Yahoo has introduced a new souped-up local directory (what they don’t like to think of as yellow pages on steroids) that I think is actually quite useful. If you search for, say, bicycle shops in Boston, it not only lists them, but shows you a map with other services around the shops. It also lets you review the services. And you can search more broadly than just by categories; for example, if your yuppie refrigerator (you ought to be ashamed of yourself, but it’s not too late to make up for it) breaks, you can search for “repair Subzero” to find a shop that fixes them.

The site is in beta and could be headed in promising directions, especially the ratings part. (Disclosure: I am on Yahoo’s product advisory board for this service, an unpaid position that nevertheless biases me heavily.)

Categories: Uncategorized dw