Content Matters

One of the great things about Web 2.0 is that a great idea can be developed and launched quickly. One of the fastest paths to a quick launch is a mashup. For those unfamiliar with the term, a mashup is a website that leverages two or more existing sites, overlaying content from one on the other, to create a higher value derivative solution.

One of the more compelling mashups today is Trulia.  Trulia has latched on to a very simple, yet compelling idea.  They are taking residential real estate listings from realtor feeds and overlaying them on Google Maps, providing a regional view of real estate.  With Trulia, you can quickly view all the real estate listings in a given zip code, city or county, then drill down based upon various parameters.

For example, suppose you're looking for a coop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with 3 BR and priced between $700k - $1.4M.  With a few clicks you can see there are seven such properties on the market.  The interactive map lets you easily retrieve more details on each property, while a tabular list provides a comprehensive view. 

Today, Trulia is operating in California and New York with Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and other locations on the horizon.

What makes a mashup possible? To begin with, you’ll need access to the underlying content. That’s why RSS feeds have become an enabler of mashups. Trulia uses RSS feeds from realtor listings to create a database of property listings. The RSS feed also means that Trulia can keep costs down as there are no expenses for data entry and editing. Today, Trulia has only 17 employees, most of which are split between technical and business development roles.

What are the implications for publishers?

Open access to content can create many opportunities to create high value, derivative works using readily available content. While Trulia has developed relationships with the realtor community in order to access proprietary content, there are significant opportunities using public information as well. Demographic and census data, business incorporation data, SEC filings, e-commerce listings and public health information all provide a wealth of information that can be overlaid on maps, company profiles, product information and more. Among the most heavily used content sources for mashups are Google, Yahoo, eBay, Craigslist and Amazon. As always, some publishers may see mashups as a threat and may decide not to allow RSS access to their content. Successful content providers will see the tremendous value of content reuse and will encourage use of their branded content in mashups.