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• General Advice (11) Give advice

  Advice given by mfheadcase 

  06.25.08 | 10:09 PM

  Actually, i believe that there are free and open source tools for much of what you would need in the site interface.
  
  Wiki software may be the easiest way to get started, find out if your web hosts provides it... and if so which wiki software
  
  If not find out what flavor of hosting service your host is running on and if they provide a database back end, many do. then shop here:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_wiki_software
  
  you should be able to find something free and under either a GPL or BSD liscense... this is most likely if you host is running a combination of MySQL and Apache...
  
  Of course then there is the problem of finding someone who speaks PHP... but i hear that some find it worth the effort to go self taught to save the money over and above the cost savings of going with the free software to begin with. **grin**
  
  The mapping part may or may not cost... but considering some of the frighteningly random things i have seen tied into Google maps... i suspect that you might be able to tie into them for…more free as well.
  
  If you know where to shop... all you need is a coder and a good hosting plan... and if you have the time and confidence to learn, the coder can be optional.

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  Advice given by jhammocktfa04 

  06.13.08 | 12:55 PM

  Your idea is promising and I think there is room in the marketplace for this type of site, especially if it is very well done. One way to distinguish yourself might be through the quality of the writing on the site. If you could attract wannabe travel writers or others with strong writing skills to contribute - either about their own experiences or by going out to local spots and interviewing locals, you might be more likely to develop a following. You may also think about tapping into the college market because so many college students go out-of-state for college and often move again after graduation.

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  Advice given by mcgrawc 

  06.12.08 | 10:32 PM

  Yeah, there's also a footer that I'm gettin on the bottom of my emails, asking me to vote on my favorite city's nightlife and restaurants. Good luck!

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  Advice given by ResidentBlobber3 

  06.10.08 | 03:36 PM

  Its a really great idea! American express is attempting to do something similar to this. They pick a city and ask the people of the city about whats good for their in-flight magazine called 'American way'. But what you propose is way beyond what they have.
  
  I agree with br1168 that it is difficult to break into the market. But at the same time, I am sure there is a huge international fleeting population that you could cater to.
  
  Good luck!

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  Advice given by edevlin 

  06.06.08 | 11:36 AM

  I think this is a great idea. In addition to marketing to visitors to individual cities, maybe you could also market to people who recently relocated to the city. I know when I have moved around, I like to get travel guides to get acclimated to the city and things to do, but they are usually really touristy and focus on really expensive activities. Having a guide with a local persepective would be really useful and there would be so many relocation organizations and businesses you could disseminate the information through.
  
  Good luck!

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  Advice given by andyt 

  06.01.08 | 08:07 PM

  You described several technical features that will make your site different than hugely successful ventures in this arena like Yelp. But even with a good web developer at your side, you will face a much greater challenge... fighting the bigger brands that have already won customer loyalty. Like br1168 said, you need to define your niche further. That should help, but even still, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of "go local" type concepts out there. Get Version 1 out there and begin developing that customer loyalty. And so you can start appearing in search engines whenever a specific restaurant is searched for -- the majority of visitors come to sites like these because of search engines. All the best to you!

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  Advice given by PatronOfTheArts 

  06.01.08 | 10:31 AM

  Sounds Great! Maybe you could even have volunteers set up in each city, who have a passion and knowledge of particular things who a traveler can contact with specific questions if they are in a city and have a question! Good luck!

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  Advice given by inventorspot 

  05.15.08 | 11:39 AM

  I think this would be very helpful to travelers, if you can do it right. But given the broad nature of what you are doing, you are talking years of effort or tons of money to buy the talent you need to do this.
  
  I would suggest you start super small. Lock up an area, then go to the larger state, region etc. Starting broadly, you may be stretched too thin to accomplish much.
  
  Michelle
  InventorSpot.com - #1 Advice Resource for Inventors
  

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  Advice given by golocaling 

  05.13.08 | 08:37 PM

  You're right, Yelp is somewhat similar. But there are reasons why I don't like Yelp. 1) it is very busy and cluttered, hard to read 2)they have a lot of junk listed like Domino's and KFC. It sometimes seems more like a yellow pages that quality suggestions.
  
  Here is how golocaling would be different.
  1) You will be able to search by map
  2) Things will be listed first that have the most votes, so you see the best suggestions first.
  3)Each city will have a summary about the city, it's personality, community, schools, great events, festivals, where people go for day trips, great hiking trails, etc..
  4) A Local forum
  I will not allow national chain restaurants to be listed unless it originated in that city.
  
  I want this site to be a fast way for people to learn the ins and outs about a city. I know there are a lot of touristy websites out there, but I'm hoping the infomation that I receive from Locals will be very hard to find anywhere else and for that reason, people will continue to come back.
  

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  Advice given by Listie 

  05.13.08 | 04:01 PM

  Great idea...but I think Yelp.com is already doing something similar? Not to discourage you, but just so you know what you could be up against...
  
  Best of luck!

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  Advice given by br1168 

  05.12.08 | 10:43 AM

  Interesting concept, but this is unfortunately an extremely difficult market to break into because so many other organizations have or are doing it. Having user generated content certainly helps, but you'll have to snag users from the local sites that are already in existence, a difficult thing to do when cities like Philly already have sites like GoPhila.com and CampusPhilly.com. You might want to try a link exchange bc quite honestly those other sites are usually funded from the city and have full time staff with million dollar budgets. You may be able to find a niche in smaller to mid sized cities that don't already have an established tourism site, but I think that taking on large cities is going to be an extremely uphill battle. One thing that you might want to add to the features you already have for your site is local blogs. www.BlogHarrisburg.com has successfully implemented an interesting model that may suit your website. Good luck.

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• Q1: How much is a database, forum going to cost for a site like this?? (1) Respond

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  Advice given by Shepp_invest 

  05.08.08 | 10:16 PM

  To really make this take off and come up with a complete site your going to need upwards of 10k.
  
  For Example some of what you will need is: interfaces for approving user submitted content, adjusting content on the static site yourself, account management, automated email notifications and newsletters to all the "locals" in one locale, a review and rating system, possibly even an automated system that authenticates that people actually live in the area, a "Verified Local" type of thing ( you can do this with online credit card verification systems, you don't actually have to collect money from anyone but you can verify their billing address and zip that way, to prove they are indeed in that area.) This cuts down on the frauds and commercialization that "Chaula" commented about.
  
  I would recommend finding someone that will help you out with this almost like a hobby or bring them on as a partner. It's not a bad idea to bring someone on-board this early in the company who has the expertise you need (try to find someone local to you that …moreyou trust, also keep in mind that if you can't pay them your going to have to do one heck of a sales job and be prepared to explain your thoughts!). I have seen this business partner concept work very well for several startups in fact ( you don't have to give them 50% of your company to make them a partner, i suggest giving them 10-20%... and put it all in writing!)
  
  If I were you, I would try to save my cold hard cash for advertising and spreading the word unless you currently have a niche to get the word out???
  
  Also start thinking about how your going to set yourself apart from sites like citysearch (I personally find that one really ugly and hard to use.)

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