Oshoma Momoh presented 5blocksout (site, twitter) at DemoCamp Toronto 24 (03-Dec-2009; Velma Rogers Theatre; 333 Bloor Street East, Toronto, ON):
He also answered some questions afterwards:
5blocksout looks interesting, but it’s in a crowded space mixed in with review and hyper-local sites/applications like GigPark, Yelp, Urbanspoon, WeGoWeGo, Foursquare, and so forth — we’ll see if they’re able to differentiate themselves and get attention. I’m curious to try the site in more detail, but i’m not yet certain they’ll be able to pull away from the pack.
1 Comment
December 17, 2009 at 10:36 am
Thanks Geoffrey for recording this and other DemoCamp videos. That was kind of you.
Re: hyper-local being a crowded space, we hear you and agree. We actually take it as a good sign, and a validation that local experiences are compelling to many people.
Fortunately there are many different ways to slice “local”. The other services you mention are mainly focused on reviews and entertainment. 5 Blocks Out does touch on those things, but we’re also interested in many other aspects of neighbourhood and urban living, and in many sorts of knowledge and opinion, not just reviews.
Ultimately we’re trying to build a community that helps people improve their quality of life in the city. We hope to convince you of that as we pick up speed in 2010.