A little Internet company based out of Halifax Nova Scotia is on the verge of making some big waves internationally with its built in-house search technology and algorithms. I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Mark Harper who is the VP of Strategic Relations at GenieKnows and I was given an in person demo of the yet to be launched (at the time) new version 1.0 of their Local search service. The service was officially launched yesterday.

What is GenieKnows Local? It is a search portal that allows you to find business listings (various categories) within a given area. You can provide a specific address from which you want to search around, or you can be more generic and just type in the city.

One feature I really really like, as a frequent traveler, is that I can type in an address (hotel address for example) and then once the map shows up (very quick) choose from the side “Category” menu the type of business nearby I am interested in finding. For instance when I travel I like to know all of my nearby dining choices. Once you click on the category of your choice, you immediately receive a list of businesses in that category to your left along with their relevant contact info and each one is marked on your map for easy viewing.

If you click on any of the business results you can view a business-card like site which include contact information, website information, products sold, store hours, etc. I am told that with the next release they will also implement user reviews for added interactivity.

GenieKnows is not trying to re-invent the wheel here but they are trying to refine it and build upon what exists today. My early impressions of the service are that it is going to be top notch.

Sometime soon I will also have an interview to share with Mark about the company and where they are going

Be sure to visit:
http://local.genieknows.com