Yeah, Google’s monopoly is a problem. Wonder if there’d be any real appetite for a (potentially govt supported) index for Canadian businesses, which could link through to those businesses public websites (if they have them) — and/or just serve as a host for a basic business brochure / info set.
I mean, businesses need to register within jurisdictions in order to operate – why not have those jurisdictions have a semi federated setup of sites to host indexes for consumers / b2b. Publicize it to the general public, and ensure that businesses let their own employees know about it (so that local workers, know there are local options to look up shops / businesses). You could connect the jurisdictional sites via federation to make it a “one stop site” for Canadians to go to for local business references/info, even as they move around to different areas.
If this lemmy site is legit in its costs being like $1.10/user/year, I imagine our govt could do similar for similarly low costs – and offset it by having some modest local advertising options on the sites. You’d basically setup a class of ‘business’ users that’d have a bit more of a portal, and a landing page associated with their brand, where they could post basic information up / connect with potential customers. Have the business registration process in different municipalities / jurisdictions be involved in administration of those business accounts. Regular consumers could either be left as read only, or could potentially have accounts setup for more engagement – perhaps with some method of checking the person’s general geo location to root out some malicious sorts / potential foreign influences.
I don’t think we have anything like this, but… I’d love to see it pushed by some politicians, personally.
Yeah, Google’s monopoly is a problem. Wonder if there’d be any real appetite for a (potentially govt supported) index for Canadian businesses, which could link through to those businesses public websites (if they have them) — and/or just serve as a host for a basic business brochure / info set.
I mean, businesses need to register within jurisdictions in order to operate – why not have those jurisdictions have a semi federated setup of sites to host indexes for consumers / b2b. Publicize it to the general public, and ensure that businesses let their own employees know about it (so that local workers, know there are local options to look up shops / businesses). You could connect the jurisdictional sites via federation to make it a “one stop site” for Canadians to go to for local business references/info, even as they move around to different areas.
If this lemmy site is legit in its costs being like $1.10/user/year, I imagine our govt could do similar for similarly low costs – and offset it by having some modest local advertising options on the sites. You’d basically setup a class of ‘business’ users that’d have a bit more of a portal, and a landing page associated with their brand, where they could post basic information up / connect with potential customers. Have the business registration process in different municipalities / jurisdictions be involved in administration of those business accounts. Regular consumers could either be left as read only, or could potentially have accounts setup for more engagement – perhaps with some method of checking the person’s general geo location to root out some malicious sorts / potential foreign influences.
I don’t think we have anything like this, but… I’d love to see it pushed by some politicians, personally.