New York — AOL on Monday introduced the latest online local events site that enables users to search and browse for an extensive range of events in their local area, together with kids and family activities, community events, live performances, sporting events and many others, called When.com, powered by Zvents online events guide.
Both the sites are basically identical except for one element: “Where when.com differentiates is the addition of Kids and Family activities, which we feel is important to our audience,” said AOL spokeswoman Jaymelina Esmele. Zvents handles the categorization, but AOL draws more attention to the family-friendly events.
Every event listing consists of comprehensive information, reviews, maps and directions from MapQuest, and when applicable, links to purchase tickets. Users can also easily bookmark events or add them to their AOL, Google, Outlook or Yahoo Calendar.
“Whether you are searching for events that are fitting for the whole family, something to do on a Friday night or ways to entertain out of town guests, when.com simplifies it for users to find where to go and what to do in their community or places they are traveling to,” said Chris Spanos, General Manager of AOL Local and Search Verticals.
When.com de-stresses the AOL brand but will turn out to be part of the “AOL Local Network,” which includes MapQuest, AOL Cityguide, AOL Travel, etc.
When.com employs IP targeting technique to determine default location, but offers personalization when users register. “When.com is also a great means for event organizers and advertisers to achieve and connect with a targeted audience by providing them the ability to quickly and easily submit their events right from the when.com homepage,” said Chris Spanos.
Event coordinators can display their events at no charge by creating a free when.com account and creating an events page. More information on adding events to when.com is available on the site’s Help page.
Another Difference: Events on when.com are searchable by time (today, tomorrow, next seven days, etc.), type (Arts and Crafts, Community, Dance, etc.) and by geographic area. Users can effortlessly browse through events by using navigation tabs along the top and left-hand side of the page, or search for events by using the convenient search box at the top of the page.
In the coming weeks, AOL expects more changes. “While it is fully functional, the site today is still a phase one beta site; additional features will be rolled out including a when.com widget that can be added to any social networking page and a new “MyWhen” feature that will enable users to save events to their own when.com calendar and receive alerts and reminders for upcoming events as well as update the site based on user feedback,” Esmele said.
Added Spanos: “Zvents’ powerful platform was essential in enabling us to create a compelling experience on when.com.”
When.com is the newest accumulation to the growing AOL Local Network, which is the largest online local network with a monthly reach of 56 million unduplicated unique visitors. The site will be monetized through advertising packages that will be sold through Platform-A, AOL’s digital advertising business.