whether local search results are to be integrated in the search results. In the Search Gallery [de=Such Galerie], various SearchMonkey modules can be selected, including Qype, meinestadt.de or dialo.de.
Qype speaks Spanish
Qype is becoming more international: a year after its German launch in early 2006, Qype followed with a launch in Britain, and in early 2008 in France. In summer 2008, portals for Switzerland and Austria appeared on the web, and recently Qype made its Spanish debut.
Qype-CEO Stephan Uhrenmacher, made this announcement in the company blog. Not only Spanish nationals profit from this launch – other speakers will benefit from the new content, such as businesses, hotels and restaurants in Barcelona, Madrid and elsewhere.
With this latest launch, the local search and rating platform is now available in four language-editions: German, English, French and now Spanish.
Posted in Local Search per PC, Local Search, News | 
Tags: Beurteilung, Bewertungsplattform, Community, lokale Informationen, Nutzerbewertung, Qype, Spanien, Spanisch, Suchdienste, User Generated Content | 
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Google Maps builds on the knowledge of its users
Google knows that Users know their own areas best of all. The search engine giant is now allowing users of its German-language Maps site, to edit and append the search results.
The ability to rate entries has been available to registered Google-Account holders, as of June 2007. Now users have the possibility to change these – such as when address details are incorrect or incomplete, or the markers are incorrectly positioned on the maps. Indeed an out-of-date result can be completely deleted. All these functions can be found in the respective Info-Window of each search result page, accessible through a click on the “Bearbeiten” [en=edit] link. This however can only be done as long as the owner of the undertaking themselves have not ‘claimed’ control over the entry and have verified the information themselves.
If a location is missing, registered users can complete or add to the results. To access this, the user clicks on the link “Add Location to Map”.
These features have been available on other language editions (eg. the USA edition) of Google since March 2008 (see our post).
pointoo finally leaves its pilot phase behind
Pointoo officially was launched in July 2006, and at the end of May 2007, the portal finally ended its beta-status. Since its recent relaunch the local search engine, operated by the publishing group Georg von Holtzbrinck, now offers more content, new functionality and an improved user interface.
The operators, in a press release, announced this a short time ago.
Differing from other localized search and ratings platforms like Qype, Dialo.de and others, pointoo is foremost a ‘location bookmark service’. Users are able to undertake location-based searches for places such as restaurants, museums, shopping facilities, doctors or service providers, etc. and, if logged in as members of pointoo, save interesting found locations in their own personal locations collection. pointoo has however, some similarities with the aforementioned ‘competitors’- it allows its users to add comments and publish them linked to their saved locations. And for users who cannot find their beloved/preferred local hangout or bakers via the search option, pointoo also allows users to add these locations to the portal. The latest update also enables users to add detail (such as opening times) or photos to existing search results.
Another new feature, is that content is now also provided by other ratings platforms, as well as by the operators and user contribution. According to the operators, the platform is now working with well-known partners, for example: Helpster.de (in the medical ratings sphere) or Autoplenum.de (for the motor zone). Negotiations continue to include further cooperative partners. Found results are now compatible with many navigation devices, allowing for quick and easy transfer to these devices.
pointoo is however, not only a search and bookmarking platform – since its relaunch it now displays even more of a community character. The exchange of contact information among users now facilitates an adjunct to the pure information provided by the site, building a people network, consisting of like-minded or interested users. So when users interested in, for instance, motor cross routes (perhaps a few hundred people in Germany, in an example cited by the operators), thanks to the new functionality of pointoo, they will be enabled to find and connect with each other.
Posted in Web Communities, Local Search per PC, Local Search, News, Practical features |
Tags: Beurteilung, Bewertungsplattform, Bewertungsportal, Community, Georg von Holtzbrinck, location bookmark service, Locations, lokale Informationen, Navigation, Navigationsgerät, Nutzerbewertung, pointoo, Relaunch, User Generated Content, web2.0 |
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Google Maps edges localized ads more into view
For quite a while now, Google Maps has offered localized advertising, visible on search results pages. As of recently, these ads have now been moved into a more prominent position directly under the generated map.
Ads on the Google Maps site are now displayed on the left side of the pages, either or both above and below the results list. To clearly separate the ads from the results, the ads are generated in blue, and labelled with “Advert” [de=Anzeige]. In addition, Google is also now allowing ads to appear directly in the map views – whereas regular search results are marked in red, ads are given the option of various special symbols, which are then also linked visually with the text link at the left.
On each results page, a total of 4 Adwords Ads are displayed, with one above, and three below the search results. The latest innovation is that now the three lower ads can also be displayed under the map view, and therefore in the center of the page. However, only one of the three lower ads is ever visible at one time… one can navigate to the other two ads using an arrow button.
The reasons for these new measures probably came as a result that most users usually only saw the upper search results, and the lower results are certainly viewed less often, if at all. With the addition of the results directly under the map, Google is trying to compensate for the lost views, by raising these ads effectively to display higher up on the page.
