The Sidewalk.com website was formerly the location of a

Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washingt ...

local information project. The website is now owned by Ask Media Group.

History

Sidewalk.com was first registered in 1995 by a C.D. Bell of Los Angeles, CA, as a website where local subscribers could gain a presence on the web. Bell compiled a lengthy list of possible names for his new domain, and much to his surprise his first choice, "Sidewalk.com", was available. Most of the website content was rather inconsequential save for the wildly popular "Unofficial O.J. Simpson Boycott Page". In 1996 Bell sold the domain to the Microsoft Corporation who, for its purposes, was interested in the domain name only. 1997 saw Microsoft debut the website as a listing of local events and information in numerous cities. It was

's attempt to create a group of comprehensive

web portal A web portal is a specially designed website that brings information from diverse sources, like emails, online forums and search engines, together in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displayi ...

s oriented towards specific cities. Imbued with hip urban writing and lifestyle articles, the service was intended to compete with urban weekly newspapers. It was preceded by other city-specific net guides such as AOL's Digital Cities and

Boulevards A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

. In 1999, Microsoft sold the project to

Citysearch Citysearch is an online city guide that provides information about businesses in the categories of dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in cities throughout the United States. Visitors to each of Citysearch's local city ...

. However, in 2007

Steve Ballmer Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball As ...

stated that "Sidewalk was really aimed at what we now call local search... Sidewalk is one we should not have gotten out of." On June 25, 2009 Citysearch launched the "Right Here Right Now" challenge, inviting anyone to create a brand new business at Sidewalk.co

that enable users to live life on the go more easily. Participants are called to submit a brilliant idea for a web and mobile application that includes access to Citysearch's taxonomy, directory, content and other open APIs focused on local. Selected by a panel of judges, the creator of the winning application will win $10,000 in cash and, possibly, the opportunity to develop and manage a new business venture with up to $1 million in funding and an equity stake in the new Sidewalk.com venture, and access to the Citysearch publisher network allowing them to instantly monetize traffic.IAC Press Release As of October 2012, the site is controlled by Citysearch subsidiary CityGrid Media and contains very limited content.

References

External links

Sidewalk.com
(Archives)
Sidewalk scares newspapers

Uncompleted Microsoft initiatives Internet properties established in 1997 Defunct websites {{website-stub