Is There a Hyperlocal Search App?
Where is the nearest place to my current location that sells money orders? While in an unfamiliar area (I had to go to the courthouse to get a certified copy of a marriage record, and they don't take Visa or debit). I know that banks, post offices and grocery stores offer them, but should I really have to do separate searches for banks, post offices, and grocery stores and then find the closest result on my own? As it turns out, I popped into a convenience store steps from the courthouse to grab water for the long walk to the post office, and they actually sold money orders.
Where is the cheapest place to buy an iPad charger within 5 miles? I forgot mine while travelling recently, and I didn't have time to have one shipped from Hong Kong like I normally would. So for a brick and mortar store, the obvious answers to the where question are the Apple store, At&T or Verizon store, Best Buy, Fry's, Radio Shack, etc. who all carry these for $15-35. But the cheapest turned out to be TJ Maxx, a discount women's clothing store. They apparently have a small section with electronics, and they had an OEM charger for $4.
Where is the nearest notary public that is open now? Searching for "notary public" gives you lots of results for notaries, but if you need one that you can go to right now, especially if it is in the off hours, you'd be surprised at some of the places that offer this service. The problem is that they are not easy to find using a standard search. For example, within 1 mile from my house, there is a locksmith, a mailbox rental place, an internet cafe, and an Indian grocery store that offer notary services. The problem is that when I search for "notary service" and my city name, zip code, or GPS location, all of the results are for farther away places that are dedicated notaries. More relevant, perhaps, but not the closest.
I think the way you'd approach gathering a data set is to add an extra layer on top of existing data sets. For example, there are already plenty of databases of businesses and locations. What is missing is a list of products and services provided by those businesses. If you could somehow get information on what services and products businesses offer on a local level, you could combine that with existing business and location data and provide a really valuable service.
Is there anyone out there working on anything like this?
The first approach might be possible if you're google, and the second might be possible if you're yelp. I'm not sure how to do it on a small scale. Though I suppose you could start with a single city and a lot of shoe leather.
I think it would have to be both. I think that because it is a hard question, there is lots of value in it. You're right, Google should be doing this. They already have Google Shopper where you can snap a picture of a product or barcode with your phone and get a price comparison. Maybe they could had a user-generated description to that so people can build up that database.
Or maybe it could be a scrappy startup like FourSquare for local products who turns it into a game. Like get badges for finding products at the weirdest places, or for finding the lowest price on an item in an area. Or how about a Groupon type deal where something goes on sale at a specific location for a set period of time, and users can sign up for alerts when a product they want is on sale near them, or when it is in stock. That would encourage the businesses to supply an XML feed of prices and inventory.