Posted in Local Search per PC, Local Search, New Search Machine Interest, News, Local Search Engines, lokales SEM |
Tags: Anzeige, Anzeigen, Google, google maps, Kartensuche, lokale Informationen, Maps, Suchdienst, Suchmaschinenmarketing, Suchmaschinenprimus, Suchmaschinenriese, Werbung |
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skobbler – cell phone navigation and Local Search with User Generated Content
As of the end of September, skobbler has been in ‘public beta’ status and as such is available o the general public.
Developed originally by the Hamburg navigation provider Navigon, skobbler was rounded out in September and now run by skobbler GmbH in Hamburg. The name ’skobbler’, according to Oliver Kühn, a member of the management team, in an entry in the company’s blog, is derived from the Latin word “copula” – meaning tie, cable or connection. By their own statement, skobbler wants to bring people together.
skobbler has two strengths. One is the so-called off board navigation system for cell phones, where the required data is only sent upon request from the server to the end device, incurring costs to the user for data, calculated according to the providers and contracts involved. Otherwise skobbler is free. To use the system for navigation, the user needs a GPS-enabled device or external add-on, plus the “skobbler mobil” software, which is available on the website. There, users can also check on compatibility with mobile devices.
The offering above doesn’t differ much from other similar alternative competitor solutions such as Ö-Navi (see our post), however one specialty of skobbler is that alongside a route planner option for motorists using distances under 5 km, a special pedestrian navigation option is available.
The other strength of skobbler is their locality-specific search and ratings platform with ‘community-character’ on the Internet. There, registered users can perform a local search, for cafés or hairdressers in a particular location, and also rate them and upload appropriate photos. In an interview with Locale Suche Blog, Oliver Kühn detailed how the service uses data from providers including Navteq and Mecomo, as well as User generated Content (UGC). Also really neat is the SMS-function – search result addresses discovered through the local search option, can also be sent to the user via free SMS. The extensive contents of the website is also accessible per mobile devices using local search.
Posted in Web Communities, Local Search per PC, Local Search on the go, Local Search per Mobile phone, Local Search, Localization technology, News, Practical features |
Tags: Auskunftsportal, Bewertungsportal, Community, Fußgänger, google maps, Handy, Handy-Navi, lokale Informationen, Mecomo, Mobiltelefon, Navigationsystem, Navigon, Navteq, Netzwerk, Ö-Navi, Oliver Kühn, skobbler, UGC, User Generated Content, web2.0, Wegbeschreibung |
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Meinestadt.de: Event calendar grows by leaps and bounds
As of recently, the city-portal meinestadt.de has provided its users with an event calendar, listing local parties, concerts and events in chosen locations (see our post). This feature was recently expanded.
As outlined by allesklar.com AG, the operators of meinestadt.de, in a press release at the end of September, the new cooperation with the German ticket-agent CTS Eventim was announced. This collaboration has beefed up the portal’s offering of its popular ‘top events’. Additionally, users can now book their tickets to many events through a link to eventim.de.
A week after the above announcement, the Events feature was further augmented, as listed in a press release, where three further partnerships were presented. The partners who join the providers of interesting events for the calendar are cultural information service kulturkurier.de, and the two party portals tilllate.com and nachtausgabe.de.
The new cooperation partners differ from each other, according to allesklar.com AG, particularly via their content orientation. kulturkurier.de specializes as the largest online-information service for top-level culture events in Germany. And the two party portals feature numerous complementary part events among their separate contents.
The event calendar of meinestadt.de is to be found under the menu item “Freizeit/Veranstaltungen“. One can also register additional events at no cost to the user.
“Talking Points” – local information for seeing-challenged and seeing
Imagine walking along a city street and receiving on one’s cell phone all kinds of information on buildings, businesses or restaurants, in real-time as one strolls along. Using a new Bluetooth system, this may soon become a reality.
It’s called “Talking Points” and has been developed by scientists at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
A press release reports that the system is foremost intended for the visually impaired, to convey information to them en route about their direct surroundings. For the sight-challenged, it is possible to get from point A to point B, but usually what they pass from A to B remains unnoticed, says James Knox, one of the service’s developers. “Talking Points” should change this situation. It should enable this group to locate, for example, public toilets, police stations, bus stops and stations, or restaurants providing menus in Braille.
However this service could also be useful to the seeing, added Knox. Uses for the system could be special offers being broadcast when passing businesses or stores. Also imaginable is the possibility to call up reviews and ratings of other users, relating to the firms or restaurants in the immediate vicinity.
The system works using a Bluetooth transmitter, which costs less than $20 US, and can be used everywhere where information can be beamed to passersby… shops, restaurants, parks, tourist attractions, city facilities or other important locations. A mobile end-user device would then receive the Bluetooth signals and convert them as necessary onto the display or sound information, according to the needs of the user. Also being considered is that the information for the specific location could be edited by the operator via a website and updated as needed. Further, all users will get the chance to comment and rate the offerings, via the Internet.
