Airbnb has already created a trusted network. It now merely needs to extend that trust to get local hosts and merchants working together to create great experiences for their mutual customers.
More from Andrew Shotland
Dead Fingers Still Walking?
While Google and Facebook may have a lock on consumers and big advertisers, in no way do they have a lock on SMB advertisers. If Dex Media/YP can provide a better experience for its advertisers, it’s got a real shot at keeping those fingers walking well into the future.
The Price of Free Listings
When the Yellow Pages directory came out once a year, if your business’ phone number was printed incorrectly, you were in trouble. It was the same with local business listings on the internet, except that instead of one or two books, there were thousands of websites carrying your bad data. This added up to a serious headache for multi-location brands and a serious opportunity for solutions providers that could bring order to the free business listings chaos. Here’s a look at how listings management has evolved.
YP’s Split and Local.com’s Bankruptcy: Ain’t No Big Deal
YP’s split and Local Corp’s bankruptcy filing might strike you as huge events. But for the greater local search industry, I don’t see these as particularly big milestones…
Why Apple Maps Is Partnering With Local Search Companies
Last week, after I uncovered that Apple Maps had cut deals with at least ten new companies (including Yext, Location3, Yodle, et cetera) to provide business listings data, I got a few emails asking what the big deal was. Here’s what I see is going on…