Comments on: A trip down the memory super-highway… http://4realz.net/2007/12/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/ Authentic Real Estate and Internet Marketing Conversations Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:12:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: a reader http://4realz.net/2007/12/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-505 a reader Tue, 01 Jan 2008 19:52:23 +0000 http://4realz.net/2007/12/27/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-505 If I may, not to hijack the post... Hyperlocal sites were doomed to fail (I said so at the time) because the key to their business and audience is hyperfragmented. The odds of two visitors to one of those sites finding (or contributing) content about a shared topic in a shared location are almost nil due to the sites' hyper granularity. Say there are 100,000 cities, counties, neighborhoods, ZlP codes or whatever geographical subdivision in the US, and an unrealistically high 10% conversion from casual visitor to contributor. The lower bound for having some content everywhere is 1 million visitors. High-density and tech-savvy metros will be disproportionately filled out, with 99,000 no-man's-land locations. As your audience expands outside of those early-adopter metros, new visitors come to a site that has nothing to offer to them, and requires them to enter content with the implicit guarantee no-one will read it. Aggregating content up to larger locations (e.g. combine all ZlP codes' content into a city) solves the density problem but defeats the site's hyperlocal purpose. This isn't an easy problem, but the initial solutions were demonstrably doomed to fail from the get-go. If I may, not to hijack the post… Hyperlocal sites were doomed to fail (I said so at the time) because the key to their business and audience is hyperfragmented. The odds of two visitors to one of those sites finding (or contributing) content about a shared topic in a shared location are almost nil due to the sites’ hyper granularity.

Say there are 100,000 cities, counties, neighborhoods, ZlP codes or whatever geographical subdivision in the US, and an unrealistically high 10% conversion from casual visitor to contributor. The lower bound for having some content everywhere is 1 million visitors.

High-density and tech-savvy metros will be disproportionately filled out, with 99,000 no-man’s-land locations. As your audience expands outside of those early-adopter metros, new visitors come to a site that has nothing to offer to them, and requires them to enter content with the implicit guarantee no-one will read it.

Aggregating content up to larger locations (e.g. combine all ZlP codes’ content into a city) solves the density problem but defeats the site’s hyperlocal purpose.

This isn’t an easy problem, but the initial solutions were demonstrably doomed to fail from the get-go.

]]> By: Trulia Blog » New Year’s Resolutions for Online Real Estate and Trulia http://4realz.net/2007/12/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-509 Trulia Blog » New Year’s Resolutions for Online Real Estate and Trulia Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:03:40 +0000 http://4realz.net/2007/12/27/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-509 [...] housing bust were frequent headlines throughout the year. Tough times for many and well covered in many other posts. With 2008 around the corner, here are some New Year’s resolutions for the Online [...] [...] housing bust were frequent headlines throughout the year. Tough times for many and well covered in many other posts. With 2008 around the corner, here are some New Year’s resolutions for the Online [...]

]]> By: The Odysseus Medal competition — Voting for the People’s Choice Award is open | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments http://4realz.net/2007/12/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-510 The Odysseus Medal competition — Voting for the People’s Choice Award is open | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:14:40 +0000 http://4realz.net/2007/12/27/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-510 [...] Carpenter — Zillow mortgage, Zillow Mortgage PredictionDustin Luther — Year in review, A trip down the memory super-highway…Jeff Brown — Expert results, Do Others Think Of You As An Expert? You Must Be Getting [...] [...] Carpenter — Zillow mortgage, Zillow Mortgage PredictionDustin Luther — Year in review, A trip down the memory super-highway…Jeff Brown — Expert results, Do Others Think Of You As An Expert? You Must Be Getting [...]

]]> By: 2007 - It’s a wrap - Zillow® Blog - Real Estate News and Analysis http://4realz.net/2007/12/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-508 2007 - It’s a wrap - Zillow® Blog - Real Estate News and Analysis Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:29:25 +0000 http://4realz.net/2007/12/27/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-508 [...] year has come and gone, and there is no shortage of year-in-review posts this week, including a good one by Dustin Luther (blogfather turned Realtor.com employee turned blogfather), and one from Inman [...] [...] year has come and gone, and there is no shortage of year-in-review posts this week, including a good one by Dustin Luther (blogfather turned Realtor.com employee turned blogfather), and one from Inman [...]

]]> By: Dustin http://4realz.net/2007/12/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-507 Dustin Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:41:23 +0000 http://4realz.net/2007/12/27/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-507 Jessie: I think it has a lot to do with <a href="http://4realz.net/2007/12/26/just-chatted-with-brendan-king-and/#comment-676" rel="nofollow">the conversation that Jeff spurred</a>. Why some sites have fallen off the radar is roughly the same as why I think the vast majority of tools fail... "I'm convinced the reason the vast majority of online tools fail in the real estate space is that companies think they can appeal directly to agents and still find success online. Those tools that attract LOTS of consumers (think: Zillow, Trulia, even Realtor.com) have a much easier time getting adopted by real estate professionals. Online sites that primarily appeal to real estate professionals are almost inevitably missing the magic ingredient of consumers." Your thoughts that the next generation site will figure out how to get even more comprehensive listings is definitely one track that could be an improvement for consumers... Jessie: I think it has a lot to do with the conversation that Jeff spurred. Why some sites have fallen off the radar is roughly the same as why I think the vast majority of tools fail… “I’m convinced the reason the vast majority of online tools fail in the real estate space is that companies think they can appeal directly to agents and still find success online. Those tools that attract LOTS of consumers (think: Zillow, Trulia, even Realtor.com) have a much easier time getting adopted by real estate professionals. Online sites that primarily appeal to real estate professionals are almost inevitably missing the magic ingredient of consumers.”

Your thoughts that the next generation site will figure out how to get even more comprehensive listings is definitely one track that could be an improvement for consumers…

]]> By: Jessie B http://4realz.net/2007/12/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-506 Jessie B Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:09:18 +0000 http://4realz.net/2007/12/27/a-trip-down-the-memory-super-highway/#comment-506 What is it about the sites you think caused them to fall off the radar? What is it about the sites you think caused them to fall off the radar?

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