The Tribune

AN online business search engine released figures yesterday which showed that some 900,000 business listings are viewed monthly since it was launched on 2009.

Jason McDowall, who spent three years building Bahamas Local prior to its launch, said the listings’ hits spike during special times.

“At spring break, for instance, we’ll see a huge spike in pizza companies, scooter rentals, clubs, bars and searches with certain key words or tags,” he said.

For businesses, taking advantage of special calendar cycles is easy, said McDowall.
 McDowall, who partnered in the site with successful entrepreneur and former Bahamas Chamber of Commerce president Dionisio d’Aguilar, said restaurants continue to be a major draw as do movie theatre listings.

“More and more we are finding that viewers are checking for news and I think the popularity of our news feeds has surprised even us,” said McDowall, who attributes part of that popularity to the constant updating of news produced by media houses like The Tribune and agencies and posted on the site often as it happens. The latest figure shows 800,000 total news articles viewed per month.

“It is not surprising since the trend worldwide is toward online news, particularly for up to the minute headlines. By the time the paper comes out in the morning, those who are accustomed to getting news as it happens refer to [the next day’s paper] for more in-depth analysis.” 
 According to recent research by PEW International, TV is still the most popular source for news, but online news, whether on computer, cell phone or other mobile device, is quickly overtaking newspapers and radio with only half as many Americans reading a printed newspaper as they did a decade earlier. Some 55 per cent of regular New York Times readers now read the Times online.

Breaking news, sports and business stories can be viewed on The Tribune’s website, www.tribune242.com.

“We are becoming increasingly oriented toward getting the information we need to conduct our lives efficiently and effectively from online sources,” said McDowall, “and I am proud to be part of what has become an important tool for businesses and individuals in The Bahamas.”