Comments on: Will you bet on Local Search ?

By: Purnendu Singh Chauhan

Purnendu Singh Chauhan — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 15:22:29 +0000

Definitely localization of everything is needed.

Internet is like a Ocean where you had to find your fleet of fish.

So I think local search engine would have a better future ahead.

Regards
Purnendu
http://www.younguttaranchal.com

By: Rohan

Rohan — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:48:00 +0000

Check out GoYaar.com - its a new really feature rich social networking site for Indians - it has a detailed local review section built on recommendations from their social network. It covers all major cities in India and cities around the world and it is integrated with Google Maps for India and major cities around the world….although street level addresses for India are not really possible yet I think. Really cool!…

By: abhinav

abhinav — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:48:55 +0000

Vivek,

I am not sure if it is much easier to create a local directory rather than building a search tool for local content.

Check wikimapia

By: Vivek Garg

Vivek Garg — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:06:34 +0000

Thanks for the tip Anand. These guys are into searchin local people and I did miss that entire concept. I think its an interesting idea. people search tied in with local community.

By: Anand Subramanian

Anand Subramanian — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 02:36:28 +0000

My bad. My previous post should have been addressed to Vivek and not Madhur. Apologies Vivek.

By: Anand Subramanian

Anand Subramanian — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 02:34:47 +0000

I believe Madhur, you overlooked Bangalore-based http://www.people2meet.com which is a neat concept too.

Best,
Anand

By: Manik das

Manik das — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:52:33 +0000

Hi i strongly believe guruji.com will become one of indias best search engine ever

and i got afriend who works for a Public relation firm (handling guruji)said thr is much to wait for as some unique features are comming by march end

By: Vivek Garg

Vivek Garg — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:39:06 +0000

DrDoubt, there are ways you can prevent these screw ups. For eg google image labeler. you can get the same piece of info verified with multiple users. Or you can collect review type info that doesnt have to be reliable. eg citysearch in US does this very well w/o any community per se. I really like what Burrp.com is doing in select cities.

I agree about India being a country with strong offline interactions. Every panwala (corner shop) is a local server that can answer most of your queries in most human query language. And creating a meaningful online service will require serious innovation.

By: DrDoubt

DrDoubt — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 05:55:42 +0000

I think you are confusing a few things here.

If you allow community to define info, they will most probably screw it up. The community only matures after it ‘tips’ in size. digg, wikipedia are examples. for all others, it just doesnt work.

I think local is going nowhere in India. Its a country with strong offline social interactions, and small cities to boot.

By: Vivek Garg

Vivek Garg — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 23:17:55 +0000

Thanks for you tip Pranav. This is a good example. Global players are going to come in sooner or later. Startups should make sure they quickly build a moat around their business or risk losing their lunch.