What I want from my newspaper

It would be really helpful if I knew what was going on in my local area.

I don’t have time for a scavenger hunt through the unsightly clutter of real estate ads, etc. I don’t need my local daily to tell me about international news I already read about yesterday at BBC News online.

Personal utility is one of the major drivers of Internet usage, yet newspapers put almost nothing into building long-life resource pages about basic issues in their own communities. Instead, staff time and energy is almost entirely spent on short-term, short-burn work. (Steve Yelvington)

One thing that would make my life easier is information about painters, plumbers, roofers and other services in my local area. I had been hearing some ads on NPR about something called Angie’s List, and it sounded like that might be the answer. Imagine seeing honest recommendations from other homeowners about all these services that drive us crazy!

It turned out that Angie’s List isn’t in my area yet. When I tried to explore a different, nearby area just to see how the site works, I first had to fill out a form giving information I do not like to give out — my home address and home telephone number. That really put me off. But I plowed ahead until the site informed me that I could get one month free, and then I would have to commit to paying almost $6 a month.

Well, buh-bye to that site.

I found an interesting discussion in which a lot of (mostly anonymous) commenters explored all the pros and cons of such a site. The same problems crop up with restaurant reviews submitted by random members of the community — you’ve got to be a little suspicious of the rave reviews, because maybe the restaurant owners (and their friends) wrote those. On the other hand, are you going to be put off by one post that says the service was terrible and the food was worse?
One feature that can help a ratings site is requiring people to show who they are.

They should use their real names, and their real names should be linked to a log of everything they have ever posted there. This provides a pretty easy way for everyone else to check whether this individual is a spammer or some other kind of self-serving dolt.

I don’t think the registered people should have to reveal anything besides their real name, an indication of where they live (as broad as the county, if that’s what they are comfortable with), and maybe a couple of sentences, if they choose. The true value of the online profile will be in the links to their past on that very site. Over time, they will build authority (or not) in a natural way — through the transparent record of what they have done.

As I’ve said a couple of times before, I’m a huge fan of Yelp. When you click a person’s nickname on Yelp, you see a list of every review that person has posted there. Simple, yes?

(For the kind of serendipitous discovery you can make on Yelp, see the reviews of Terrell’s Bar-B Que.)

Would it really be so hard for a local newspaper to provide a database-driven site that showed me every business that has newly opened (or newly closed) in, say, a 20-mile radius? With a link to a Google map? Searchable by ZIP code?

Seriously, this would be news I could really use. I’m one of those consumers who avoid Wal-Mart and try to eat mostly in non-chain restaurants. I am very interested in learning about new local businesses. Not a puff piece about the owner. Give me an address, a map, a description (maybe a mission statement), hours of operation, phone number. That’s what I care about.

As a homeowner, I know I would consult such a site more often than I currently look at my local newspaper’s Web site. If it were any good, the site would easily replace the Yellow Pages for me. (I would go in straightaway and post a glowing recommendation for my cat-sitter, for example.) Could it eventually replace the Yellow Pages? I think it could, in my town. We now have at least three competing sets of printed Yellow Pages here, and competition has diluted authority.

Could you sell ads on it? It would require some new standards and protocols if you’re going to convince the public that the ads do not influence the content — but yes, I think you could sell ads like crazy. If you replaced the Yellow Pages? Heck, yes!

Sure, it would take time and effort to set it up. It would take a commitment of some personnel to keep it up and maintain the quality. Would it draw traffic? If it were designed properly (loads fast, easy to navigate, easy to search) and the content were reasonably complete — you betcha it would.

People in the newspaper business always seem to be fooling around with a fad or a trend (online video; widgets) that they imagine, in some roundabout way, will generate revenues. The kind of database I’m suggesting — implemented well — is a sure magnet for local traffic. I mean, come on. Do you doubt that? And if it were drawing lots of local traffic — if it were actually popular, unlike a lot of this other nonsense people are trying out — couldn’t you figure out a way to make money from it?