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As with any launch, you make a choice between what you launch with and what waits for a later release. In order to let you know where we're heading, we've put together this list.
1Classified advertising
Very shortly -- like inside of a month -- we'll add classified ads to the site. There are two really important things about what's coming in this regard:
1) All classifieds posted by readers will automatically move to the CityTools publishers network, where commercial publishers who subscribe to the service can publish them.
This means that advertisers on CityTools can potentially reach a larger market than just appearing on this site. Meanwhile the publishers benefit because by including your ads, their already deep classifieds get even richer. Any publisher who works with us will always, by definition, have a deeper classified site.
And besides, the publishers who work with CityTools are some of the smartest and most creative in the business, so you'll love having your ads appear there.
2) The classifieds will roll up geographically, just like everything else on CityTools. So if you want to see boats in Los Angeles and then decide to see all boat listings in California, it's just a click or two away.
Beyond that we've got some other interesting twists and turns with the classifieds that we'll save until we release them.
1) All classifieds posted by readers will automatically move to the CityTools publishers network, where commercial publishers who subscribe to the service can publish them.
This means that advertisers on CityTools can potentially reach a larger market than just appearing on this site. Meanwhile the publishers benefit because by including your ads, their already deep classifieds get even richer. Any publisher who works with us will always, by definition, have a deeper classified site.
And besides, the publishers who work with CityTools are some of the smartest and most creative in the business, so you'll love having your ads appear there.
2) The classifieds will roll up geographically, just like everything else on CityTools. So if you want to see boats in Los Angeles and then decide to see all boat listings in California, it's just a click or two away.
Beyond that we've got some other interesting twists and turns with the classifieds that we'll save until we release them.
2Photos, photos, where are the photos?
Yes, we're photo (and multimedia) impaired at the moment. But that will change soon as we launch series of cool photo applications.
Stay tuned. They're in testing now and will be added shortly.
Stay tuned. They're in testing now and will be added shortly.
3Enhancements to the international editions of CityTools
Currently the core pages on CityTools support 13 languages.
By "core pages" we mean things like the main news and lists pages, the authoring areas, etc.
However, we need to further refine translations -- in some cases the translations are a little goofy -- and we need to add multi-language support to *all* pages, especially the help documents.
That will happen in the near future. By mid-fall or so, we expect all pages on CityTools to be available in all 13 languages currently available languages.
Because international support can be tricky, we are going to roll out non-English sites with exclusive local partners on a country-by-country basis. Indeed, we're in the early stages of discussions with several potential partners.
In addition, because of the unique geographical model we use to organize content, rolling out country-by-country makes sense.
We'll let you know more when we know more. And if you're a company that is interested in partnering with us in your country, please use the contact information at the bottom of most pages on CityTools to reach us.
By "core pages" we mean things like the main news and lists pages, the authoring areas, etc.
However, we need to further refine translations -- in some cases the translations are a little goofy -- and we need to add multi-language support to *all* pages, especially the help documents.
That will happen in the near future. By mid-fall or so, we expect all pages on CityTools to be available in all 13 languages currently available languages.
Because international support can be tricky, we are going to roll out non-English sites with exclusive local partners on a country-by-country basis. Indeed, we're in the early stages of discussions with several potential partners.
In addition, because of the unique geographical model we use to organize content, rolling out country-by-country makes sense.
We'll let you know more when we know more. And if you're a company that is interested in partnering with us in your country, please use the contact information at the bottom of most pages on CityTools to reach us.
4More languages coming!
During the fall, we plan to add Hindi and Chinese versions of CityTools.
After that, we intend to add more languages during the winter. Right now we think we'll focus on adding Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and Japanese.
However, we'll wait until we see what the CityTools community and our partners want before making a final decision on the order of new language roll-outs.
We'll update you on this in the fall.
After that, we intend to add more languages during the winter. Right now we think we'll focus on adding Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and Japanese.
However, we'll wait until we see what the CityTools community and our partners want before making a final decision on the order of new language roll-outs.
We'll update you on this in the fall.
5Let us know if you want neighborhood coverage in your city!
