Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram has started crowdsourcing its information. For proof, you need to join Facebook groups catering to Thiruvananthapuram foodies – there are a couple of those. There, you post a question; say, “Where can I find the yummiest Tiramisu in town?” Count seconds,
and responses will start flooding in. More Thiruvananthapuram residents have now started depending on such social media platforms. The membership of a group ‘Eat at Trivandrum’ has, over just three months, crossed 20,000.
Its founder Arvind Soju is still not sure what the factors were which made it such a strong group. However this software professional and other admins here have
their hands full. ‘Trivandrum Foodies’, another group for foodies, has a membership over 15,000. Unlike a traditional ‘yellow page’ which might have provided a list of restaurants, the Facebook groups offer first-hand experiences. ‘Eat at Trivandrum’ has also become a space for customers to directly interact with various restaurant owners and relay their feedback.
The phenomena of crowdsourcing is not just limited to food. Nitin S.J. and Archana Gopinath, a young couple in Thiruvananthapuram, started a group called ‘Where in Trivan-drum’ on Wednesday. By Thursday, the membership has gone up to 530. The group is to help people know where you can find various services in Thiruvananthapuram.
On Thursday, some of the questions which got resolved were “Where can I rent a guitar in Thiruvananthapuram?” and “Where can I find a career consultant?” Ms Gopinath says they got the idea when they heard of FB groups where friends would answer friends’ questions. “Normally we ask the same circle of friends. Here we have a wider circle to ask.” Even as there are reports of portals like zomato.com investing in more south Indian cities, one cannot help wonder if those would be needed. Who needs those when there are FB pages with expert comments?
