Have you ever walked into a restaurant to find only one person occupying each table? Why don't lonely people just sit together? Wouldn't a nice chat with a another warm blooded human be preferable to reading the newspaper over your slice of pizza?
Yeah, Brian Dorsey's friends didn't think it would work either. But he went ahead and launched Noonhat.com anyway.
With Noonhat.com you find your city on the map, enter your email address, and select the date you want to do lunch with someone. The application matches you with up to four other people who want to do lunch that day. It's that simple.
The jury is still out on whether or not this is a good idea. One thing is certain though, if only a very few people use Noonhat then that still means more empty tables so the rest of us can sit and read our newspapers in peace.
Finding local amenities is a tough task when traveling, let along in your area. A Boston company aims at helping personalized local search through algorithmic recommendations.
Zync has developed a prediction algorithm that enables users to pull in recommendations based on personal taste. Being that it's difficult to sift through recommendations for large cities, Zync takes into account personal tastes and the opinions of people you trust in order to model search results. Friends can share with each other what services, restaurants and locations that they enjoy, ranking them higher for their contact list.
Zync has currently only opened up only for Boston based results.
Over the past few weeks DLS has had the chance to check out Yahoo's GO 2.0 application for mobile devices at home and on the go with a Blackberry 8800 and a Nokia 6126. So how did the application fare out? Is it worth having on your device? What were the benefits and downfalls? And what would we change?
We have covered Yahoo's GO mobile application since it first was released in Beta to the public at the beginning of the year. We initially tried the mobile application out on a Motorola RAZR and Blackberry 8700 among other devices, and agreed that Yahoo had developed something rather special. However, it wasn't until we tried it out long term in our everyday lives that we really understood the benefits to the application.
Yahoo GO was developed by Yahoo for users to instantly search and connect to email, news, weather, stocks, finance, and Flickr, all through an intuitive interface Yahoo has named a carousal. After tooling around with the initial Beta release, Yahoo has released yet another version that reduces load times, and adds in some new tools like a calendar and address book to help in day to day time management. However a big integration has to be Yahoo GO's ability to use GPS on select devices, perfect for when on the go, and what makes this application stand out.
Google's Streetview maps project has only just launched in a few U.S. cities thus far, however, some shocking new discoveries by a tipster has us wondering what Google is planning.
A Gizmodo reader followed a Google camera van that had been taking pictures around California back to the Googleplex, and stumbled upon a rather shocking surprise. A fleet of Chevy Cobalt cars suited up with what appears to be harnesses for 360° cameras. We can only assume that Google is planning on dispatching them around the US, and possibly into other major cities in the world as they get ready to expand Streetview maps. The cars have no license plates, but they do all have a metal device attached to the roof which could possibly be a camera mount of some sort.
With that said, get ready to draw your blinds and get ready for a full invasion of your privacy, because you are about to be Streetviewed.
Last year eBay entered into an advertising agreement with Yahoo, part of that agreement was to build a co-branded toolbar. It's now available.
The new eBay toolbar uses both Yahoo and eBay features to power it. With it users can search for items on eBay or Half.com, and search with Yahoo using Yahoo Local, Yahoo Video and Yahoo Answers among others. The toolbar also has one click access to Yahoo Mail, and gives direct access to eBay.com. Complete with account guard to protect auction accounts and eBay auction Alerts.
The eBay toolbar featuring Yahoo is currently available for Internet Explorer Windows users only, with a Firefox version in development.
YouTube, the top destination online for videos, was once lacking in two areas, localized content and accessibility. The website served only as a platform for users that spoke English and views from a PC. That was then.
Enter now. As we spoke about in the latest Googleholic, YouTube launched localized versions of its popular video sharing service throughout Europe. The new versions of the site are targeted at users in Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, UK, and the U.S. At the moment, the video content is pulled from YouTube's U.S. based site, but as time goes on more local content will get added to the database.
This new local market proves to visitors that YouTube is serious about making their service as accessible as possible. YouTube Chad Hurley made the announcement at a press conference in Paris that the big thing for YouTube in 2007 is access. This comes only a few days after the launch of YouTube for mobile devices, whereby users can now view video content on mobile phones through a special portal, and an announcement about Apple providing YouTube content through the new Apple TV box.
The battle for the 411's is on. A lot of new developments are heading out the door at the Web 2.0 Conference well under way in San Francisco, and Tellme Networks has let people know about their new service, a 411 information request service called Tellme by Voice.
Microsoft owned Tellme Networks, a provider of voice enabled mobile search, believes that you should just have to say what you want, thus they have just announced a free service that expands the ways people can search for information from any phone. Similar to Google's GOOG 411 local voice search, users would simply speak into their phones, and they would be answered by hearing the result.
Tellme by Voice can be accessed by calling 1-800-555-TELL, and saying "business search" to find local business listings.
How would you like to take a test drive one of the only GPS devices that is powered by Yahoo's Local search? The Dash team is looking for you!
