EveryBlock launches Jan 25
19 comments Latest by mark
EveryBlock, the hyperlocal news/data site from Adrian Holovaty and crew, has launched for Chicago, New York, and San Francisco.
What’s it for? Well, for example, you can see the results of all the restaurant inspections, crimes, business licenses, graffiti cleanup, building violations, etc. in your zip code, your neighborhood, or your street.
If you don’t want to go hyperlocal, you can zoom out. For example, here are all the recent filmings going on in Chicago right now. EveryBlock even lets you know which streets will be closed for block parties, parades, or athletic events.
For more background on this useful new service, check out the about EveryBlock page. I especially like how they’ve designed their own maps — real nice touch.
Adrian first told me about this idea over lunch about a year ago so it’s a real thrill to finally see it launch. Adrian, a fellow Chicagoan, is wonderfully talented and an especially nice guy. He’s a great guitarist too. The team he’s assembled for EveryBlock is top notch. I wish them all the best success with EveryBlock.
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19 comments so far
Nathan Borror 25 Jan 08
And lets not forget, Everyblock is built with Django ;)
JF 25 Jan 08
And lets not forget, Everyblock is built with Django
Yup. For those who are curious, Adrian is the creator of Django.
Matt Baron 25 Jan 08
I can’t wait for it to come to Boston.
Killian 25 Jan 08
Love the localized RSS feeds- you can get news delivered to your reader by neighborhood, zip code or block.
Dbjano 25 Jan 08
Yawn.
Ed Knittel 25 Jan 08
It should also be noted that this is 100% funded by the $1.1M Knight News Challenge grant that Adrian was a recipient of.
As I understand, this was a project based more in experimentation in the true “mash-up” sense and has little to nothing to do with actually “making money” (before all the Debbie Downers come out and ask “Why?”)
Sometimes people do like to make really cool things and they don’t necessarily need a business plan to get started.
I’m very happy that Adrian and team were able to accomplish this and I’m especially excited that Chicago gets front-seat attention.
As for Dbjano – I haven’t seen the dunce cap in awhile… just a thought.
Anonymous Coward 25 Jan 08
Ed, you’ve seen the Google ads in the sidebar on EveryBlock right?
Dbjano 25 Jan 08
“Comments posted on SvN that are off-topic, blatantly inflammatory, or otherwise inappropriate or vapid may either be removed or be slapped with the Troll cap.”
Although I didn’t exactly meet the above definition, I’ll be more specific.
Ugh. How much “all-the-time-I-have-to-be-informed-now” news do we need?
I’m not impressed because I think people will be more likely to visit their local news outlet/website rather than something like this.
JF 25 Jan 08
Ugh. How much “all-the-time-I-have-to-be-informed-now” news do we need?
“We” or you? If you don’t need it don’t use the site. If I want it I’ll use the site. I like to know what’s going on in my neighborhood and I really can’t get this information anywhere else in one place. I find it really useful.
Joga Luce 25 Jan 08
Nice, I just saw this posted over at (mt) earlier. Be interested to see how long it takes to get to more places, and the portability of the information.
Ed Knittel 25 Jan 08
@Anonymous Coward No. I think the kids say “ ABP FTW” or something like that.
The ads might bring in some money but I’ll bet a dozen donuts that it’s not the profit in the plan.
Weixi Yen 25 Jan 08
good idea, below average design…
Difficult to use, difficult to read, etc. The way content is provided and categorized doesn’t make much sense either. It says the site is about news in my neighborhood, but I couldn’t really find any good news of companies in my area 94105. It doesn’t do what it says it does really, but I’m sure it will be better as time goes by.
All in all, Django is nice and also I’m amazed at their dev team for showing what’s possible with mashups.
Tory 26 Jan 08
@Weixi Yen: I completely agree with you, I find the site way too difficult to use. I do like the look of it though.
Adrian Holovaty 26 Jan 08
Tory and Weixy: Ack! Looks like we’re doing something wrong if you’re having problems using it—if you’re willing to help us improve, please drop us a note at “feedback at everyblock.com” with some of the problems you’ve identified.
Adrian @ EveryBlock
Chico 26 Jan 08
It´s a nice service, but I do prefer a similar one from my brazilian friends. Citix – www.citix.net
Don Schenck 26 Jan 08
Now I remember why I like living in a small town.
Everyblock? That’s Saturday morning at the barber shop.
But if I lived in, say, Chicago, I’d like this. I’d subscribe to the RSS with my MacBook Air!! (“HEEEEeee SHOOTS AND SCORES !”)
rumblestrut 26 Jan 08
Great work! Can’t wait to see it expand.
Adrian did some work on the award-winning web site of our local newspaper (ljworld.com). His work is top-notch. Keep up the good work.
Kevin McElroy 28 Jan 08
Gorgeous mash-up. This is exactly what every city-dweller needs married to their mobile.
I do wish the map view differentiated between photos, reviews, events, etc. They all use the same red dot. Still a rockin’ site.
Kudos Adrian.
mark 30 Jan 08
... sure, but where do you think your local news outlet is going to get all of this information in human-usable format? They will need to get it from someone like EveryBlock and syndicate it. Everyblock’s information baseline is a classic ‘public good’ that has fallen by the wayside of many local media companies, but it is still very important to the locals living locally. ;)
I think you may be surprised how receptive folks will be to Everyblock’s ingenuity.
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