Opportunity- The Need

The greatest challenge facing the Internet today is “localization”…web users have waited far too long to gain access to meaningful, local online services.

Up till now, the success of the Internet has rested on its global scope. Web users are able to surf websites from California to New York and Canada to Europe with ease. The combined total of all this global information has produced the Internet’s current success.

However, web users are still unable to perform useful, meaningful tasks at a local level.

“Tell us how you use the web locally? In what ways does the web enhance your life and what valuable local services do you use on a regular basis?”

Most users find it difficult to name even one, much less two, three or four things the web does for them locally. The reason for this is the Internet has not yet matured to the local level. In other words, the web has not been localized!

Why can’t I book an appointment with my hairdresser, check the status of my auto repair, or make a dinner reservation over the web? Most attempts to even locate local business information online end in frustration. The most recognized ways to surf locally (such as Internet yellow pages and online city guides) miss the mark by not adequately satisfying the surfer’s desire to connect with their local community online.

To have true web localization, you must include the local business community. Any attempt to localize the web that excludes them is doomed to fail.