The scientists do admit that similar systems already exist. “Talking Points” is however the first service to use Bluetooth technology, broadcasting to non-seeing and seeing users alike, and allowing the user to be served entirely via speech, and allowing user generated content to be collected.
Google Maps: New York by bus and subway
In October last year, Google Transit was integrated in the route planner of Google Maps (see our report). Since then one has been able to plan one’s routing using public transit in ever increasing numbers of cities and countries. Recently New York made its debut.
Chris Harrelson, a Google employee, in the official company blog, announced this. He outlined this event as a gigantic development. The new addition allows the 20 million people who live in and around New York City, as well as the millions of annual visitors to obtain information on buses and subways via mouse-click.
In total, Google Transit is now represented in over 170 cities and countries globally, with over 70 in North America and 81 in China. Other locations served include several in Europe and Australia, as well as the whole of Japan, Switzerland and Austria.
Even though to date no German city is covered, users may access the existing cities/countries via Google Maps – in the route planner, one can choose between car, pedestrian and Public Transit options.
GeoGraffiti: local information to listen to
At the end of April 2008, the local speech platform GeoGraffiti launched a trial run. Apparently successful, the Beta-phase has just ended, as is reported by the operators in a press release.
GeoGraffiti is a local ratings platform for the USA, providing content exclusively provided by its users. Here one can find locally relevant information on restaurants, businesses or parks, or describe locations of any sort and rate them.
This doesn’t sound new. Contrary to other local recommendation services, the ratings at GeoGraffiti are not available in writing but exclusively as voice messages – so-called ‘VoiceMarks’. The telephone stands front and center of this new Web2.0 undertaking. This means that participants can call directly from en route via their cell-phone and simply leave their voice message. The results, according to GeoGraffiti, are linked via Zip Code or geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) to the location in question. Similarly, cell phone users can listen to other VoiceMarks relevant to their current location.
Of course, this service is not only mobile based, but also on the web. Here one can request a location on a Google Map (‘Search Map’), as to where one wishes to deliver or receive information. Existing VoiceMarks are displayed as blue Speaker icons on the mashup. They are clickable to listen to, and if registered, one can add a rating or record an answer. If one wishes to leave an answering VoiceMark, the user enters his/her cell phone number and receives a callback.
The idea isn’t bad. However, purely acoustically, the quality of the messages leaves something to be desired – many are barely understandable. This certainly can be the result of the phone connection, but also on the speech quality and delivery of the user. The content is still rather thin on the ground, with relatively few VoiceMarks. This may change with time, dependent on the success of the service.
Posted in Local Search per PC, Local Search on the go, Local Search per Mobile phone, Local Search, News, Practical features |
Tags: Bewertungsportal, Empfehlungsportal, Geograffiti, lokale Informationen, Lokale Sprachplattform, ortzsbezogene informationen, Sprachnachrichten, Voice Marks |
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Ö-Navi – Mark 2
As early as mid-2007, DasÖrtliche posted a free software program Ö-Navi, to enable cell phones to function as navigation instruments. A new update of this program has been realeased, including several new features up its sleeve.
Actually Ö-Navi 2 is still in Beta-testing (as of mid-August), however its only recently made its official debut in a press release.
To use Ö-Navi, one requires a GPS-capable cell phone, or have the ability to connect to an external GPS device. As in the earlier versions, the software is financed through on-screen advertising, allowing its cost to the customer to be ‘free’. As Ö-Navi 2 is a so-called ‘offboard’ navigation system – using data not installed on the cell phone itself, but rather using data transfer bandwidth for every route enquiry accessed through the software – costs are incurred for data used. These costs are billed by the network provider.
Ö-Navi 2 delivers not only route descriptions, but also for example offers access to the entire databank of the online-directory of DasÖrtliche. Thereby, one can search for private or commercial addresses and receive directions. This was already possible with the first version- new in v.2 is that one can call many of the firms represented there for free from the application.
Another new feature are the so-called Zenlets. According to the operators, these are individual add-on modules, based on new technologies and easily integrated; one can check weather at the destination or look for the closest cash machine. Zenlets can also be developed by uers, and the uses for ‘label’ companies make them well suited for tailer-made applications.
Visually, there have also been changes – Ö-Navi2 presents an easier overview, and the new vector maps allow for reduced load times and improved display.
At present this new edition is still only available for a few select cell phones, but this will change. DasÖrtliche telss that by the end of 2008, it is hoped to have Ö-navi 2 available for all current mobile phones, using a Java-based platform, after which the first edition will be phased out.
To check which current models can use Ö-Navi, check here – one can also download the new Cell phone navigation software, assuming the user has a compatible phone.
