It turns out that a lot of my visitors come from Canada and so I thought I would share this up-and-comming new resource. It’s called iBegin and is a real life community reference site. You can search local services such as hotels and restaurants, but more importantly, you can submit and review them yourself too. Since San Diego is not so nearby Toronto as you may think, I thought I would invite you to check it out and see what you think.
The internet is an amazing creation. It has taken previously rigid borders and shattered them with one fell swoop, sending information to the most desolate recesses of our oblong planet.
Yet for all its promise information, it lacks in real life.
Real life that affects you and I – our local community.
And this is where iBegin comes in. This site is our attempt at using local people to help build a local search that works! And not just a search, but a hub. From reviews to pictures to favorites, a great way to for people to not only find local places, but also a way of finding out what other local users think.
Still confused? iBegin is a local site that helps you find restaurants, hotels, and more. It’s beauty lies in the fact that it is user driven – users can add listings (for example, a favorite cafe near their house), and can then tag other places. The beauty of that (yes, another separate levels of beauty) is that by tagging, the search feature becomes more and more useful. Throw in reviews, pictures, and favorites, and a winning solution is had for everyone. A local search done right.
You may be wondering why I am even involved in this. The guy who developed iBegin also developed Blog Flux (which I use) so I became a type of Beta Tester of sorts. One of the new features they have unvailed at iBegin is the invite option. With this option, registered users can invite others to join the community so that even more people can add to the recommendations and reviews. Now if you’ve read this far you may be interested in learning more or even signing up. If this is the case, just add a comment saying you want an invite and I will send you one of the five invites I have available. OR you can go to the site and just self register but since I’m trying out the invite feature I’m hoping to find a couple of volunteers. Anyone? Bueller?
Happy Comment Cheer day today! I’m here by way of Michele (but I heard of Michele in the first place from your site, so I don’t know if I really HAVE to say that!) Thanks for visiting my site today. I once poured a bowl of cereal on myself twice in a row. Maybe I should add that! Is the invite for BlogFlux or to iBegin? If it’s for iBegin, yes, I would like an invite! Those Canadians are just so smart :0) I have noticed that a lot of bloggers are either from Canada or California. Have you noticed that?
Cool resources. I love trying out innovative tools that enhance the online experience. Looks like I’ve got some exploring to do, thanks to you!
Looks like an interesting tool. I live about a half and hour from Toronto but don’t go into the city very often but it is intruiging.
Here from Michele’s
sounds quite interesting. Anyways Michele sent me
A big hello to all our Canadian friends. Here via Michele