There has been a lot of digital ink spilled over Twitter’s local search implications.  Over the past few months several Twitter services have launched with a local angle.  I thought it would be interesting to get them all in one place and provide some details…

Citysearch rebuilt its site. “Elements of the revamp include a more intuitive interface, an embrace of social media, a major focus on video, some new twists in mobile, and the development of a full-fledged local ad and content network that offers an alternative to Google’s dominant position.” -Local Onliner

Service Magic is doing very well, despite the general economic conditions.  Co-founder Rodney Rice’s “6 Keys to Success in Local Services” via Andrew Shotland:

1. Build supply before demand
2. Choose the right vertical focus/right branding
3. Execute as a service business, not a dot com (too true)
4. Control customer acquisition costs – apply real business metrics
5. Utilize technologies that make sense now – not in 3, 5 or 10 years
6. Focus on yourself, not the competition (the best advice ever)

Angie’s List took in more VC money recently, bringing it’s total raised to about $66 million.  And Shotland reports Angie Hicks saying “The biggest competitor in the space is ‘your next door neighbor.’”  Interesting.  In this light, Angie’s List offers another way to buy your way out of something you just can’t find the time to do… get to know the neighbors and have conversations with them.  Front Porch Forum, on the other hand, is free and uses things like plumber recommendations among clearly identified nearby neighbors as a way to help connect neighbors and lead toward more vital communities.

And again from Shotland…

The thing I love the most about both Angie’s and Rodney’s talks is that they are both very much outside the local search/Silicon Valley community in some ways (well Angie did raise a bunch of $ from VCs and Rodney did sell out to IAC, but besides that), but they are both incredibly successful.

Folks – about a week ago, a wind must have blown someone’s knitting project into my driveway – some half-finished scarves and a great deal of yarn, some of it dangling from the rooftops. Anyway – I’ve gathered it up into a somewhat tidy pile. Someone must be missing this (or now resentful that I’ve found something he/she tossed to the wind in frustration). -Joel

And today we heard back from him…

My post on a knitting project that ended up in my driveway got a happy ending: a neighbor’s car was broken into and the stuff tossed. She read my note and has it back, tangled but safe.

And in a different neighborhood, Ann posted…

I found a man’s wedding ring at Calahan Park on Wednesday Oct.7 at around 2:00. Please call Ann and describe the ring.

A day later it was reunited with Jess who figured it was lost and gone forever!

Now I see that Joel is at it again with…

Folks – I came across a bundle of keys hanging from a tree near northeast corner of South Union and Beech.  Any ideas?

I hope another match is made!

positions the company as a deeper dive into events, which breaths more functionality into all of the nuances of planning local outings. With the tag line, people, places, plans, it also brings in some social features and local search functionality.

The value proposition lies in the integration of these otherwise disparate local media categories. The idea is that a group of friends can plan a weekday dinner outing, find the location, read reviews (Yelp integration), invite people, and set up a landing page as a central source for event management. One can argue that this already exists with Google Maps, Yelp, and Evite, but the main point is that it doesn’t exist all in one place.

Center’d formerly was known as FatDoor.

My daughters and I had Welsh Corgi puppy fever and decided to wait until fall to find one.  Imagine my delight and surprise when a Corgi puppy showed up on our neighborhood Front Porch Forum the weekend before school started.  If we had designed our own a wanted poster he couldn’t have fit our family better.  He has been a delight.  It isn’t too much to say that Front Porch Forum changed our lives.  As an added bonus, everyone saw the posting, so he became the neighborhood’s Corgi and joined our family as a local celebrity garnering lots of well wishes!

She went on to share that she used FPF to find her lost keys (dropped when walking the new puppy) and she got four flute loan offers when her daughter’s instrument broke the day before middle school started.  This was all recent.  It’s no wonder she says…

It isn’t too much to say that Front Porch Forum changed our lives.

A new puppy in the family, found keys, salvaged music class, and more and deeper connection to neighbors and community… not bad for a month’s work.  While this is an above-average experience for our 11,000 local subscribers, it’s not unusual.

Hello, Neighbors! My preschooler got off the schoolbus today missing a blue CROC shoe. He was sitting in the front seat and the driver thinks he kicked it off and it fell out somewhere in Huntington.

We know all about missing footwear, mittens, etc. in our house.  It’s the proverbial needle in the haystack search, I figured.  Well, Shelly just posted again today…

Thank you Neighbors and Thank you Front Porch Forum!  My son’s croc shoe was found and returned!

Now that’s what I call “local search!”  Let’s see Google do that. 

Expert: David Beckett
Date: 8/27/2008
Subject: Temporary Housing

Question
Hi David – I read your answers about Burlington and my husband & I decided to move here from Los Angeles a few months ago… We love it here. I am French and we need to go back to France for family reasons from November through March 2009 and I would hate to leave the house empty for a host of reasons.

Ideally we could rent the place (we have a beautiful 4 bedroom house in the Hill section) but I am not sure where to post an ad. The other option would be to have a professional come on a regular basis to ensure that everything is OK (i.e. heating still on). Do you have any recommendations for either solutions?

I assume we are not the only people to leave Vermont in the winter, I was just curious if there were any obvious resources available that we are not aware of.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
Hello Isabelle – Glad you like Burlington! … You might also post a note on your “Front Porch Forum” email list, without your address of course, just asking if neighbors have people to recommend as short term renters or housesitters. If you haven’t gotten onto your neighborhood “Front Porch Forum” yet – I recommend it. You can read archives and sign up at http://www.frontporchforum.com

Please feel free to contact me directly – I’m happy to help. I live in your neighborhood.

Do you have a recliner in your house that you are no longer using? I have a dear 77 year old friend in Burlington who has had serious circulation problems in her legs and is looking for relief by resting in a comfortable recliner. I will offer to pay for it (under $200) and deliver it to her.

So, not only is she going to great lengths to help a friend in need, but she’s offering dozens of nearby neighbors the opportunity to join that effort… and to bear witness to this act. And we’re all a little better for it.

Dearest Neighbors, Thank you so much John for offering your Subaru.  Your generosity is amazing.

Thank you all so much.  I’m humbled to think about how many people living in our community, were willing to help me out.  Many many thanks!

I’ve told people (away from home) of my car problem, and how it’s been solved with the help of neighbors in my community through the Front Porch Forum.  People are in awe, and most don’t believe that communities like ours exist.

With love and gratitude, Bonnie

She was stuck without her car for a period of weeks and needed a way to commute to work.  She reached out to her neighbors and cobbled together a number of free loaners… problem solved… sense of community enhanced.  That’s what FPF is all about.