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Who’s in the News: Bob Chandra
(for more on Bobby Chandra, see bobchandra.com)

Why: Local search tool Grayboxx has been acquired by a Bay Area firm, BayAdvisor, Inc. Financial terms were not revealed, but Grayboxx CEO Bob Chandra will be acting as a key adviser for BayAdvisor, specifically in the implementation of the Grayboxx technology.

Commentary: “In my previous coverage of Grayboxx, you may recall that the PreferenceScore technology takes non-identifiable data from transactions and other consumer and Internet behavior in order to extrapolate the data used for recommending top search results. Grayboxx has executed this on a local scale, having spent the last year rolling out its service across various cities in the US.” - Mashable

Insight: “Grayboxx’s PreferenceScore technology was of key interest to BayAdvisor. PS is a key element of local search but BayAdvisor plans on using the data analysis method across various genres of search including web search, people search, and other areas where the connections between entities reveals something about its popularity.

Follow-on note: Chandra is moving onto a new project called Site605- the premise behind this upcoming search tool is to combine the human element of search result modification along with the algorithmic side to top search.

Another Angle: Grayboxx, a local search website, been sold to a company called BayAdvisor. Grayboxx lets users search by business type and location, while BayAdvisor is more business to business-oriented site, offering a data search to Bay Area business. BayAdvisor intends to use Grayboxx platform to expand its service. Financial aspects of the deal were not reported, though it’s suggested that the sale was a minor win for Grayboxx backer Sierra Ventures.

Background: Grayboxx was founded in 2005 to bring optimal relevancy to “local search”. In English, that means users are going to get what they’re looking for. By leveraging intelligent, patent-pending algorithms that discern the quality and reputation of local businesses with minimal user interaction, we index and score local businesses without imposing review-writing chores on end-users. Grayboxx has the unique advantage of Preference Scoring™. When people buy things from a store or make reservations at a restaurant, they are speaking with their actions about what they like.

(for more about Bob Chandra , see Bob Chandra dot Com)