Because of the way we've built our geographic engine, adding neighborhood-level support any specific city is a fast process once we have the data in hand.
So if you live in a community that lacks support for specific neighborhoods, please use the "contact us" link on the left rail to let us know about your interest.
We'll get back you and -- if you're willing to provide a list of neighborhoods -- we'll make sure to add coverage to your area promptly.
So if you live in a community that lacks support for specific neighborhoods, please use the "contact us" link on the left rail to let us know about your interest.
We'll get back you and -- if you're willing to provide a list of neighborhoods -- we'll make sure to add coverage to your area promptly.
6Special information tools for local businesses
If you like our approach to information, you'll love our approach to providing services to small and medium-sized local businesses and their customers.
Hey, we're small but mighty. And we know small and medium local businesses can be mighty too. Together, we are even stronger.
We've got some things in development that are so absurdly cool that we're staying up all night to get them in the hands of the community.
But since we are small we don't want to say too much lest some big company swoops in to beat us to the punch.
Coming soon -- like... hmmm... late April or May...
And no, if you're a business owner that loves what we do, there's no reason to hold off on other advertising purchases while you wait to see what we're bringing to market.
What we're doing isn't advertising... not really... in the traditional sense. It works alongside your existing marketing plan. And what we're doing is dirt cheap.
But enough tease and hype for now -- it's just so neat we tend to get worked up. We're excitable boys and girls, after all.
Hey, we're small but mighty. And we know small and medium local businesses can be mighty too. Together, we are even stronger.
We've got some things in development that are so absurdly cool that we're staying up all night to get them in the hands of the community.
But since we are small we don't want to say too much lest some big company swoops in to beat us to the punch.
Coming soon -- like... hmmm... late April or May...
And no, if you're a business owner that loves what we do, there's no reason to hold off on other advertising purchases while you wait to see what we're bringing to market.
What we're doing isn't advertising... not really... in the traditional sense. It works alongside your existing marketing plan. And what we're doing is dirt cheap.
But enough tease and hype for now -- it's just so neat we tend to get worked up. We're excitable boys and girls, after all.
7CityTools for mobile devices
Right now CityTools isn't a good mobile experience.
Actually, it positively sucks as a mobile experience.
That will change as we roll-out a new interface for mobile devices, smart phones, etc. in the coming weeks.
If you think about what we're doing, you'll realize just why we think mobile is such a big deal for us. But we just couldn't shoe-horn it into the pre-launch schedule.
So bear with us. We know how bad we are for mobile stuff now. That will soon change. And then we'll be... well, we hope to be great, but that's for you to decide.
The first of these is already online -- a tool that allows you to easily update live coverage via a mobile phone. Read all about it in our real-time coverage howtos...
Actually, it positively sucks as a mobile experience.
That will change as we roll-out a new interface for mobile devices, smart phones, etc. in the coming weeks.
If you think about what we're doing, you'll realize just why we think mobile is such a big deal for us. But we just couldn't shoe-horn it into the pre-launch schedule.
So bear with us. We know how bad we are for mobile stuff now. That will soon change. And then we'll be... well, we hope to be great, but that's for you to decide.
The first of these is already online -- a tool that allows you to easily update live coverage via a mobile phone. Read all about it in our real-time coverage howtos...
8New tools to tell new stories in new ways
Text isn't the only way to tell a story. A friend of ours, Jane Ellen Stevens, from the Cal Berkeley School of Journalism once remarked that "sometimes the entire story is the data."
We think Jane is right. And we think there are ways to make data sexy and fun and use it to tell a living story. We have a couple of approaches to this that are finished in the lab and awaiting a final interface.
And just as our staff can use these new tools to tell stories in new ways, you will be able to too.
We might launch the first of these at the same time as you do the classifieds. And the others are lined up like happy little trains.
We think Jane is right. And we think there are ways to make data sexy and fun and use it to tell a living story. We have a couple of approaches to this that are finished in the lab and awaiting a final interface.
And just as our staff can use these new tools to tell stories in new ways, you will be able to too.
We might launch the first of these at the same time as you do the classifieds. And the others are lined up like happy little trains.
