Usax It’s time to go hyperlocal with these resourc
3. Wikicity: It’s not the best-looking app in this roundup, but there’s something to be said for making Twitter streams and blog posts available to the community.
Patch Unlike many of the services in this roundup, which just find local information from existing sources, Patch does it a little differently. The site employs local editors and contributors to run a local news site.
Wikicity helps you find people in your area.
Outside.in Outside.in is one of the nicest resources in this roundup. It finds out what’s happening in (at last count) 35,312 neighborhoods around the U.S. and delivers it to people in those areas.
EveryBlock EveryBlock, which was just acquired by MSNBC, features some outstanding hyperlocal features. The site provides local news, crime reports, and other information at the block level.
Regardless, I thought that with the EveryBlock acquisition, it was time to take a look at those services providing a hyperlocal experience.
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(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET) |
(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
Patch isn't in too many cities, unfortunately.
Placeblogger Instead of searching through the Web to find stories written on topics about your area, Placeblogger uses citizen journalists to populate its site.
Topix Topix is one of the best ways to learn about what’s going on in your community.
My top 3
(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
It's time to go hyperlocal with these resources
Monday’s news that MSNBC acquired EveryBlock, a “hyperlocal” news service just a few months after AOL acquired a competing service, Patch, had me thinking about all the start-ups that are vying for your attention by targeting your neighborhood. Of course, many of these sites don’t work with every neighborhood,ghd flat iron, so your mileage will vary.
Placeblogger constantly searches the Web to find “placeblogs,” blogs that are written by people or businesses about a particular area. They can be local blogs that you set up or corporate blogs set up by local companies. In either case, Placeblogger puts those feeds on its site to provide you with one central location to find all the content you really care about in your community. Even better, Placeblogger lets you add images, communicate with others from your area, and “like” a particular place. It’s a neat service if you’re trying to find more information about your community.
Go hyper
Outside.in provides with all the news in your area.
(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
When you first get to the site, Outside.in asks you to input a ZIP code. From there, it finds local news, discussions (it has a message board for each neighborhood), and establishments for you to check out. I was happy to see that both small suburbs and major metro areas were included in the list of neighborhoods on Outside.in. And since all of the information is constantly updated, it was a great way to find out what’s going in my area.
EveryBlock helps you find out what's going on in many streets in the area.
Wikicity Wikicity is a huge site. The service lists content on any city you can think of in a wiki.
1. Outside.in: With so much coverage and great content, Outside.in is worth checking out.
(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
When you get to Topix, you can input your location. From there, it populates that page with information it gathers from a variety of sources across the Web. You can still see world and national news, but if you want local news, Topix will provide more information than you would find elsewhere. Plus, it’s supported in most areas across the U.S. And thanks to such a large community, you’ll find that each location’s message board is populated with some great discussions. I really liked Topix.
Wikicity’s listings pages feature the basic information like local establishments, upcoming community events,ugg boot, and more. But where it shines is in its content. It lists blogs that are written for and about the community, it features a listing of Twitter feeds for all the people that might live in the particular city, and it even provides local news. Those features combine to make Wikicity an extremely useful site for those looking to connect with the community.
Currently, EveryBlock works with a handful of cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Miami. It would have been nice to find information on more areas around the U.S., but it wasn’t so bad. The site does a great job of finding local information, including lost and found lists, building permits, and other information that might be useful to someone living in a particular location. EveryBlock is a great site. I just wish it supported more cities. (Click here for our full review of EveryBlock.)
Topix has local news for even small areas.
Patch is a really neat idea. Instead of just taking blogs for around the Web, Patch hires an editorial staff to handle the news affecting you in your area. It covers topics ranging from local news to local sports and events. Even better, it gives the readers an opportunity to help populate the site by inputting events and announcements. They need only to sign up, write an announcement, and they’re all set. There’s just one problem with Patch: it’s only available in very few cities in just two states–New Jersey and Connecticut. Since its acquisition by AOL,womens timberland shoes, it has been finding new editors for different cities around the U.S., though.
2. Topix: It’s big, but it deserves some accolades with so much coverage.
(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
Placeblog features several blogs on cities both big and small.
Qnfe Facebook Reaps Recruits at High Levels_179
Digital Sky’s Money Enabled Hiring
Facebook Reaps Recruits at High Levels
So much for cutting back during the downturn.
Zuckerberg’s statement represents a slight shift in hiring plans. Last fall, after the financial crisis exploded, Facebook executives said they would use the downturn to gain ground on the competition. But as the crisis deepened and online advertising declined steeply, the company appeared to slow enlistment. Last November, Facebook was considering a hiring freeze for all employees except engineers, say sources familiar with its plans.
Facebook ended 2008 with about 800 employees, double its 2007 yearend head count. Its 1,000 employees now means the company is already halfway toward its goal of 50% expansion in 2009.
Late last year, Zuckerberg and his board lowered the company’s 2008 revenue target to a range between $250 million and $300 million, down from the $300 million to $350 million in sales it had expected before the financial crisis hit, say sources familiar with the company’s finances.
The new technical and managerial talent is part of a 40%-to-50% expansion of Facebook staff that was reported by Bloomberg News on Aug. 24. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Bloomberg that the recession presents an opportunity for the Web’s largest social network—and one of techdom’s hottest young companies—to scoop up talented engineers and managers. "No one else has been hiring," Zuckerberg told Bloomberg. "It’s been a great environment for us because the economy has helped out."
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Bejar led Yahoo’s security team, and Recordon was one of the developers of the OpenID authentication software, according to Facebook. Other new hires include former Genentech Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman,womens timberland boots, now doing the same job at Facebook, and Greg Badros,timberland hiking boots, a senior engineer from Google (GOOG) and now an engineering director at Facebook. Zuckerberg, however, is also trying to contain Facebook’s costs by reengineering its technology infrastructure, which should cut the costs of storing and serving billions of photos. Among the new hires at Facebook are Arturo Bejar, who will soon join as a director of engineering from Yahoo! (YHOO), and David Recordon, an open-source software expert from blogging software maker Six Apart, BusinessWeek.com has learned. So as Facebook uses the recession to upgrade its talent,paul smith sale, it remains to be seen if the company can produce a payoff from the investment. Now, armed with $200 million in fresh financing raised in late May from Russian investor Digital Sky Technologies, Facebook is again pushing the pedal on hiring. Facebook spokesman Larry Yu confirmed reports of the company’s hiring blitz, but added that Zuckerberg’s comments weren’t meant as a bold proclamation. "The point Mark was making is that we’ve made a conscious effort to not double [in staff size], which can happen with many companies as they grow," says Yu. By contrast, Google nearly doubled its staff for many years during its peak growth years. As Facebook ramps up hiring from about 1,000 employees today to as many as 1,200 by the end of the year, the social networking giant is recruiting technical and business leaders from some of the best known firms in Silicon Valley to help accelerate its financial performance. Higher Tech Can Save Facebook Money |
Facebook has more than 250 million members, and has expanded its audience at an impressive clip. But the expense of serving those users heightened pressure on the company to increase revenues and turn a profit.
Although Facebook does not have to release financial information because it is a private company, executives have been touting the site’s financial performance over the last six months. In April, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said 2009 sales would likely increase by 70% from 2008. The company expects to achieve free-cash-flow profitability in 2010, she added. In July, board member Marc Andreessen said the revenue for 2009 should reach $500 million.