Hyperlocal (also reckoned Hyper-local[1][2]) is an adjective used to describe something as being "limited to a very small geographical area",[3] and in particular, to anything "[e]xtremely or excessively local", in particular with regard to media output aimed at such narrowly focused populations.
[9] As of 2024, the adjective was being defined by Merriam-Wester as "limited to a very small geographical area",[3] and by the OED as describe anything "[e]xtremely or excessively local", in particular with regard to media output (web, television, etc.)
Hyperlocal content is targeted at or consumed by people or entities that are located within a well defined area, generally on the scale of a street, neighborhood, community or city.
More recently, hyperlocal content has evolved to include GPS enabled internet integrated mobile applications which score highly on both the geographic and the time dimensions.
[citation needed] Specific examples include Forumhome.org, which focuses on issues likely of interest only to the few thousand residents of the small New Hampshire towns it serves, and Rheebo.com, a hyperlocal website that builds communities around things people are passionate about.
[citation needed] Hyperlocal sites may also emphasize particular subsets of issues; for instance, the former award-winning NewWest.net site—that covered events of the Rocky Mountain West [of the United States] through ca.
August 2011[10]—including through the use of freelancers and citizen contributors,[citation needed] stated that it sought to be "a network of online communities... aim[ing] to serve as a nexus of dialogue and a smart guide to the news and issues..." including with regard to "culture, economy, politics, [and] environment"... around "common interests and hopes for the region as it wrestles with growth and change", thus identifying the tension between economic development and environmental concerns as an emphasis.
[11] Further text ascribed to NewWest.net states that its "core mission is to serve the Rockies with innovative, participatory journalism and to promote conversation that help us understand and make the most of the dramatic changes sweeping our region".
[citation needed] Many of the best-known hyperlocal news sites have sprung up independently, with the battle cry "local doesn't scale," but larger media companies have been interested in the concept as well.
[6] Regarding the Patch.com case, according to Tom Kaneshige's March 2015 article in CIO magazine, Legions of underserved local advertisers were supposed to flock to Patch sites, leaving national publishers in the collective dust.
[This quote needs a citation] The first Curley-led effort for WashingtonPost.com focused on Loudoun County, which Lavin describes as "diverse and spread across a vast area", and so "hyper local [sic.]
[This quote needs a citation] Other journalists, not surprisingly, expressed skepticism regarding the hyperlocal movement's focus on the often mundane information of daily life.
Hyperlocal "has the potential to trivialize a media organization's brand and further saturate news sites with myopic local (and frequently unedited) content, perhaps at the expense of foreign and national reporting", stated Donna Shaw in the American Journalism Review.
[19] And as Jonathan Weber, founder of NewWest.net, noted (regarding Backfence.com's closing), the lack of an appropriate content or business focus, suited to its market, can also contribute to a hyperlocally directed enterprise to fail.
[6] Even so, as BBC's Van Klaveren has concluded, journalistic organizations might profit by embracing both so-called "big-J" journalism and the hyperlocal, saying "We need to move beyond news to information".
[citation needed] While many traditional print publications are shutting down or publish exclusively online, local newspapers in small towns can still make a profit.
[25] The most recent incarnation of hyperlocal content grew out the combination of satellite based location services and advanced wireless data built into mobile devices.
Hyperlocal GPS mobile apps, in particular, change the nature of human interaction with their environment by providing a much faster, richer and relevant source of information.
In contrast to rating services or directories, the mobile Foursquare app uses GPS location data to enable users to make more informed choices and receive better deals.