 | GenieTown Launches Services Review SiteScott Martin
21 February 2008, 15:41
Need
a household service but can't find anybody dependable? Hassan Chafi founded
services review site GenieTown to address that question. The startup launched
its site on Wednesday.
“We
want anyone that has a skill of value to connect with someone that is looking
for that skill” GenieTown's chief executive said
Palo
Alto, California-based GenieTown hopes to bring the type of feedback that gives
eBay sellers credibility in products to the services sector. [more]
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 | Out of the bottle: GenieTownTech Confidential
Paul Bonanos
February 20, 2008
The local-services and small-business Web site category has
been in dire need of a rethink for some time. When I Google a dry cleaner in my
neighborhood, I get several hits from outdated and uninformative
Citysearch-type sites, a Yelp review page that's only marginally useful and
some sites that are covered with advertising but offer precious little
information of value.
So it's no wonder that several fairly new companies are
trying to rise above this mess, especially with an emphasis on user-generated
content. [more]
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 | GenieTownhelps you find a fixerWebware
Rafe Needleman
February 21, 2008
GenieTown, a new services matchmaking service, launched
yesterday. It helps you find service people. CEO Hassan Chafi told me that he built
the company because, "acquiring services is harder than acquiring
products."
There are dozens of services directories and finders, so I
was curious to understand how GenieTown will differentiate. Chafi told me that
he wants his site to go after the "long tail" of service providers,
the same way eBay went after the odds and ends people have in their attics. To
be more precise, he hopes that GenieTown will be where the part-time, semi-pro
caterer lists his business, so that he'll be able to connect with the person
two blocks away who's looking for a reasonably-priced local service provider to
cater her kid's birthday party. [more]
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 | GenieTown
Launches To Tackle Local Services TechCrunch
Michael Arrington
February 20, 2008
Palo Alto-based Genie Town launches this morning. They're
trying to crack the local services nut - a huge market, but one that a lot of
the big guys are eyeing, too.
The company says they are addressing the long tail of local
services. The GenieTown site allows local service providers (plumbers,
dentists, whatever) to put up a web presence. Users looking for providers can
find them, based on their location and user rating. [more]
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 | GenieTown: Local services as local communityZDNet
Mitch Ratcliffe's readings on tech and media
February 20th, 2008
In a market where many of the global players have local
listings for businesses and service providers, GenieTown is starting at the
ground level and building up. The company, which made its public debut today,
is a knowledge-sharing community built around person-to-person and
small-business services providers in the Bay Area. [more]
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 | Local
Services Marketplace GenieTown Launches Public BetaMashable
Paul Glazowski
February 20, 2008
Happen to like the concept of the age-old Yellow Pages, but
don't like the way the directory has been implemented, online or off? Consider
GenieTown an easier-to-use alternative.
This startup, today launched as a public beta its local
services marketplace, a so-called hybrid love-child of a trio of services: the
Yellow Pages, Craigslist, and eBay. It claims to mate the A-to-Z system of the
first, plus the localism of the second, and the “long tail-ness” of the last
(not literally, though; it does everything on its own
merit), and brings the benefits of each together to give people the option to
find plumbers, electricians, and emergency Web developers without trying too
hard. [more]
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 | GenieTown launches listings and market site
for local businessesVenture Beat
Chris Morrison
February 20,2008
Touting its special focus on the San
Francisco Bay Area, new portal GenieTown is launching today with a listing
service that might be helpful the next time you need a cabinet maker, gutter
cleaner or wedding photographer.
Like the Yellow Pages or Yelp,
GenieTown is primarily a list of different service providers, with ratings from
customers. However, it's added another feature: the ability for people in need
of a service to post projects for contractors to bid on. That part of the
business model is similar to Elance or Guru, two services that list projects
for professionals to bid on. [more]
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 | GenieTown
Helps You Find Help When NeededAllen Stern
February 20, 2008
A new startup out of Palo Alto is launching in public beta
today named GenieTown. GenieTown hopes to help you find experts which they call
Genies when you need help. The help can be for around the house, dog walking,
painting, shopping, etc. During the beta, the service will only be available
for the San Francisco area.
Back in my early days I ran a computer fixit business in
Brooklyn and used a city newspaper to promote my services. GenieTown is
attempting to replace the "services" section of local newspapers by
moving the transactions online. [more]
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 | GenieTown
Service Marketplace LaunchesSomewhat Frank
Frank Gruber
February 20, 2008
Looking for a little help on your next home project? If you
live in the San Francisco area you might be in luck as GenieTown, a Palo
Alto-based startup founded by a group of Stanford entrepreneurs, officially
opened to the world today. GenieTown offers a platform for anyone looking for
local services to either browse through a broad range of specific service
providers or post a job request and invite qualified responses. GenieTown
creates an eBay-like marketplace for services. [more]
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 | GenieTown launches listings and market site for local businesses
Touting its special focus on the San Francisco Bay Area, new
portal GenieTown is launching today with a listing service that might be
helpful the next time you need a cabinet maker, gutter cleaner or wedding
photographer.
Like the Yellow Pages or Yelp, GenieTown is primarily a list
of different service providers, with ratings from customers. However, it's
added another feature: the ability for people in need of a service to post
projects for contractors to bid on. That part of the business model is similar
to Elance or Guru, two services that list projects for professionals to bid on.
[More]
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 | Genietown - A worthy challenger to be the "eBay for Services" Mr. 6 Voofox Blog
January 16, 2008
There is a new website called Genietown that looks like they
are intending to enter the market to be the next "eBay of the Services
Industry". Because "service provider" is so difficult to
explain, the site uses the term "Genie" instead. While it's easy to
see how electricians, plumbers, and couriers might be considered "service
providers", yet so are hair salons, restaurants, and bus drivers.
So why is this website worth a look? On most foreign
commercial website homepages, you'll often find "Products" and
"Services" together on the menu bar. Products are the actual things
the company sells, which could also include software. Services will often
include product installation or support, or it may be any other service
relating to the company's product or industry. Put together,
"Products" and "Services" are the most common way for
companies of all sizes to create value. [more
- Google translation] [more - Chinese text]
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 | Genietown.com - The Marketplace for Local Services Killerstartups.com
January 16, 2008
GenieTown is a site where home owners can submit request
about home improvement projects to service providers, known on the site as
“genies.” After submitting requests, customers are given a list of possible
service providers to meet their needs. All genies have their own profiles and
reviews so that customers can make an informed decision. After home owners have
come up with a list of possible candidates for the job, they can then move
forward and let genies bid on the project. Currently, GenieTown covers the San
Francisco Bay Area and is free to use for both customers and service providers.
[more]
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