Some of the generic local search related features offered by Loconomy:

• Search and find information related to local businesses
• Rate and review businesses
• View local business locations on a map
• Access and share information online or via mobile

Beyond these vanilla features is where Loconomy actually gets interesting. Instead of providing just a one way interaction from consumer to business, the site also offers businesses the opportunity to reach out to customers. Businesses can claim their entry and add product catalogs, menus, deals-coupons, audio-video brochures etc. to their profile. Besides ads, the company makes money by offering premium packages to businesses, which include premium features like featured placement, microsite development, very own dashboard, analytics, review alerts etc.

Here’s an  example of a microsite on Loconomy. Restaurants can add menus and table layouts via Loconomy and users can book a table directly using the table layout. Here’s an example of a product catalog on the site.

I think Loconomy offers some really compelling features, which not only are a reliable source of revenue, but also increase the usability and stickiness of the site itself. The end user also benefits, because they get access to much detailed information and services than normally they would.  The key to their success will be an aggressive sales team to get as many businesses on board as possible.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Comments

• May 7, 2008, R commented: interesting.
• May 7, 2008, naman commented: interesting stuff... let see how onyomo and others answer to that.
• May 12, 2008, pranav commented: loconomy's approach is indeed pretty interesting...Not only are they building up a steady revenue stream via this approach, they are also making life easier for the end user as well.

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Guruji received a first round funding of $7 million from Sequoia Capital and Suvir Sujan (Nexus India Capital) and is looking to close a second round of $10 million in the next couple of months.

via BS

Comments

• May 29, 2008, vidushi commented: Hi Pranav, where did u get this info on guruji.com from ? plz reply on my email id thanks
• July 1, 2008, Sourav Mukherjee commented: Hi, friends Guruji is based on the concept "Think Global,Act local".Well this is a gud start for the search engine market in India.But for the timebeing they can't compete head-to-head with Google. Regards Sourav http://www.indiatourismhub.com

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As per a BS story, Sulekha plans to launch an IPO in 2009 targetting revenues of $ 30 million. The company is also planning to expand services to 40 new Tier II & Tier III cities in India. They currently serve 8 Indian cities, 14 cities in the US and one in Canada.

Wow !! From its fluke, humble beginnings to an impending IPO. Sulekha has definitely come a long way in a short span of time. As a regular Sulekha user, I’ve personally witnessed the transitions it has gone through over the past few years and wanted to chime in.

Sulekha was founded in 2001, during the post-bubble era. It originated as a place for people to post short stories and showcase their creative writing skills. With time, the popularity, usage and traffic to the site grew. The site soon developed a strong, loyal user base who spent a large amount of their online time on Sulekha, generating what is, one of the biggest user generated online Indian content repositories.

Soon, Sulekha launched classifieds, which was a huge hit with the US based NRI population. There was a pressing need for such a service, with a nation wide reach, amongst the burgeoning Indian population in the US. At its peak, Sulekha classifieds served 32 + cities across US and Canada. The company transitioned from a pure content focussed site into a city portal covering city specific classifieds, events and even ticket bookings for events.

Over the years, Sulekha has evolved extensively and has continously tried to enter into new business areas and capitalize upon the huge user base it has built over the years. Along the way, there were several hits and several misses:

Hits:

• Several new initiatives like blogs, movies, travel have become quite popular
• Published books with Penguin, using the user generated content on the site
• Online petitions for issues affecting the wider Indian population in the US
• Mobile initiatives launched by the company have become popular in India

Misses:

• Sections like matrimony, real estate, petitions, e-cards etc. were scrapped
• In an effort to serve the most profitable cities, the number of US cities was dropped from 32 + to about 14
• Sulekha launched classifieds via an offline, print channel in Indian grocery stores. Based on my research, this model doesnt seem to have clicked

Challenges for Sulekha going forward:

Historically, Sulekha has tried to experiment, evolve and enter new markets. Often times, it has been at the cost of alienating the very same loyal user base that helped build the site. At one time, ads were so prevalent and obtrusive on the site that Sulekha could have given Rediff a run for its money. Usability was put on the backburner and it ended up hurting the site’s reputation.

After capturing the Indian market in the US, they expanded to cover other international cities, which have a considerable Indian population. They also expanded into the Indian market, hoping to replicate their succcess in the US, in the Indian market. However, in a way, the site became a victim of its own rabid growth. It appeared as if they’d taken a bite bigger than what they could chew. The international expansion plan was quickly dropped. The number of US-Canandian cities was dropped from 32+ to 14.  In the context of the Indian market, the Sulekha brand has a big obstacle - as Rajiv@WATBlog points out, Sulekha is still perceived as a “NRI portal”. This doesnt bode well at all if they’re hoping for success in the Indian market.

