Way back in 1996, before I left Wired and started the Standard, my wife and I had a little brainstorming session. I thought it'd be really cool if we started a website where local merchants could list their wares, so folks could check to see if a local business had…
Way back in 1996, before I left Wired and started the Standard, my wife and I had a little brainstorming session. I thought it’d be really cool if we started a website where local merchants could list their wares, so folks could check to see if a local business had what they were looking for before going down to the store. We decided against the business, but I’ve remained fascinated by this concept. It just seems to make sense, that at some point you will be able to check into the inventory of your local stores to see if what you want is there, and even reserve it or have it delivered to you.
A new search engine is now launching that promises to bring part of this concept to the world. Called StepUp.com, it’s “A unique new web tool that helps shoppers find products locally.”
From their release: Now, for the first time, the Internet’s 80 million web shoppers can easily find popular retail products near their current location and avoid waiting for online purchases to arrive by mail. In addition, StepUp.com offers merchants a simple and economical way (free, for a limited time) to easily list their products online, driving web shoppers to their physical locations. StepUp.com combines the benefits of online shopping with local commerce, providing consumers and local merchants a powerful new tool.
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The ACLU has issued a report on a trend I often ping, that of corporate data gathering practices and how the government can bypass restrictions on domestic spying by requiring companies, in essence, to do the spying by proxy.
