Looking for the Hyperlocal Magic Bullet

As long as I'm trying not to pile on the folks at washingtonpost.com, I'll refrain from commenting directly on the interesting story that ran in the Wall Street Journal today about the problems at post.com's LoudounExtra hyperlocal site. It speaks for itself.

But there's some interesting commentary on that story and subject from another hyperlocal practitioner, Outside.In's CEO, Mark Josephson. And Mike Orren, who runs Pegasus News, had some interesting thoughts about what makes hyperlocal work in an interview this week with Peter Krasilovsky.

Each of these models represents a different approach to hyperlocal, although there's some overlap. In a nutshell:

* LoudounExtra is primarily a staff-written, technology-heavy model, with a lot of databases of local information and virtually no user-generated content.

* Outside.In is using technology to aggregate existing local content from bloggers and others.

* Pegasus News also uses a professional staff, but Orren has concluded that databases are the magic beans for hyperlocal success.

At Backfence, the company I cofounded, we went yet another direction, which I also believe is critical: a heavy reliance on user-generated content, for which we provided a platform.

Backfence is gone, LoudounExtra is struggling, and neither Pegasus News nor Outside.In can be labeled a commercial success at this point. So what's the right formula for hyperlocal?

I think the answer lies somewhere at the intersection of all of these models. You need sharp technology, lots of databases, aggregation of existing blogs and content, and lots of low, low-cost user-generated content. Professional content is good, too, if someone else is paying for it. You've got to be intensely local (LoudounExtra, by covering a 520-square-mile county, missed the boat here). And then you've got to market the hell out of the resulting stew, with aggressive community outreach, grassroots campaigns and, if you're fortunate enough to be attached to traditional media, a print counterpart and the boost you get from an attached media Web site.

Nobody's put this all together yet. But I believe we can find a winning formula to make hyperlocal a successful business. We've just got to keep working to find the right combination of ingredients to attain it.

Comments

[Sean Tubbs]

I'd be curious to get your thoughts on Charlottesville Tomorrow. We're a non-profit group that has quickly become a trusted source for news and information on land use, transportation and other growth-related issues in our community.

I don't know if we have a magic bullet, but in three years we've changed the way in which other media groups in the area cover these issues. We're providing a public service, and developing partnerships with other media outlets.

I'd write more, but I'm one of a two-person staff and must return to taking notes at a Board of Supervisors meeting.

[Mark Potts]

Sean:
Charlottesville Tomorrow looks like an interesting and passionate site, but it seems very low on audience engagement. There are very few comments on the posts or blogs. This underscores my point about the critical importance of getting the word out--you've got to get the audience involved so that they're commenting and adding content themselves. It has to be more than a one-way conversation.