A new Philly website provides a 360 degree view of the city from the inside out.
The Jawn, created by Temple University grad Jeremy Sanchez and partner Mark Levy, is a homegrown version of national search and user review sites like Yelp and Citysearch, which Sanchez describes as full of ads and cluttered with information without doing anything positive for the city.
"All these sites call themselves hyperlocal, but it's one size fits all," he says.
By contrast, not only is The Jawn entirely Philly-based from the name (slang term for just about any noun) on out, but Sanchez and Levy donate 5 percent of revenue to local charity. Philabundance is currently the recipient. Also, users can rack up points for participating in building The Jawn, and points translate into dollars. Two hundred points earns $20.
It is free to list basic business information, with premium content just $9 per month. The nominal fee provides businesses with a unique URL, the ability to add unlimited pictures, videos and information, and also post an unlimited number of job listings. Compared to the standard $25 per help wanted ad on competitors' sites, it's a serious bargain. Sanchez hopes to keep the free job listing function in place for a long time.
Sanchez, who builds websites to earn income while launching The Jawn, came across the URL a couple of years ago and snatched it up before he had a business plan. Then, in conversation with partner Levy, the team came up with a two-pronged mission: explore and improve the city.
There are 11,000 constantly updated businesses and events listed on The Jawn, including bars, restaurants and services. The most popular pages, reports Sanchez, are movie listings, which allow users to scan titles playing all over the city at once, and constantly updated restaurant menus. Sanchez himself took about 6,500 photos for businesses on the site.
Growth has been entirely word of mouth, says Sanchez. Thirty eight businesses have signed up for the premium level so far, many after seeing their Jawn page. Sanchez reports that the site will undergo a redesign in January, and also launch a mobile version going into 2012.
SUE SPOLAN is Innovation and Jobs News editor for Flying Kite. Send feedback here.