Local Uncle is a new web platform (formerly known as loqize.me, and still in the private beta phase) which allows the user to ask questions about locations and places and get them answered by other users who might live in the area or know enough about it to provide advice. Like the engineers behind it say, it’s “kinda like Quora but focused entirely on location and points of interest”.
When summarized like that, the idea seems perhaps a bit too simplistic and you may wonder if there really is a need for a Q&A site such as this. It’s perfectly possible, after all, to find information to the same effect anywhere else on the web; if you’re looking for restaurants in Chicago, for instance, a quick google search could tell you everything you want to know (or why not use Quora anyway…) However, the important thing here is that Local Uncle offers highly specialized and specific data, which makes it far more useful than navigating a sea of random reviews or place listing. Furthermore, it’s chock full with cool features.
Each question the user asks is accompanied by a place pin on a map indicating the general area of interest (it could be a neighborhood, a city, a state, even an entire country). The same thing happens with answers. Members can follow one another and have access to each other’s personal profiles, where the entire collection of someone’s questions made/answers given is displayed. This, according to the website creators, helps gauge someone’s “style” and put their recommendations into perspective.
It’s also possible to see place pages that feature all the Qs and As pertaining to a certain place. You can access these either by clicking on a link contained within the answers themselves or by typing the name into a search bar. There’s options to “like” someone’s answer and “heart” a place. Answers can be shared on Twitter, Facebook or via e-mail; and Local Uncle has a Recommendation Engine that matches people who give related answers.
Overall it looks great and, being a beta, it’s bound to keep improving. There’s other websites out there that perform similar functions but Local Uncle has something uniquely of its own to offer and deserves its fair run.
If you dig innovative web concepts like Local Uncle, there’s more where that came from. Check out RunKeeper Looking To Be The Facebook Of Fitness and A Trip Down Digital Memory Lane.
