External Links

A new field added to Zenbu profiles today – External Links.

External links are a place to link to 3rd party sites that contain more relevant details about that specific entry. Zenbu is not going to be the definitive authority on every subject, but it will be the portal for the basic information you need and a path to more information if you require it.

eg.
The French Cafe
has a link to the Cuisine Review  as restaurant of the year.

Ossie’s Chalets and Apartments
has a link to the Jasons Travel Information profile – a more complete profile from an accommodation perspective

Delightfully communist

Classic article Craigslist Meets the Capitalists where Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster explains to a room of Wall Street types that Craigslist exists to help web users find jobs, cars, apartments and dates — and not so much to make money. Seems many of the capitalists struggled with the concept, one described it as delightfully communist.

Zenbu exists to help web users find public products & services — and not so much to make money too.

Comrade!

Spot of Golf?

Almost 400 Golf courses on Zenbu now. hurrah.

The Real Web 2.0

When I read Tim O’Reilly’s post What is Web 2.0? a year ago it flicked a switch in my head. It just all made sense to me although I couldn’t simply explain it to others.

The term Web 2.0 is often used to describe a bunch of cosmetic characteristics like round corners, bubbles, pastel colours but that’s certainly not what turns my dial. Even the mainstream media has picked up on it as a sunday magazine type article but today I read a paragraph that summed up the big picture.

Throughout history, each new medium (books, radio, cinema, television) has first been used to produce content equivalent to that found in existing media. The classic example is radio, which was first used to broadcast radio plays—content based on the familiar medium of theater. Eventually, however, out of the unique strengths of a medium will arise a new kind of content: one that doesn’t mimic what came before, but instead delivers an experience that would never have been possible before. Web 2.0 is that stage in the evolution of the Web as a medium. — Recognizing Web 2.0 by Kevin Yank at Sitepoint.com

Web2.0 is not just a technology or a look, it’s a leap forward in the way we consume information and applications that enhance our daily lives. Who can imagine communication without mobiles and email? Who can imagine what life was like without Zenbu?

A Big Market to Shrink

The highly publicised (proposed) sale of the Yellow Pages group has brought about the public disclosure of the groups financial figures which have been obfuscated in recent Telecom annual reports.

“Yellow Pages has annual Ebitda of $160 million. In the three months to September its revenue rose 11.3 per cent to $69m. Analysts’ estimate it could fetch between $1.6b and $2.2b.” – from Stuff

This reminded me of an article I read about an American service 1800-FREE411 (Kiwi translation 0800-FREE018) – free directory assistance paid for by listening to a 10 second relevant advertisement. By saving users on average $1.25 per call, that service has the potential to shrink a $8 Billion market.

I’ve heard from so many business owners over the years who grumble about their yp advertising costs and how all their business comes from referral or off the street – but they still pay up – “fear of loss is a greater motivator than desire for gain”.

I want Zenbu to shrink the yellow pages market in NZ. Performance based costs and advertisers who only pay for results.

The print directories still have a few years left in them yet, but they will become a massive burden on the owner in the twilight years. Online and mobile local search will feed our need for instant gratification as users. I’ll be amazed if a major search engine like Google or Yahoo coughs up 2 billion (analysts suggestion) for that business, if not for the fact that it is short change from the cash reserves of those big players.

Wait and see…