Hyperlocal Isn't Just News

Victor Wong posted an opinion on PaidContent.org that raises an important point about what is hyperlocal content. The media in particular are too focused on news as information and miss the fact that people who want hyperlocal information sometime just want events, or jobs, crime stats or even pet photos. Better yet, what about coupons from the following...

• Living Social
• Yipit
• Groopswoop
• SocialBuy
• TownHog

As Victor mentions, Everyblock is a great example of this. The creator calls it "data journalism." There appears to be two sides to this coin -- those that just focus on "news" and information and those that just focus on "ads." To me the secret sauce is a combination of both.