Entries tagged as Local Reviews
Thursday, August 9. 2007
Local Reviews Wrap Up
While Google is
collecting street map data of Vietnam in order to launch local mapping
service end of this year, some local reviews sites are live to catch up
the Web 2.0 boom.
The
New Hanoian could be the first one of this kind and make you think
of VIR Time Out online version. Targeting expats in Hanoi, with simple
layout and looks as old as ancient quarter of Hanoi. Users can find
locations with simple Google Maps custom layer. Some SNS features:
profile, comment, rating.
Shiva - Hanoi city portal is adding HCM City map data with
its own mapping engine. With English and Vietnamese version, both expats
and Vietnameses can easily find good local services. Although Shiva had
built the service with its self developed mapping, it still did not put
users (members) at the center. Not easy to navigate, lack of social
connection. Young local people would think the site is for travellers
than for local community.
Thodia.vn, the new kid on the block, is a Yahoo Local clone. Only Vietnamese
available, targets young party people in HCM City. It developed Flash
mapping exactly the same with Yahoo
Flash Maps. Full social networking features, clean layout, but still
missing something to stick members together.
Vnnavi.com focuses mainly on restaurants, drinks with three
language support: Vietnamese, English and Japanese. Its look like a
dining listing service rather than a local reviews. Although it has
Google Maps local layer for finding locations, it has large number of
staff to review the restaurants (with prior agreement with the owners).
There is no user profile but a vBulletin forum to discuss eating habits
and other interests.
My advice: If you have your own mapping solutions, it is an advantage not to pay Google Maps or Yahoo Maps (and Microsoft Maps also) for enterprise API. For these kind of services to be competitive, put social networking features first, develop your community. Otherwise your service is just a paving stone for the giants entering the market.
The
New Hanoian could be the first one of this kind and make you think
of VIR Time Out online version. Targeting expats in Hanoi, with simple
layout and looks as old as ancient quarter of Hanoi. Users can find
locations with simple Google Maps custom layer. Some SNS features:
profile, comment, rating.Shiva - Hanoi city portal is adding HCM City map data with
its own mapping engine. With English and Vietnamese version, both expats
and Vietnameses can easily find good local services. Although Shiva had
built the service with its self developed mapping, it still did not put
users (members) at the center. Not easy to navigate, lack of social
connection. Young local people would think the site is for travellers
than for local community.Thodia.vn, the new kid on the block, is a Yahoo Local clone. Only Vietnamese
available, targets young party people in HCM City. It developed Flash
mapping exactly the same with Yahoo
Flash Maps. Full social networking features, clean layout, but still
missing something to stick members together.Vnnavi.com focuses mainly on restaurants, drinks with three
language support: Vietnamese, English and Japanese. Its look like a
dining listing service rather than a local reviews. Although it has
Google Maps local layer for finding locations, it has large number of
staff to review the restaurants (with prior agreement with the owners).
There is no user profile but a vBulletin forum to discuss eating habits
and other interests.My advice: If you have your own mapping solutions, it is an advantage not to pay Google Maps or Yahoo Maps (and Microsoft Maps also) for enterprise API. For these kind of services to be competitive, put social networking features first, develop your community. Otherwise your service is just a paving stone for the giants entering the market.
Owner login
Recent Comments
Fri, 04.07.2008 17:43
Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger [...]
Fri, 04.07.2008 16:06
This might be the work of [...]
Thu, 03.07.2008 07:52
FPT trains its people like [...]
Thu, 03.07.2008 05:51
this is fun
Thu, 03.07.2008 05:48
@datpt: you own an apology to [...]