Brownbook.net, a free online directory that can be edited by anyone, has launched a new mobile platform. The new offering, accessible at http://m.brownbook.net/, already contains listings of 27 million businesses.
Among the features of the mobile platform are the ability for users to add or edit any business, write reviews, invite others to review any business in the world, save any of the 27 million business listings on a v.card directly to the address book on their mobile devices, and view maps of business locations.
Mobile content is becoming more and more prevalent these days. This new offering from Brownbook will enable even the smallest businesses to take full advantage of this trend and create listings that have the potential to reach a broader audience than they could with other mediums.
Perhaps years ago, a model that enables users to add and edit their own content wasn't very enticing to the listed businesses or the users viewing those listings. But the trust that Wikipedia has earned has certainly made this an acceptable, and viable, business model. People seem to enjoy having such control over content creation, and as a result, Brownbook's directory should grow at a very healthy pace.