RatePubs.com provides content to web sites for free.
Information Wants To Be Free has been the motto of the internet. RatePubs.com believes information about pubs in Ireland and beyond should not only be free, but should be easily accessible to potential customers whenever they want it. That's why the Irish-based site has dedicated much effort to making its content freely available to other web sites through the latest technologies. Today the company announced updates to its existing content distribution channels and the launch of new ones.
Giving Away Content
RatePubs.com offers information to different sites and publishers for many reasons.
"Widely distributing our content gets our name known, and that in turn brings more people to our site", according to Brian O'Connell the Chief Executive of Minotaur Software which owns RatePubs.com. "It's also good news for the bars that are listed on our site since they are seen far more widely than would otherwise be the case. But it also benefits the people that take our content as they get valuable and sticky content that they can tailor to their own needs and use to attract visitors to their own sites."
RatePubs.com offers information to different sites and publishers for many reasons.
"Widely distributing our content gets our name known, and that in turn brings more people to our site", according to Brian O'Connell the Chief Executive of Minotaur Software which owns RatePubs.com. "It's also good news for the bars that are listed on our site since they are seen far more widely than would otherwise be the case. But it also benefits the people that take our content as they get valuable and sticky content that they can tailor to their own needs and use to attract visitors to their own sites."
RatePubs makes it content freely available for any site to use, requiring just an acknowledgement on the partner site itself. The partner can choose from a range of formats including XML, iFrame, Javascript, and RSS. From today they can also choose OpenSearch.
OpenSearch
OpenSearch is a format created by Amazon subsidiary, A9.com. It defines a standard for presenting search results in such a way that they can easily be incorporated into any search engine. This new technology is gaining traction and will power the search box in Internet Explorer 7 when it is released by Microsoft later this year.
The RatePubs.com OpenSearch channel is already incorporated into both A9 (where it is accessible as an additional "Worlwide Bars" channel) and in the entertainment category of Gada.be, a new and very popular search engine. An example of RatePubs.com OpenSearch in action can be found at http://gada.be/e/dublin+music+pubs
OpenSearch
OpenSearch is a format created by Amazon subsidiary, A9.com. It defines a standard for presenting search results in such a way that they can easily be incorporated into any search engine. This new technology is gaining traction and will power the search box in Internet Explorer 7 when it is released by Microsoft later this year.
The RatePubs.com OpenSearch channel is already incorporated into both A9 (where it is accessible as an additional "Worlwide Bars" channel) and in the entertainment category of Gada.be, a new and very popular search engine. An example of RatePubs.com OpenSearch in action can be found at http://gada.be/e/dublin+music+pubs
XML - Creating Interactive Sites
In addition to launching the OpenSearch channel, RatePubs also announced an upgrade to their XML API. Interested parties have been able to use this channel to create interactive stand-alone sites or modules such as www.aguest-of-ireland.com, www.irelandpubguide.com, and others. These allow people to search for and find other peoples opinions on specific bars, and even give people the opportunity to leave their own reviews.
Now the channel has been upgraded to provide the partner sites with the ability to plot the premises on interactive maps such as those available from Yahoo or Google.
Community features have also been upgraded and now visitors to partner sites can leave tags for bars. These can be anything meaningful to the user such as a particular brand of drink sold, a facility available or anything the customer themselves decide. These are then searchable by other users. Tags themselves have become a powerful way for internet communities to organise many different types of content such as pictures. They have been available on RatePubs.com for some time and the addition to the XML API makes this powerful feature available to even more sites.
In addition to launching the OpenSearch channel, RatePubs also announced an upgrade to their XML API. Interested parties have been able to use this channel to create interactive stand-alone sites or modules such as www.aguest-of-ireland.com, www.irelandpubguide.com, and others. These allow people to search for and find other peoples opinions on specific bars, and even give people the opportunity to leave their own reviews.
Now the channel has been upgraded to provide the partner sites with the ability to plot the premises on interactive maps such as those available from Yahoo or Google.
Community features have also been upgraded and now visitors to partner sites can leave tags for bars. These can be anything meaningful to the user such as a particular brand of drink sold, a facility available or anything the customer themselves decide. These are then searchable by other users. Tags themselves have become a powerful way for internet communities to organise many different types of content such as pictures. They have been available on RatePubs.com for some time and the addition to the XML API makes this powerful feature available to even more sites.
Free Distribution As A Business Model
Wide distribution of their content is something RatePubs.com sought from the start. According to Brian O'Connell, it is one of the benefits of the internet that it can be profitable to give content away.
"Our business model is built around the exchange of information between our users. People come to our site to review bars, and find good places to go. While any bar can enter their own details, we charge a fee for more detailed listings and communication tools. This means it is in our interest to distribute the listings as widely as possible, and we achieve this by providing free content to other sites.
Unlike traditional media, the internet imposes only a marginal extra cost to do this. For this marginal cost we reach a larger audience and provide both our listed bars, and our partner sites with a valuable service."
RatePubs.com will continue to make content available through a range of technologies. The XML upgrade and OpenSearch channel are now available for public use.
Wide distribution of their content is something RatePubs.com sought from the start. According to Brian O'Connell, it is one of the benefits of the internet that it can be profitable to give content away.
"Our business model is built around the exchange of information between our users. People come to our site to review bars, and find good places to go. While any bar can enter their own details, we charge a fee for more detailed listings and communication tools. This means it is in our interest to distribute the listings as widely as possible, and we achieve this by providing free content to other sites.
Unlike traditional media, the internet imposes only a marginal extra cost to do this. For this marginal cost we reach a larger audience and provide both our listed bars, and our partner sites with a valuable service."
RatePubs.com will continue to make content available through a range of technologies. The XML upgrade and OpenSearch channel are now available for public use.
About RatePubs.com
RatePubs.com is a service of Minotaur Software in Cork, Ireland. Among the 50,000 busiest web sites in the world (source Alexa.com) RatePubs.com is the premier destination for those seeking information on bars around the world.
RatePubs also supply information to a range of other specialist and tourist sites including www.aguest-of-ireland.com, www.aguest-of-europe.com, www.irishfestivals.com, www.californiabarguide.com, www.irishpubsdirectory.com and others.
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