Comments on: FatDoor and the Challenge of Local http://www.afterbeta.com/fatdoor-and-the-challenge-of-local/ Startups and the business of the web Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:44:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Matt Collins http://www.afterbeta.com/fatdoor-and-the-challenge-of-local/#comment-47 Matt Collins Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:13:51 +0000 http://www.afterbeta.com/?p=22#comment-47 Great summary of some important lessons from the local space. I'm wrestling with exactly these issues with a site I run here in the UK and my experience over the last year or so very much tallies with yours. To create a foundation of content I now aggregate material such as locally-taken photos, news and events listings from a number of other sites. Integrating blogs as you've done on YourStreet looks like a promising idea too. The big challenge I still see, however, is the one you point out about dispersal of a site's users. The only real solution I've seen to this is to start off by focusing on building up a critical mass of users in one small area, then to either replicate that many times or gradually expand. Great summary of some important lessons from the local space. I’m wrestling with exactly these issues with a site I run here in the UK and my experience over the last year or so very much tallies with yours.

To create a foundation of content I now aggregate material such as locally-taken photos, news and events listings from a number of other sites. Integrating blogs as you’ve done on YourStreet looks like a promising idea too.

The big challenge I still see, however, is the one you point out about dispersal of a site’s users. The only real solution I’ve seen to this is to start off by focusing on building up a critical mass of users in one small area, then to either replicate that many times or gradually expand.

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