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Zillow has rolled out their new Neighborhood Pages which may be one of the first effective hyperlocal sites, as long as they focus on real estate.

Hyperlocal is the building of sites focusing on one specific area with the intention of giving it coverage of the issues that effect it. So mortgage rates are a topic to be covered, but a new sewer fee is a topic that must be delved into.

Now the problem with all forums or microsites that require user input to thrive is gaining that critical mass. There is no way Zillow is going to be able to staff people to manage each locales page without throwing big money at it. And Topix has the automated local news side of hyperlocal figured out and they are muddling along.

What will determine the critical mass is if enough people will come and stay to discuss local issues on a regular basis. Some real estate agents will, but to be honest I am not sure that homebuyers want to sit around and watch real estate agents talk shop. And for the real estate agents to come to Zillow and change their voice so what they write is a big leap, if they wanted to do that they would have a blog and be dominating the local SERPs that way.

So do I think that it will flop? I am not willing to go that far. But I truly believe that for Zillow to gain the traction of being the go to place to discuss neighborhood issues instead of the local papers forums (yes, they have figured that out and gotten a head start.) is a long stretch.

However, saying that, Zillow has built a heck of a product and exploring new opportunities to grow the brand is the way of the internet. I think that they are trying new things in their arms race with Trulia and with their deep pockets they will be able to explore new ideas before the smaller entreprenuer can.

The idea is that people will not only visit Zillow to learn about homes, but — one could imagine — local restaurants, recent crimes or the history of the neighborhood. With this feature, you could also see Zillow moving down the path of trying to link people together in certain neighborhoods to share a lawnmower, sell a grill, host a fundraiser or, perhaps, find a date. And if that occurs, the real estate information and Zestimates offered by Zillow today might just be a Trojan horse into other lucrative advertising markets.  John Cook’s Venture Blog

Others Covering Zillow’s Neighborhood Pages:

• Inman News 
• Bloodhound Blog
• Mashable
• Future of Real Estate Marketing and here
• Sramana Mitra on Strategy
• The Zillow Blog
• Drew Meyers Personal Insights on Web 2.0

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5. Make 2009 A Year To Remember