LookLocal: Where are we now?

Well, color me happy. The initial launch phase of LookLocal is going beeeee-autifully, thanks to all you wonderful “pro-local” souls out there. So…where do things stand moving forward?

Android version
The Android platform is a bugger to build—more challenging than Apple’s iOS platform. Our genius coder is banging away on it, but admits it ain’t pretty (translated: it doesn’t function smoothly or as expected). As someone not open to launching a half-baked app, I’ve told the developer we’ll move forward only after everyone is convinced the Android version is bulletproof. Might take a while longer than expected, but I refuse to hand you something that will disappoint.

Updating those who didn’t update before
I’ve taken a lot of heat from Supporters who didn’t update their records in May and June, upset because they’re on the website but not in LookLocal. Admittedly, about the twenty-third time someone on Facebook got angry about it, my own patience began to wear thin (it stings to be chewed on when you busted your buns to help folks out with something that’s free to begin with). 

Bottom line? In spite of six weeks, four email reminders, over 40 Facebook posts, and more Twitter tweets than I can count, some of our Supporters simply didn’t see/hear our pleas to update their info. No harm, no foul…and not a permanent condition.

There will be a second opportunity to update Supporter records in the next few weeks, but only after the database developer, app developer, and I are done testing the process thoroughly. Now that LookLocal is active, there’s a question about how existing record ID numbers will react when updates come in…and I don’t want a “lather, rinse, repeat” scenario on our hands.

The very moment it’s safe to begin the next round of updates, we will—I’ll be announcing it here, on Facebook, and on Twitter, so stay on the lookout.

Re-registering does *not* get you into the app faster
It does, however, get your original listing kicked out of our database as a duplicate, which explains that big, bold faced note on the registration forms and a bunch of other pages of the website. Really messes things up, so please, please resist the temptation.

How long does it take a new or updated business listing to appear in LookLocal?
• Supporter listings on the website: Typically 7-10 days
(Closer to seven, now that the new database is humming along.)

• Business listings in LookLocal: Up to three weeks
We update LookLocal about twice a month, in keeping with Apple’s re-submit policies when you’re playing with this much data…then Apple needs a week or so to approve things. That means it might be up to three weeks from the time you register before you appear in LookLocal. Please be patient; we’re moving things through the pipeline as quickly as possible without risking cracks along the way. We want this to be right, not just rapid.

The amount of time it takes LookLocal to start up
We’re pushing a lot (read: truckloads) of business listings through LookLocal; as a result, the app needs to update any time we’ve done a “backside” update—most of which will process fairly quickly, although our twice-monthly updates will be considerably larger, taking a few seconds longer. Please be patient. That small business goodness is worth waiting for. (You can tell if it’s updating—just look for the little spinning progress wheel above the Social icon in the lower right hand corner.)

Enhanced listing upgrades
This has me really excited—Enhanced listings look great in the app. Thanks again to the following independent brick and mortars who let us use them as guinea pigs on our little endeavor (check them out if you have LookLocal on your iPhone or iPad):

Shop:
Artichoke Designs (Dunwoody GA)
Darling’s Fine Things (Newport AR)
4 Your Eyes Only (Seattle WA)
J&K Llama’s Landscape (Fallon NV)
Karalina’s (Clifton Park NY)
RSVP (Plymouth MI)
Shackelford’s Florist (Memphis TN)

Eat:
The Black Forest Cafe and Bakery (Amherst NH)
Monica’s Waterfront Bakery (Silverdale WA)

Sip:
The Gorham Grind (Gorham ME)

Enhanced upgrades will come after we get the next wave of updates going. If you’d like to be notified, please click here, then read the section on our FAQ page about the topic.

And a big honkin’ high five to those of you who have written positive reviews in the App Store
Confession time: My nerves were jittering the night LookLocal officially launched. While I knew the app was terrific (continuing to be more so as Supporters update and new ones join), this felt a lot like my first ballet recital as a kid—knobby knees exposed, out there on my own, hoping someone would clap.

Well, clap you did.

Thanks to each of you who wrote about your positive experience with LookLocal, with The 3/50 Project, and with what we seek to accomplish. Your kind, gracious enthusiasm is the only paycheck I receive from the Project…and it’s worth more than gold.

Want to post some thumbs-up-kudos in the App Store? No sweat. Head over there and do it (please). You might be the superhero who brings the next consumer into LookLocal….and through your front door.