Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) just announced it will buy the venerable restaurant
rater Zagat. Details still are sketchy, but the news has both foodies and
techies taking note. For consumers, the result could be the latest offering from
a big technology company trying to have a very local impact via deals or
promoting off-the-beaten-path restaurants in your neighborhood that appeal to
your tastes. For techies and investors, the Google purchase of Zagat is
noteworthy because it means the tech giant is finding yet another way to extend
its octopus-like reach into every facet of our lives. Here's a look at what
the Google-Zagat alliance could look like: For starters, rumors indicate Zagat
was informally accepting buyout offers for a while. That's because it is very
much an "old media" company think printed restaurant guides and coupon
books. They just aren't very relevant anymore. Google was able to look at this
antiquated model and see the future. In its corporate blog, Google said "Zagat
will be a cornerstone of our local offering" in other words, taking the
authority of the restaurant reviewer and repackaging it with all the other
high-tech products Google offers that are both tremendous in scale on the whole
and tremendously focused on your own backyard for each user. Google Places, its
ratings hub that is akin to privately-held Yelp or other similar sites, aims
very much to be a Zagat for the 21 st century. In July, Google decided to purge
nearly all outside, third-party reviews from sites like TripAdvisor, Hotels.com
and the like. It now appears that could have been in preparation for a focus on
in-house content from this Zagat partnership and effectively lock out the
competition. The Zagat name brings some weight to reviews, especially in the
restaurant arena. This could be a great way to prime the pump for Google Places.
And in the spirit of Groupon, Living Social and other online coupon efforts, the
tech giant can make big strides with its fledgling Google Offers business that
launched this year. Many believe the space is wide open, with once-dominant
Groupon losing its luster among many industry insiders and investors. Mixing
reviews with the online community at Zagat.com, which already features some of
the most engaged foodies around, could provide a valuable list of prospective
customers for restaurant and travel deals. The big question, of course, is what
will happen to the physical Zagat books. Will Google muddle through, push them
online or kill them altogether? As I said earlier, things are murky. But
whatever the specifics shake out to be, one thing is clear: Google Places and
Google Offers are going to get some good momentum as a result of this
partnership.
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