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What’s in a Neighborhood Name?

By Bill Day | February 13, 2008

Recent announcements have trumpeted the increasing availability of improved neighborhood data and its applicability to improved local search and navigation. Simplistically, you tell the machine a latitude/longitude and it tells you what neighborhood you are looking at or walking in. Will this be the holy grail of local search helping users better navigate the increasing number of local merchants and information sources online?

My take is that it is a solid, but not slam dunk improvement. Simple issues like the fact that it isnt available everywhere in the U.S. exist. But the bigger issue is a fundamental user question; ‘When thinking about local issues that matter to them, or local services they are interested in buying, is the neighborhood model the correct filter?”

The answer in my opinion comes down to a complex set of issues tied to the population density, local government and the local school district, the income of households in the area and even geographic terrain. Some neighborhoods defy logic as classically defined. Thats because they were founded by human interaction, not charted by a computer. For example I live in Tribeca in New York City. If you dont know that stands for “Triangle Below Canal Street”. Would you believe that a portion of Tribeca actually extends ABOVE Canal Street? Go Figure.

So like many other tough problems the answer to the question is “Maybe”. And local search/solutions providers will need to incorporate this great new nieghborhood date with zip code classifications, search and even classical direcatory organization to best serve their audience.

Topics: Neighborhood |

3 Responses to “What’s in a Neighborhood Name?”

  1. Darrin Clement Says:
    February 14th, 2008 at 6:50 am

    Hey Bill - I agree 100% that neighborhood boundaries, and the local search they enable, are a solid improvement but not the only thing companies need to be doing to enable local search. Blending that data with ZIP Codes, demographics, and other more traditional microtargeting techniques that direct mailers have used for years will help as well.

  2. ian Says:
    February 16th, 2008 at 10:17 pm

    hi bill

    as you know, zillow isn’t the only company to do this ;)

    our approach recognizes the socio-cultural nuances you cite, and they matter a great deal. it doesn’t matter who is right or wrong, just that a user is provided with something that satisfies their request. hence our approach to model the inherent fuzziness of informal spaces.

  3. Rob Says:
    February 28th, 2008 at 8:18 am

    I doubt many people know what latitude and longitude are, but as more phones come with GPS as a standard feature we could see this happening.

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