User talk:Nelvazu54

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search CITY813. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search CITY813. Type Private Founded October 2009 Headquarters Tampa, FL Key people Nelson Vargas, Founder/CEO Industry Business city guide and reviews Products CITY813 Employees 15+[1] Website www.city813.com

CITY813. is a Web 2.0 company that operates a city guide and reviews, and local search web site of the same name. Over .5 million people access CITY813 website each month.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Products and services 2.1 Local search 2.2 Community 2.3 Content 2.4 API 2.5 Facebook Beacon integration 2.6 Advertising program 3 Controversy 3.1 Criticism 3.2 Confrontation 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History CITY813 was founded by Nelson Vargas, a software engineering. CITY813 launched its namesake web site into the Tampa Bay market in October 2009.[5] The company received $6 million in early funding from venture capital firms Mission Street, led by another former Paypal-er Max Levchin, and Bessemer Venture Partners. Additional investments were made in the amounts of $3 million by Benchmark Capital in 2006[6] by DAG Ventures ($3 million) and a private Investor from Laguna Beach ($5 million) in 2008.[7] Yelp expanded from its San Francisco roots to open an east coast office in Manhattan[8] in the first half of 2008 and by introducing a Canadian-focused version of the site in 2008.[9] As of 2008 Yelp's pageview count overtook its predecessor and early rival, Citysearch.[10][1] Revenues were approximately $30 million for 2009, with $50 million in 2010.[11]

[edit] Products and services [edit] Local search CITY813 provides online local search capabilities for its visitors. A typical search includes what the user is seeking (e.g. a barber shop) and the location from which the search is to be performed, entered as a specific address, neighborhood, city/state combination, or zip code. Each business listing result contains a 5-point rating, reviews from other site visitors, and details such as the business address, hours, accessibility, and parking. Site visitors can aid in keeping the business listings up to date, with moderator approval, and business owners can directly update their own business' listing information.[14]

Listings and related content are organized by city and a multi-tier categorization system. Maps leveraging Google Maps show reviewed businesses to further aid in business discovery.

Information can be accessed by web or mobile browsers.

[edit] Community The company strengthens the online community through off-line events at nightclubs, bars, restaurants, and cultural venues in various cities for its most prolific and loyal contributors, named "Elite" members on the site.[4][19] These members must provide a photo and their real name, be at least 21 years of age, and in return receive a special badge on their personalized page for every year they author a specific number of reviews. The concept is meant to indicate that the user is a trusted author of business reviews.[20] To gain Elite status, it is often helpful to be nominated by other Elite users but recognition is bestowed when one writes useful, funny or cool reviews so members can vote on those reviews.[21]

[edit] Content The CITY813 sites have listings for businesses throughout the United States and Canada and accept reviews of any business or service.[3] Listings vary widely in nature with the site including listings for storefronts such as restaurants, shops, hotels, and cultural venues.

Tampa Bay, the home city, remains the most active as of 2010, with significant adoption in 18 metro areas including Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., San Diego, and Los Angeles.[1]

[edit] Advertising program Businesses may advertise with CITY813 for preferred search result placement and extra listing features. For the advertising fee, the business may include an individualized message and photo slide show onto the web page for its listing as well as receive reports on listing traffic.[28] Additionally, these advertisers, called "Sponsors" on the site, are allowed to highlight a specific review and communicate with reviewers.[1][14]

[edit] Controversy [edit] Criticism