Following Patch's development of its hyperlocal business model, Fwix is coming forward with its new automated hyperlocal service. Marketwire reports Fwix released its Places Pages, which will make for the ultimate hyperlocal places directory. People can upload information in real time pertaining to news, events, reviews, and more using geo-tagging technology. "We want to build a timeline of what's happening for every geo-point on the planet," said Darian Shirazi, CEO of Fwix. "This is really the first four-dimensional view of the world and, combined with our search technology, we believe we've built the ultimate hyperlocal product."

Originally, the concept of Fwix, created in 2008, was straightforward; aggregate news, blogs, and local data such as the weather. Since then the San Francisco- based company has grown, ranging from launching its services in the UK to partnering with the New York Times. Shirazi has always believed in the worth of aggregated news, stating back in April to The Wall Street Journal "The true value to news in the future will be filtration of content and using technology to ensure that published news speaks well to user preferences and reader expectations. There aren't enough editors in the world and there isn't enough money to pay hundreds of editors to filter the growing online content universe." With Places Pages, Fwix is further able to aggregate information that appeals to its reader's expectations.

The changes to Fwix will include an "automated directory filled with maps, news feeds, events, photos, reviews, Tweets, status updates, and check-ins," writes TechCrunch. While Patch is creating a hyperlocal network in only 500 small towns, Fwix can do this automatically in 50,000 neighborhoods and for 15 million business and and other places. Local data is collected from a plethora of sources, including various blogs and social media, Yelp, Groupon, SpotCrime, FixMyStreet, Flickr, Smugmug, Foursquare, and several more. The new design of the site revolves around a map with points that link to recent updates from the various information providers. Users can search for keywords of interest, and Fwix will aggregate respective stories and their geo-points.

"We are automating Patch and building richer places pages and city pages," exclaims Shirazi. The strategy has its benefits, as this automatic aggregation of hyperlocal information covers a much larger range of points than Patch. Yet Patch has journalists on the ground for its hyperlocal sites, making the information uploaded somewhat more reliable. Patch has been criticized for its quality control, as anyone can upload any information. With Fwix, the data set is much more enormous making quality control a greater challenge. Can Fwix moderate its new hyperlocal site, or is the lack of control an innate structural flaw?

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Marketwire, TechCrunch