This happened late this past week and it’s already been widely reported but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Yahoo!’s new quicker, more open business details editing capability. Yahoo! is making it possible for all users to edit business profiles and/or upload photos.
Yahoo! promises to allow the changes to go live with 24 hours (to permit editorial review and prevent mischief). Here’s more from the Yahoo! Local & Maps Blog.
The purpose of doing this is to generate better, more complete data and encourage more participation (and therefore usage). The richer and more accurate the data the better the product.
By contrast, Google Maps, AskCity, Windows Live Local do not allow users to directly rate or provide information about local businesses. Google and Ask provide user ratings from third parties. IAC sister company Citysearch is one of those in the case of Ask (and Google). And SuperPages, which provides local advertisers to Microsoft, now has user reviews.
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Greg Sterling is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the local marketplace.
