Delocator.MapYourCity.Net provides participants with alternatives to corporately controlled cafes, bookstores and movie
theatres; and celebrates the diversity that exists within the culture of independent businesses across the United States. Delocator.MapYourCity.Net
enables participants to strategically avoid corporate chains that dominate market niches where culture and consumption most frequently intersect.
Non-corporate bookstore, cafe and movie theater locations are entered into our database by any interested user and automatically annotated using Google Maps.
Delocator.MapYourCity.Net enhances the original Delocator.Net web service. Delocator.Net initially launched on April 1, 2005. By September 2005, over 5000 entries
had been posted to the Delocator.Net database, and over two million users had viewed the web site. Over a thousand emails from participants across the country
were emailed to Delocator.Net. The most common complaints were the inability to edit the results page, and the fixed distance of the search radius.
Delocator.MapYourCity.Net addresses these concerns and also adds new features to the site:
a) In addition to coffee shops, bookstores and movie theaters have also become part of our database.
b) You can now enter and retrieve locations on your cellphone, while on the go in urban environments! Any SMS enabled phone will be able to
communicate with our Delocator.MapYouCity.Net database.
For general information please contact:
info@delocator.mapyourcity.net
For technical problems please contact:
bug@delocator.mapyourcity.net
Corporate industries invading American neighborhoods, from coffee chains to bookstore chains, music chains and movie theatre chains,
pose a threat to the authenticity of our unique neighborhoods. Although there is room on the map for shared territories - both the homogenous corporate enterprise
and the independent ventures across the nation, our independent, community-operated businesses deserve your dime.
In An Analysis of the Potential Economic Impact of Austin Unchained (Nov. 15, 2003), Civic Economics reports: "For every $100 in consumer spending at Borders,
the total local economic impact is only $13. The same amount spent with BookPeople (an independently owned bookstore) and Waterloo (an independently owned music store)
yields more than three times the local economic impact."
Many independent store owners talk about knowing the community, creating a friendly and supportive atmosphere, and chatting with clients about their kids, school games,
and local news.
"People say we're cozy, not corporate," said coffee shop owner Holler. "We can make our own rules and we can empower our staff to do so as well. A Starbucks employee
doesn't have the pride in ownership that they do at our store."
Support the underdog and promote a future that includes the culture of small businesses!
Independent bookstores are facing a grave challenge. Cody's Books in Berkeley, California was a bona fide cultural institution on Telegraph Avenue. In his recent
announcement (May 10, 2006), owner Andy Ross says, "It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Cody's will be closing our doors at the Telegraph Avenue store
for the last time on July 10." In the past fifteen years, Cody’s sales have declined by 66%.
Cody's is certainly not the only independent bookstore to close its doors. The American Booksellers Association has seen a decline in membership from 5200 bookstores
in 1991 to 1702 stores in 2005.
With chains on the rise, supporting local institutions (and many independent bookstores are truly thought of as cultural institutions) promotes a future that includes
our neighborhood bookstores, movie theaters and coffee shops and denies the type of news that Andy Ross so sadly delivers.
Become active on Delocator.Mapyourcity.Net and help promote independent businesses across the country!
Web Interface: Simply subscribe (you can always delete your account later). An email confirmation will be sent to you.
Mobile Phones: after registering your phone, simply text message action@delocator.mapyourcity.net
Message body:
To upload points type: add b for bookstore, c for coffee shop, or m for movie theatre. Followed by a pound sign, address (actual street address or street corner) city, state (OR zipcode) pound sign, name of the location.
Example: add b # 435 6th st 90814 # Acres of Books
Example2: add c#900 ocean ave, seal beach, ca#Bogarts
To retrieve points type:
get space category (b, c, or m) pound sign address.
Example: get m # 123 4th st 90814
The 3 closest locations will be sent to you via SMS.
Simply subscribe to Delocator.MapYourCity.Net and become an active member in the Delocator.mapyourcity community. Once you have created your account you may enter store information via our web interface; and receive and add information about previously submitted locations. You will be able to do the same on your cell phone!
