UrateLocal.com
Description
URateLocal is a local online search service, providing information on businesses in the categories of dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in cities throughout the United States, Canada and Internationally. URateLocal is a subsidiary company of URateStuff.
Ordinary people like you and me can submit business reviews, which consist of our experiences with a business. It is a public website and others can read and rate what you have submitted. If your review is great and many people like it, then its status is upgraded and it is promoted to the first page of the website where millions of people visiting the website can read it.
As soon as you submit the review, it will be shown under the heading “Upcoming Reviews”. Other visitors and members can find them there and if they like it, they may rate it. However if the submission doesn’t attract enough ratings in the set timeframe of 30 days, then it is removed from the “upcoming” section. But if there are many ratings then it is sent to the home page of the site and is honored by being placed in “Top 15” section of the website. It is based on the popularity of the submission and the number of ratings it has received.
How it works
Site features
URateLocal hosts an online database of user-generated reviews of local businesses. Site visitors interested in finding a service may search or browse listings by business name or by type of business, to find businesses of particular interest to them.
URateLocal's success derives from merging these two components, local reviews and social networking. The combination increases web traffic and other usage numbers by making the site more entertaining to use. It also improves quality by creating a de-facto reputation system, where users can see which members are the most popular, respected, and prolific contributors, who has been a member the longest, and who has interests and taste choices the most like theirs. The reviewers that participate the most in each city, have their reviews featured the following month, on the home page in a "Featured Review of the month".
Members
URateLocal offers a directory for anyone to search for businesses or read ongoing discussions. Certain features, such as the ability to add a review or add a comment to a review, are available only to users with verified accounts, which are free.
User profiles include a standard set of attributes such as photographs, a changeable default photograph that serves as an Avatar (icon), and several fields relating to the user's location, etc. The company strongly encourages members to use their real name and photograph and participate in a sincere, mature way. Multiple accounts, and abusive or improper behavior, are forbidden.
Scope of reviews
Users may review any local business that provides services. In a high-usage city such as Los Angeles nearly every restaurant, bar, and retail store has multiple reviews, often hundreds, and there is considerable competition among users to be the "first to review" a new establishment (for which the user receives a citation). There is also considerable coverage of professional services, medical providers, automotive services, cultural venues, hotels, museums, parks, attractions, government services, etc.
Business-to-business services are not often reviewed, nor are companies without a local retail presence such as large manufacturers or internet-based companies. The company does not host reviews of products, films, bands, albums, celebrities, and the like.
Geographic scope
URateLocal accepts reviews of any business or service in the United States, Canada and select International cities. The most active cities include:
Features
URateLocal's features include:
- Reviews can include user-created videos (Video reviews)
- Featured Review of the month (Awarded to Top monthly contributor)
- Private messaging
- Rating other members' reviews
- Lists of "friends"
- Google Maps
Revenue sharing with members
One of the founding principles of URateLocal.com was the distribution of profits amongst it's members. The URate Profit-Share program enables members that contribute to the URateLocal community, by doing things like submitting reviews, to share in the advertising revenue associated with those contributions. Revenue sharing is managed through the Google Adsense program.
Languages
English
Address
- 2332 West Ham Road
- Oakville, ON, L6M 4N8
Contact
- URateLocal (A subsidiary of URateStuff International Inc.)
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Related Domains
External Links
- Alexa: UrateLocal.com
AboutUs Featured Wiki Page
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Featured Text -- The collaboration and sharing between users that's a strong component of the Web 2.0 movement is something we just love to champion at AboutUs. As WikiPages on other internet projects are edited and grown here, we present an interesting synergy: one Web 2.0 company with comments and information on others:
The latest Web 2.0 property on the scene (which went live today) is Goboz.com, a local search site with the ever-popular voting system (registration free) allowing users to share information on restaurants, bars, shopping, health and beauty, professional services and more. Currently, Goboz.com has information on Portland, Oregon, but they plan expand to Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area by the end of the year with more locations planned for next year. (View Comments)
Another local online search service to build a great AboutUs WikiPage is UrateLocal.com. This site features business reviews, currently focusing on the Los Angeles, New York City, Toronto and Kitchener areas. (View Comments)
And here's another local review site with a slightly different focus: LastRounds.co.uk. The Last Rounds Project provides a pub review of London with the kinds of information often left out of reviews: opening and closing times of the venue, addresses, maps, information on local bus, train and tram service, local taxi cab information, and even the locations and hours of public toilets. (View Comments)
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