WhitePages.com has long been a resource for quickly looking up people and local businesses, even if all you have is a phone number. But now the company is taking a page from Foursquare, Groupon and
Google Places with a new pair of hyperlocal initiatives.
One is a free mobile app dubbed "Localicious" for searching some neighborhoods nationwide; the other is an online service that lets
users look up who their neighbors are in a given area or building. The idea behind both is to leverage the WhitePages' information database of 200 million Americans and 20 million business listings to
drive user interaction beyond basic look-up data.
In the case of Localicious, that means tapping into the growing number of smartphone owners who are using their devices to find nearby
restaurants, shops, and movie showtimes, as well as see what their friends are doing. To that end, the new Localicious app for Android devices integrates tips, trends and reviews from Foursquare to
add the geo-social dimension WhitePages lacks.
To Foursquare's standard check-in service, the app also adds the ability to "pre check-in" to places by setting a check-in ahead of time to trigger
arrivals at chosen venue. The aim is to 'set it and forget it' so people are not busy with checking in on their handsets when they meet friends.
WhitePages also touts the ability to search any
neighborhood -- a feature that helps set it apart from other check-in and location-based apps available. "It's not just where you're at, but where you're going. That's where we come in," said Kevin
Nakao, chief operating officer of WhitePages.
In addition to being able to look up some 80,000 different neighborhoods around the country, Localicious allows users to search according to 25
categories, including pizza, bars, dentists, lawyers and hospitals. It also offers a list of "popular" nearby businesses based on an analysis on WhitePages search data.
When it comes to
monetizing the new app, the company plans to rely on performance-based advertising options like pay-per-click or pay-per-call, as well as ads tied to location-based actions like getting directions or
check-ins. But to make that model work, WhitePages first has to get people to download and start using Localicious.
In that regard, Nakao said the company chose to launch on Android rather than
the iPhone because the Google platform has been growing much faster with its existing WhitePages and Caller ID apps. "We're seeing as many customers on Android as [Apple's] iOS," he said. Android is
the most pervasive smartphone operating system, with an estimated 38% of the U.S. market as of May, according to comScore and Nielsen.
Nakao added that the more extensive review process for iOS
apps can interfere with the timing of marketing campaigns. The company plans to promote Localicious with online display ads as well as video and social media efforts.
WhitePages' other new
offering focuses on neighbors as much as neighborhoods. It maps a user's location and neighborhood to a aerial view and provides contact information for surrounding households, including name, mailing
address, and phone number. While some might find the new "Neighbors" service a bit creepy, the goal is to help people more easily connect with those living nearby.
According to a Harris
Interactive poll commissioned by White Pages, 67% of Americans want to know their neighbors better, but only 41% know their neighbors' first names. To extend the "get to know your neighbor" idea,
WhitePages has partnered with National Night Out to help people throw block parties using the service.
By clicking on house icons near a neighbor's listing, users can select people to invite and
WhitePages will actually send out up to 80 print postcards to which recipients can RSVP via a designated site.
WhitePages database information will go into the Neighbors service, which users will
access through an "Address & Neighbors" tab on the home page by default. But as with existing listings, people can edit their contact information or remove it from Neighbors. To the extent that people
use the service to host block parties or meet up with neighbors, it becomes another vehicle for WhitePages to sell display advertising against.