Dex Knows Local; Maponics Neighborhood Data Added

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:54:00 GMT

Local search provider DexKnows.com announced it will be using Maponics map data to offer neighborhood-level search for its individual city pages. One of the issues that has held back local search was its inability to bring context to location. For example, I know that downtown Chicago is called the Loop, but If you asked me what zip code a particular business is in I would not be able to tell you. Maponics data gives DexKnows the ability to provide a neighborhood-level context to consumers, and most importantly, advertisers.

Maponics Q309 Neighborhood Boundaries release features boundary data for over 70,000 neighborhoods in 2,800 cities in North America and Europe. Also included is the industry’s first Neighborhood Classification Schema, which provides important neighborhood zoning and social use information, and allows search sites and applications to selectively filter for neighborhoods with profiles that best match searcher intentions.

“DexKnows.com delivers a unique, local search experience letting users search by precise locations, such as neighborhoods and landmarks, and by specific needs and service areas,” said Sean Greene, senior vice president of interactive at R.H. Donnelley, which publishes DexKnows.com. “We partnered with Maponics for neighborhood map data because they provided the solution to deliver the user experience we wanted.”

Managing Your Social Business

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:10:00 GMT

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of succeeding online today is managing the increasingly important social side of business. That may be less of an issue thanks to an application released yesterday by Mercury Grove. The product, Dex, is an online Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool wherein contacts manage their own profiles, colleagues share networks, and automatic alerts are generated to you let users know when they should get in touch with someone. Sounds like something we all could use.

The real value is that Dex provides constant feedback to users on the health of their professional relationships through a contact rating system, and by monitoring how a person uses the system, their business transactions, and by importing their email and phone activity. Dex provides weekly status updates on important contacts, and reminds users when too much time has passed between interaction. While you might be hesitant to give Dex your data, the value proposition of building stronger relationships is most certainly attractive.

"Dex removes the need for 'data babysitting', giving professionals time to focus on building relationships, not building databases," explained Scott Annan, Mercury Grove's CEO. "If the information about your contacts is on the web you can find it in dex."

Following the beta period, the company plans to charge businesses $20 per user per month. Personal accounts for now however are free.

'Net Features : dex

Dex Knows Local; Maponics Neighborhood Data Added

Managing Your Social Business