We first wrote about Dash, the first internet connected automotive navigation system back in early January. This GPS device, powered by Yahoo Local Search, was once only available as a test in the San Francisco Bay area for 200 individuals. Dash has opened up recruiting and is looking for 2000 frustrated commuters. Heavy commuters and mobile gadget enthusiasts are preferred to test the device on their own terrain and traffic conditions across the U.S.
If you are interested in seeing what Yahoo Local can do for your commuting in your car or truck, check out www.Dash.net and fill out the survey.
The definitive weekend trip guide has arrived. 71miles is an online destination focused entirely on local travel, providing users comprehensive reviews, trip notes, recommendations as well as narrated videos by local experts.
71miles has currently launched reviews of the San Francisco Bay area, as well as other Northern California hotspots, and will soon release reviews for the Washington DC Metro area.
Launching with virtually no money at all, 71miles merged many API's together making use of WordPress, and the Google Maps API. The whole site is built on the WordPress platform, and might be one of the most innovative uses of the WP blog framework ever created. So innovative that the creator of WorkPress has even said he thinks it is the coolest use of the Wordpress framework he's seen. That's saying a lot!
By the way, this isn't just another web 2.0 name that means nothing at all, 71 miles comes from a statistic which shows most trips take place within 71 miles from your home.
Mobile web making you want to tap-out? Tappity thinks they can help. This free online service lets users check out mobile web pages that are stored in your unique personal mobile Tappity pages. Mobile homepages can be set so that users can search from whatever engine they frequently use, whether it's Google Local, Wikipedia, or Flickr. Since you set your zip code, information will be relevant to your location.
Logging on to Tappity with a mobile device browser gives you a drop down with your pre-set mobile search locations. It's certainly a great time saver having all of your main search locations in one area. Another great feature that makes Tappity worth bookmarking on your device is its list of mobile-capable websites. Its always hard to locate a site that's compatible with mobile devices, and remembering that mobile version of a website can be tough; Tappity has them all listed out for easy visiting.
Taking a cue from Microsoft's Virtual Earth 3D, Google has been dishing out some local ads in Google Earth. The ads are sponsored listings from Google Local advertisers and it is not clear how long they have been appearing in Google Earth. A reader on the Search Engine Land reports receiving clarification of the issue from Google. It said that if Local Business Ads were created in AdWords accounts, they will now be appearing in Google Earth, as well as on Google Maps. Customized icons can also be made to help the locations stand out even more on the map. Have they gone a bit too far by dropping ads in Earth though? I don't mind them in Google Local, but I would prefer if the Earth was clear of litter. At least we don't have to view the ads until we decide to click on the location pins.
Getting detailed directions with step by step instructions.
Saving favorite places or routes.
Local business searches with contact information.
Enhanced business information including more details on businesses, with hours of operation, and amenities etc.
Interactive maps with the ability to zoom in and out, move in all directions, and switch to satellite imagery mode.
Monitor your data consumption in real time, so you know how many kbs you're ripping through.
The Windows Mobile Device has GPS-enabled maps for Windows Mobile 2003 and higher versions. You can download the application straight from the web and sync up, or visit www.google.com/gmm. Google Maps for Mobile is also available for Palms, Blackberrys, Motorolas, Nokias, and a ton of other devices.
Gaia was working on reverse engineering Google Earth seeing as there was no open source API that has been made available yet. The work stopped when Gaia received a request to discontinue the project from Google's Michael Jones. The project was well on its way to producing a full-fledged open and customizable application. Gaia was being built to support Keyhole authentication, 3D views and layers. Jones, Google's Chief Technologist of Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Local search served the email papers and told the project team that they do not own the data, and neither does Google. It is licensed to Google on the restriction that it is not to be accessed or used outside Google's client software. If this project was released in mass to the public, Google's license to use the raw data could be in jeopardy, forcing Google to potentially shut down their satellite mapping application due to the possible disruption of services, and loss of trust from data providers. For the whole letter from Jones visit the Gaia website.
I am not a user of Microsoft Outlook, but I know my share of people who are attached to it like they are to their own head. If you're such a person, you will perhaps be interested in a Windows Live Local add-on for Microsoft Outlook. The free add-on from Microsoft (Windows Genuine Advantage check required) integrates the Windows Live Local mapping service with the email/calendar/PIM client. It "enables you to add maps and directions to your Outlook meeting requests, calculate the travel distance between your start location and your appointment location, adjust your meeting departure time based on the estimated travel time, store custom locations, as well as print the map and step-by-step driving directions to take with you on the road." Sounds pretty sweet to me.
Yesterday Microsoft rolled out a new version of Windows Live Local that includes quite a few new features. The most major improvements are real-time traffic information for major metropolitan areas via Traffic.com, Windows Life Messenger integration which allows several people to interact with the same map in real time, and "Collections," which let you add "pushpins" to mark locations, e.g. favorite restaurants, and recall them later (assuming you're signed in to a Live.com account) or share them with others. Also on the menu is Bird's Eye Views for much of the U.K. and integration with Outlook Calendar. While Google keeps making incremental improvements to Google Maps, Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Ask.com have really taken their challenge and run with it.
