A MySpace for Small Businesses? MyLocalSpot Launches in Boston

MyLocalSpot.com, a social-networking/directory site geared towards small businesses, announces its official launch in Boston. Hoping to combine the communal aspect of sites like Facebook and MySpace with the advertising power of sites like Craigslist, the site will present small business owners with a unique opportunity to create and maintain their own free business profiles.

The sites founder, David Wolkoff, a recent graduate of Dartmouth College, says that he initially designed the site with consumers in mind. David was tired of struggling to find up-to-date information about businesses in his area. He reasoned that a site which allows businesses to create and maintain their own profiles would provide consumers with more accurate and up-to-date information.

Each business profile can include pictures, a business description, products and services listings, current specials, contact information and a link to the business’s website. Businesses also have the option of creating their own free “MyLocalSpot Address� so that they can link customers directly to their profiles.

“Just like millions of people use their profiles on social networking sites to update their friends on what they’re up to, small businesses can use MyLocalSpot to keep their customers updated as to what’s happening with their business without having to pay a web designer for every update� Wolkoff said.

The site also allows business organizations, such as law firms, chambers of commerce and community business partnerships to create group pages for their members, complete with message boards, event calendars and member lists.

Ultimately, Wolkoff hopes the site will make the lives of both small business owners and consumers a little easier, “Having an additional free web presence, especially one that allows businesses to include so much information, will hopefully present small businesses with some of the same opportunities in terms of web presence that larger businesses with big online marketing budgets have enjoyed for years.