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Business.txt Standard proposal @fesja August 31st
Business.txtStandard proposal
@fesjaAugust 31st
Problem to solve
Local businesses have to update their information on dozens of websites
Websites have outdated information
Users find info that it’s not correct
business.txt
A file with all the info of the local business in a standard format
Websites will get that file and update their info when something changes
Users will read the latest information
It’s win-win-win!
ExampleName: RJ GruntsCategories: American Restaurant, BarStreet: 2056 North Lincoln Park W (at Dickens Ave.)Zip: 60614City: ChicagoState: IllinoisCountry: United StatesCoordinates: 41.92012, -‐87.63645Phone: (1) 773-‐929-‐5363Price range: $$Price description: $9.95 burger, $11.95 salad and soup bar. You can eat for $10-‐20.Open: Mon-‐Fri 11.30am-‐12am, Sat 10am-‐12am, Sun 10am-‐9pmShort description: Great place to have a great burger and salad bar
Website: http://www.rjgruntschicago.com/Twitter: RJGruntsChicagoFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/rjgruntsFoursquare: https://foursquare.com/v/rj-‐grunts/42153000f964a5208c1f1fe3Google: https://plus.google.com/108935673850120788149/about?hl=enYelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/rj-‐grunts-‐chicagoTouristEye: http://www.touristeye.com/RJ-‐Grunts-‐Chicago-‐p-‐2127
Are people interested?
259 points and 109 comments in Hacker News
2nd most starred repository in Github on August 27th
Discussion on the W3C newsletter
Hundreds of discussions with SEOs
Is it the best solution?
Why not schema?
Why not vCard/hCard?
Why is it an external file?
Is it safe against malicious behavior?
Does Google support it?1. A Google employee writes a personal
thought
2. A SEO writes a post about that opinion: “Googler: Don't Use business.txt Files”
3. Someone writes in Twitter: “Google Says Don't Use Business.TXT file”
4. Be careful with what you read!
Next steps
Agree on the format
Build the first plugins (Wordpress)
Market the idea to local businesses devs
Contact with websites to implement it
Follow business.txt
On Github: github.com/fesja/businesstxt
Group: groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/businesstxt
Feedback? Questions?