Author Archive

Just in time for the release of Apple’s iPhone 4S on October 14th of this year, there were camp-like conditions in front of Apple stores worldwide. Some waited the entire night in sleeping bags for the opening. Hard to believe: every second German who has a smartphone is interested in purchasing the iPhone 4S. This was the conclusion of a recent study conducted by Gelbe Seiten. In addition: smartphone users value the local search apps right behind the basic functions. This is explained in a post by the Local Search Blog’s own Ben Broshi, thanks to a combination of different technologies that make local search more simple and elegant. Read the rest of this entry »

The primary source for local searching has transferred from traditional directories to Google, according to the Software Initiative Deutschland e.V. (SID). But wait a minute: didn’t some pretty hefty studies just show to opposite? SID was unfortunately unwilling to comment on any sources for their study. Read the rest of this entry »

The test phase that began in just three months ago has finally come to an end. Google+ has officially been made available for all, and with its release, there are also a number of new features that Google has integrated with its other services. Read the rest of this entry »

Just one day after announcing the improved friends lists, Facebook employee Zach Rait introduced the new “subscribe” button in a blog post. The new function reminds users a bit of Twitter, als the following option, or subscribe option, allows users to subscribe to posts from others with whom they are not even friends with on Facebook. Read the rest of this entry »

Searching the internet for people and their contact data has just become simpler with the new web search from dastelefonbuch.de, which was just added to its classic search function.
The search for individuals online is supported using selected sources, according to dastelefonbuch.de. Entries from social networks like Facebook, Twitter, XING, Myspace, LinkedIn, StayFriends or Lokalisten are reviewed, but also from other sites like Wikipedia, news portals, various blogs, as well as company websites and private internet sites. Like the research available in the directory, users can specify first- and last-names, as well as the location. The results are then listed by DasTelefonbuch in a neat display according to the source. Read the rest of this entry »

The new live-service from the navigation specialist Tom Tom is now offering local information about stores, restaurants, or service providers, in addition to the local search from Google Maps and Places. For local results in Germany, the directory service Gelbe Seiten provides the data. Read the rest of this entry »

After a market study declared it the “strongest online brand for local search” in the German net, meinestadt.de is taking it to the next step: with about 19.5 million visits in July, the portal is now claiming the title of “leading local offering in the German internet” for itself. Read the rest of this entry »

The speculation has been going on for weeks – now it’s official: the check-in/geolocation service Foursquare, which just began expanding its coupon market with the integration of deal offerings from five new partners, has now caught the big fish, Groupon. Starting immediately, Foursquare offers its users offerings from Groupon Now!, the special platform that offers real-time coupons. Read the rest of this entry »

meinestadt.de is offering something that has been already available from the online directory Das Örtliche since the beginning of the year, and from the local ratings portal Qype since this July: an app for the Windows Phone 7. In cooperation with Microsoft, the city portal developed this special mobile application. The apps for the iPhone and Android smartphones have been available for quite some time.

The app is available in the Windows Marketplace, under http://redir.ec/meinestadt-windowsphone7, to download. The developers have chosen the most popular categories from the vicinity radar for the app, according to allesklar.com. Users that are on-the-go can search for restaurants, cafés, hotels, or ATMs for all German cities and municipalities. Users also receive weather information, events, and film times in the vicinity. The smatphone’s localization is automatically conducted using GPS.
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Lary Page can be excited about the positive reception of the Google+ project and a record turnover for the second quarter of the year. Meanwhile, Facebook has received a poor grade in the subject of user satisfaction from a study.
The social media market is ready for a new player, according to the census administered by the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Business Report, which was conducted with the market research institute ForeSee Results. The social network Facebook received the poorest grade of all the social networks that were analyzed in customer satisfaction. The winner in the category for social media was Wikipedia. But who could have been in first place in the portal and search engine sectors? That’s right: Google. Because the study was conducted last month, Google+ is not included in the study, as the project wasn’t launched until afterwards. But according to a press release by ForeSee, the low results that Facebook has received give Google+ a good start, that is, if the service can offer users something better. Read the rest of this entry »