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"Fledgling startup Bizzy has debuted a new version of its service that could be perhaps best thought of as a Netflix for local businesses \u2014 you tell it what you like, and it suggests places that you may also enjoy, based on its algorithm.  We spoke with founder, President and GM Gadi Shamia and VP of Marketing Ryan Kuder about the new product, where it started and where it's going.\nHow the New Bizzy Works\nThe site has launched in beta with a question and answer game, where users input their favorite local spots, such as sushi restaurants, late-night diners, nightclubs and pet shops. The quiz begins on Bizzy's homepage, but doesn't stop there. To continue personalizing your profile and choosing favorite spots, which enables Bizzy to better match you up with others like you, the company has a loop of hundreds of questions that are pervasive throughout the experience. You can also search for businesses to \"favorite\" and can even discover them on other profile pages or within the activity feed. \n\"Eventually we'll get to the point where users will be able to ask questions. So, if you're looking for a place to do whatever, we will distribute that question out through the feeds to people like you,\" Kuder said.\n\n\nUser profiles include a list of the user's answers/favorites, people like them and places they may like\n\nThe site won't be available for full use until enough recommendations are logged. Once it hits the tipping point, the Bizzy team will begin sending out beta invites to users who have already completed questions about their favorite businesses. These users will have first access to the product, where they can put Bizzy's algorithm to the test by browsing personalized recommendations based on rank, category or trends. Users will also be able to search for specific types of places, such as \"pierogies in New York,\" and the order of search results will be based on each user's personal recommendations.\nEventually, the goal involves enabling users to enter searches like \"cupcakes in SoHo\" or \"cheap dive bar in Midtown\" and find personalized recommendations based on the service's underlying network of recommendations from similar users.\nOwning the Commercial Graph\n\n\nThe Old Bizzy focused on enabling users to opt into deals and updates from local businesses.\n\nFounded in 2009, Bizzy was created with the very specific goal of owning the commercial graph.\n\"We didn't know what we would build, but we had this idea that we wanted to own the commercial graph,\" Shamia explained. \"We looked at world and saw that Facebook [replaced] e-mail, phone calls and personal relationships and owned the social graph. LinkedIn replaced resumes, the Rolodex and other communications between professionals and owned the professional graph. And Yammer owns the inter-office graph, or colleague graph you could call it.\"\nBizzy saw an opportunity to be the go-between for local businesses interested in reaching new customers through hyper-local deals and local neighbors seeking offers. The intention was to replace the e-mail marketing relationship with an opt-in method, in which users would pick which businesses they'd like to hear from, without exposing their inboxes to unwanted spam.\nThis previous iteration of the service is still available by clicking on \"Old Bizzy\" on the navigation bar.\nSizing Up the Competition\n\n\n\n\nThere are quite a few services out there that offer recommendations based on various metrics, including location, demographics and other data. Shamia and Kuder discussed some of the services that have mind share in the space they are entering. With steep competition, they still believe their product offers unique value to consumers.\n\"What we learned from our customers is that they really want to discover new places,\" Shamia said. \"There are plenty of discovery tools \u2014 there's Yelp, there's Google, there are many tools. It felt like none of them were quite right. We looked at the data we had and the customers we had and said, 'If our end users want discovery and the businesses we have want to be discovered, let's look at the current tools, see what they're offering and see what we can do different.'\"\nShamia's point struck a familiar chord. If 100 people search for \"lunch in SoHo\" on Yelp, for example, they all get the same results. It is only after the search that they can begin to narrow down by price, distance, category and other features. Even after all of these selections are made, the next step is reading a slew of reviews that may or may not be useful. The problem, then, is personalization. While Yelp is a magnificent tool, there's no denying that the search process is a bit laborious. Bizzy aims to solve that problem.\nAdding Mobile into the Mix\nKuder pointed out that mobile will be a key component of Bizzy's offering in the coming months. He referred to Yelp and Urbanspoon as key competitors in the space, explaining that Yelp's app mimics its website with the same laborious process of narrowing down options and reading reviews. And with Urbanspoon, you simply shake the phone and get a random recommendation. It's a tough sell to call either of these options personalized.\nWhrrl, a location-based app that offers personalized recommendations based on where users check in using its mobile app may, be a closer comparison to Bizzy's soon-to-be-updated app.\nBizzy's mobile experience is heading toward integrating the personal recommendations feature. The current mobile app is still a reflection of the Old Bizzy experience \u2014 you interact with the feeds and can locate nearby deals on a map. But keep an eye out for their new app for the iPhone (and later, Android) that will integrate this new level of personalization, enabling users to see their nearby recommendations. From the app or the site, you'll also be able to benefit from integrations with various location-based services that you may already be using. As Kuder explained:\n\"We don't want to build a checkin app. You're already using Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places. Our strategy is to be a layer on top of those... You can connect those accounts to Bizzy and when you check in to a location, [you can later add it to your favorites]. So, when you've been somewhere, it's very, very simple to add that place into your mix. Every time you do that, your set of recommended places changes a little bit.\"\nThe Bizzy team is energetic and full of ideas. If it can manage to gain a sizable user base, the service has the potential to compete with the big players. However, it's worth noting that industry leaders like Yelp and Google, already with mass followings, could add personalization tools at any moment, making local search easier and more relevant for their existing users, and thus mitigating the need for a smaller entrant like Bizzy. It's a toss-up a this point, but we're looking forward to seeing Bizzy's later iterations.\nYour Take\nDo you think Bizzy's service offers a differentiated experience from the other players in this field? And will you use it? Let us know in the comments below."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/11/02/bizzy/>