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Zoodango.com – local search without words

12 Feb. 2009 | Author: AWo | german


December 2006 saw the launch of the USA portal Zoodango.com, a type of localized social business network – without much success. During 2008, the portal was substantially revised and has rebranded itself as a local Web 2.0 search service with a community slant.

The search delivered is based on a Google Map. After the entry of a location in the search field, diverse icons showing interesting places or companies are displayed on a map, such as restaurants, hotels or cinemas. The user can then mouse-over these icons, activating a popup with the exact address and ratings of the displayed locations.

This form of search, that is one without the definition of a special search term, is what differentiates this service from comparable competitors, according to a press release from the operators of Zoodango.com. Contrary to other search operators, Zoodango.com users do not have to know exactly what they are searching for, and are able to visually cruise a range of areas around their initial location specified. This allows the user to ’stumble upon’ previously unknown places or services. Zoodango believes itself therefore to be an effective marketing platform for companies who would not normally be discovered or noticed as a result of a specific search term. At present, the areas covered by this protoype are Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Francisco and Oakland. Though presented as a unique innovation, it is reminiscent of the German search portal geoflags.de (see our post).

More interesting however is the new ratings method for the different locations/services. According to Zoodango, many ratings platforms such as Yelp or Citysearch use a system of 1 to 5 stars. As a result, users often find many providers with similar ratings but contradictory descriptions. In contrast, Zoodango compares the popularity of a location with similar ones in the vicinity and awards points automatically on a scale of 1 to 10. The number of users ratings is also listed, adding to the depth of the recommendations. Parallel to this community rating, Zoodango also offers registered members the possibility of personally rating, reflecting their individual choices and preferences.

Zoodango.com – local search without words
Posted in Web Communities, Local Search per PC, Local Search, News, Practical features | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

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