Zipingo Team Blog

So long for now. Zipingo's Last Hurrah on August 23, 2007

Dear Zipingoneer,

On August 23, 2007, we'll say goodbye to Zipingo. We realize what a valuable resource you've made it, so let us explain why we made this tough decision.

Putting Us on the Map

I'm Brian, and as a member of the Zipingo Team, I'm responsible for researching, developing and implementing the Google mapping solution for Zipingo. For starters, I had to compare features for three different map vendors -- MapQuest, Yahoo! and Google -- to decide which solution would be the best.

I'm Off to See the Wizard...

We just added a new feature to Zipingo: the Latest Rating Portlet. It appears on your Home Page when you are signed on. What's a Portlet? Well, basically it's a Java-based Web component that generates content dynamically. In this case, the Latest Rating Portlet displays the latest local business review, in your choice of location. And it includes a link to the company details so you can read the entire list of ratings for that company.

Scattegories

I once had a "follow me home" meeting with a Quicken user who had a very refined category list in his checkbook register. One example that stayed with me was Entertainment: Bowling: Beverages: Beer: Bud.

Zipingo Gets a Face Lift

You may have noticed that Zipingo looks quite a bit different.  Read on to find all the gory details.

Initial Thoughts from the Zipingo Intern

Hi, well I guess you should be saying that to me. I’m the new Zipingo intern. I started last week and I will be hanging around until the beginning of August. I am currently a senior at a fantastic university in the state of Missouri, and I am just in Mountain View for the summer.

A Fishy Tale

Today a user reported a "fishy" rating on Zipingo. Turns out, it wasn't fishy at all. It was more like barbeque. BBQ wings, that is.

2005 vs 2006

I haven't written since December, so a Happy New Year to you all! And because it's a new year, I thought I'd share my overall reflections on last year and what is coming ahead this year.

First, I'll share my reflections on 2005 with respect to Zipingo.

Lawn and Order

A Zipingo user just commented that it's difficult to find someone to do "house and yard jobs" who isn't quite a licensed contractor. True. So true. You just can't rely on traditional channels like the Better Business Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce for that type of stuff. And your neighbors may not always know.

Separation of Church and State

You can only imagine what business categories some of our users have suggested we add.