In the midst of all this experimentation, Sulekha has morphed itself into this hodgepodge of semi-social networking wannabe, local classifieds, yellow pages, UGC based portal hoping to “Connect Indians” in the true sense. In a way, it seems as if they’ve lost their identity and are confused about what actually is their biggest asset. If you were to ask me, they should spin off the various sections into different entities - user generated content like short stories, blogs etc into one, local classifieds into another, yellow pages in yet another. And finally, get real and get rid of the shitty ’social network’ concept - you’re not Facebook or LinkedIn for that matter.

Recent traffic details indicate a not-so-rosy picture. As per Compete, Y-o-Y traffic to Sulekha dipped by about 25%.

Lets see how the IPO plans pan out for Sulekha - after all, a lot will be guided by how well the market is doing as well.

Comments

• March 25, 2008, Anonymous commented: Sulekha is well known for creating mirror blogs in their network and profiting from others work. Example: http://jupiterjuice.blogspot.com/2006/05/leave-me-alone.html See the comments in this post. Also they sell some blog posts of their bloggers to news papers with out the consent of authors.
• March 31, 2008, pranav commented: with such things, they're shooting themselves in their foot - not to mention tarnishing their reputation as well.

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Here’s the first one - covering the local search category. Go ahead and vote for your favorite local search related startup.

Additional categories will follow:

Comments

• January 8, 2008, Gaurav commented: Pranav, I used local.google.co.in (not a startup though) and onyomo. They gave me pretty good results.
• January 8, 2008, pranav commented: gaurav, i ruled out google local for obvious reasons - as you mention, its not a startup. Somehow OnyoMo slipped though. I'll add it now. thanks for pointing out. -p
• January 9, 2008, Mahesh V commented: I find metromela is very useful and helpful. I have been extensively using this for my personal and also for my office use. They have lot of relevant and good information. Site is very clean not clustered. Very very good content. I think this co. would be big hit very soon.
• January 9, 2008, Joshua commented: I mean to say just dial is very helpful and google also.
• January 9, 2008, AJay commented: I always use Onyomo, & i got the result whatever i searched for.so i think onyomo is best.
• January 11, 2008, vanaja commented: Metromela is one the best sites I've come across in the recent times. It has all the information that one needs to get the best out of a city. I live in Hyderabad. And I am yet to find such relevant and useful information in any website or publication. Also, the design is uncluttered and easy to navigate. I think metromela will emerge as one of the most popular sites very soon.
• January 11, 2008, Rupali Jain commented: The Site Rocks......
• January 11, 2008, alec commented: when did JustDial become a startup...If i know correctly, JD has been around for 10 years or so?? So is it a 10 year old startup?!! Are we comparing Apples to Oranges - since the question doesnt really ask local search on internet or a specific channel..
• January 11, 2008, pranav commented: @alec, I agree Justdial is not a startup and went back & forth several times wondering whether to include them in list. That was one of the reasons I first decided to seek the public opinion: http://www.startupdunia.com/2007/12/26/wrapping-up-2007/ Besides, justdial has existed for 10 years or so -- but was relatively unheard of. I know - this can be contended and go either ways, but what's done is done.
• January 15, 2008, Anuj commented: Who said justdial is a Startup,i think these guys should remove justdial from the startup list. & yaa if justdial is a Startup then Yahoo, google & etc etc all are Startup.
• January 16, 2008, anurag commented: none of the startups mentioned have gained enough momentum till date. moreover, none of them "actually" overlap as far as the cities they cover is concerned. however, most of these startups are sitting on huge piles of money (almost all of them have been funded) and the big fight for the user's mind share is just around the corner. wait and watch. you never know, someone not heard of till date may take the cake :D
• January 17, 2008, Alok Maheshwari commented: I think the local search war was over even before it started.In my opinion Justdial is the winner. Maybe not now but just give or take 2-3 years and the verdict will be out. Many haven't heard about Justdial but it already has a presence in 44 cities and soon it will be covering more cities.We can just wait and watch but the results are already out, we just need to accept it.
• January 30, 2008, Renie commented: Check out IndiBloogle - search engine for Indian blogs.
• February 1, 2008, Pavan commented: Hey, Even Cityfind.yulop.com is an amazing local search, please have a look, i think it should be added in the poll too., Pavan
• April 25, 2008, vinod commented: Hi guys There is an interesting site that you have left out .It is http://www.findnearyou.com It is cool and available in 5 cities
• June 19, 2008, Abhilash commented: tolmolbol is the best site when it comes to the local search. It is a cool site with all the other web 2.0 features.
• June 21, 2008, Kishore commented: Best local site
• June 26, 2008, rafi bandubai commented: I think tolmolbol is a very good site...it has lots of local info which is quite useful for guys like me........

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