New wave of startups building ‘the local Web’

The World Wide Web won over Wall Street in 1995, when Netscape’s dazzling debut ushered in the dot-com era.

Main Street, however, has been a tougher sell. True, Web sites have long been a marketing tool for merchants, restaurants and service providers, but the medium’s interactive power has made a relatively modest impact on local economies. Now a new wave of startups, as well as giants like Google and Yahoo, are trying to tap the multibillion-dollar potential of what is often called "the local Web."

The local Web is rapidly evolving amid the converging forces of online social networking, location-savvy smartphones and an array of new business models. The trend represents new opportunities for small and medium-size businesses — and new challenges for stalwarts such as the Yellow Pages and newspapers. Many of the new startups are certain to fail, but venture capitalists are betting hundreds of millions that some will succeed.

By Scott Duke Harris

[email protected]

Full Story: http://www.mercurynews.com/business-headlines/ci_14704723?nclick_check=1

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Second-generation Web entrepreneur works to make Milo a household name

By Scott Duke Harris

[email protected]

Some familiar names were scribbled in the corner of a whiteboard: Amazon. Google. Craigslist. EBay. PayPal. Above them was an unfamiliar one: Milo.

"We’re aiming high," explained Jack Abraham, the 24-year-old co-founder and CEO of Milo, a Web startup that aims to become the go-to site for the millions of shoppers who research online before buying merchandise in brick-and-mortar stores.

Full Story: http://www.mercurynews.com/business-headlines/ci_14710264?nclick_check=1