9Better "blog like" features
CityTools isn't really designed to be a full-fledged blogging platform, which is obvious to anyone who has used big-time blogging tools.
However, we'll add a few extra features to make it better as a small-time blogging platform. And, since serving you is our goal, if you want more features than we plan to add, we'll certainly consider it as time and resources allow.
But we'll add a couple of obviously missing things (like personal profiles and statements -- all the "about me" stuff) in short order.
We don't aim to be the definitive blogging platform. But if we're good enough for your purposes, swell. If you want more, head on over to Wordpress or Live Journal, Blogger, etc.
We are considering making plugins for some blogging packages based on user interest. But again, you drive what we're doing in that respect. So if you want more, speak up in the comments below.
However, we'll add a few extra features to make it better as a small-time blogging platform. And, since serving you is our goal, if you want more features than we plan to add, we'll certainly consider it as time and resources allow.
But we'll add a couple of obviously missing things (like personal profiles and statements -- all the "about me" stuff) in short order.
We don't aim to be the definitive blogging platform. But if we're good enough for your purposes, swell. If you want more, head on over to Wordpress or Live Journal, Blogger, etc.
We are considering making plugins for some blogging packages based on user interest. But again, you drive what we're doing in that respect. So if you want more, speak up in the comments below.
10New features on the publishers network side of things
Our publishers' network services are so unusual that we're not planning on adding features until we see what the publishers want to have.
11Adding a "pure tags" option to Ambient news
Right now, when you click on a word in Ambient news, it does a full-text search of all CityTools content as well as the RSS Newsdesk content.
Most of the time, that's what you want because it's quite comprehensive. However, because everything can be tagged as well, we need to add a "pure tags" option to the Ambient news box that only shows the weight of the tags within the last day.
That way, you get like, I dunno, a WHOLE LOTTA WAYS to find what you're looking for.
Most of the time, that's what you want because it's quite comprehensive. However, because everything can be tagged as well, we need to add a "pure tags" option to the Ambient news box that only shows the weight of the tags within the last day.
That way, you get like, I dunno, a WHOLE LOTTA WAYS to find what you're looking for.
12Add "print this article" and "mail this article"
We know, we know, EVERYONE has these and we don't. It's either because we're dopes or because we were focusing on other things, you decide.
In any event, we'll add these real soon now....
In any event, we'll add these real soon now....
13Detailed info on how to link to CityTools
Update: the linking guide is done -- with a wizard even if you want it. Click this item title to go there or look in the "howtos" menu area.
14Enhancements to the geographic database
At this writing, CityTools offers geographic support for nearly every city, state and county in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. In many cases, we go right down to the neighborhood level.
We also have national support for every country in the world and the major cities in those countries.
However, we've got some gaps on the hyper-local coverage in Northern Ireland, Ireland and New Zealand (for example we lack county coverage). We shall remedy that situation in the near future.
Also, by mid September we'll have hyper-local (down to the neighborhood level in many cases) throughout Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and France.
A little after that we'll also offer full hyper-local coverage in India, eastern Europe and the Middle East.
An important note: because of the way CityTools has been developed, when we add hyper-local coverage it doesn't disturb existing geographic content. So if you've assigned content to, say Paris, when add support down to the neighborhood level in the fall, it won't disrupt anything you've already done.
In other words, there's no reason to hold off on adding content today as we roll out hyper-local additional coverage.
We also have national support for every country in the world and the major cities in those countries.
However, we've got some gaps on the hyper-local coverage in Northern Ireland, Ireland and New Zealand (for example we lack county coverage). We shall remedy that situation in the near future.
Also, by mid September we'll have hyper-local (down to the neighborhood level in many cases) throughout Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and France.
A little after that we'll also offer full hyper-local coverage in India, eastern Europe and the Middle East.
An important note: because of the way CityTools has been developed, when we add hyper-local coverage it doesn't disturb existing geographic content. So if you've assigned content to, say Paris, when add support down to the neighborhood level in the fall, it won't disrupt anything you've already done.
In other words, there's no reason to hold off on adding content today as we roll out hyper-local additional coverage.
