TORONTO, Canada—January 15, 2012—Steve Curry, president and CEO of 411.ca, Canada’s Local Search Engine, will join the board of directors of Grandview Children’s Foundation next month. Based in Oshawa, Ont., the charity raises funds for Grandview Children’s Centre and Campbell Children’s School, which help children and youth with special needs reach their full potential.

“Steve not only has a passion for helping children with special needs, but also offers superior leadership and entrepreneurial skills,” says Vicky Earle, Grandview’s Executive Director. “His vision will allow us to strengthen and grow the foundation so that we can help more children. We’re very fortunate to have him.”

Curry brings extensive marketing expertise to the board, which will be an asset as the foundation looks to expand its base of donors. But his involvement wasn’t about filling a gap. “My family has supported the organization for years, and giving back is just something we do at 411.ca,” he says.

He’s certainly right. Last year, 411.ca sponsored the Scotiabank Pro-Am charity hockey tournament for Alzheimer research at Baycrest Hospital as well as Chef’s Challenge, a cooking competition for Mount Sinai Hospital.

And the company’s employees give back, too. In 2011, they climbed 1,776 steps as part of the CN Tower Climb for United Way, ran the Goodlife Half Marathon for Sick Kids Hospital, joined the walk for the Terry Fox Foundation and grew dubious moustaches for Movember. One employee even spends 20 months growing his hair time and time again and then donates it, 18 inches at a time, to Locks of Love, a charity that makes wigs for women suffering from hair loss due to cancer treatment.

Bottom line: Giving back is a huge part of 411.ca’s culture. As Curry puts it, “Part of being a great company is doing great things for others.”

About 411.ca
With offices in Toronto and Montreal, 411.ca is Canada’s #1 purely online directory service. Every year, more than 12 million visitors – nearly half of Canada’s internet users – found a person or business on 411.ca. With its savvy search box, candid reviews and reverse look-up feature, 411.ca is the fastest and easiest way to get the 411 in your neighbourhood.

About Steve Curry
Steve Curry is one of Canada’s most successful internet entrepreneurs. From his unfinished basement in 1999, he founded 411.ca as an online service that helps Canadians find people and local businesses. With Curry as president and CEO, the company has grown to more than 150 employees and nearly 20,000 advertisers.

About Grandview Children’s Foundation
Grandview Children’s Foundation is a registered charity that raises funds for Grandview Children’s Centre and Campbell Children’s School. It provides professional therapy, medical services and family resources to more than 4,500 children each year. Its vision: To give children and youth with special needs the opportunity to dream, learn, succeed and belong…with you on their side, a whole world opens up.

Contact
Samantha Israel, Senior Media Manager at 411.ca
1-866-411-4411 ext. 928 sisrael@411.ca

From the 411.ca family to yours,

we wish you joy this holiday season, 

and health and happiness in the New Year.

L'équipe 411.ca vous souhaite de joyeuses fêtes ! 

Santé et prospérité pour cette nouvelle année !

Manhattan Steak House has been around for many years and has always provided good value. Last night my wife had a shrimpa nd salmon plate while I had Louisianna Chicken. Both plates were $15.95 and came with the soup and salad bar. The waiter, Eric, was great as we hung around a long time and even though we had paid for our meal an hour before, kept on refilling our water glasses and coffee cups. – Philip Share on Manhattan Steak House

Great tasting food and huge portion sizes. I ate there with my boyfriend who ordered the hot turkey meal, for which he was given extra gravy, and said it was the best he’s had from a restaurant, then gobbled it all up. I ordered the mozza bacon burger, which was tied for the best I’ve had, and the portion was so big I could only eat half of it. I had the other half boxed up and took it home to eat later. We both got poutines, made with real cheese curds, and both that and the fries and gravy was very tasty. We ordered mozzarella sticks as an appetizer, which were very good, although the marinara sauce tasted just like tomato sauce out of a can. The food and service has greatly improved since the restaurant changed owners. The only real negative point was that it took 10 minutes for my boyfriend to get a refill on his coffee, though the diner was not very crowded. Would definitely recommend, and will visit again. - Rachel Salisbury on Country Grill

As a university student, pizza is an absolute necessity. Now, I’ve been to a lot of Pizza Delights in my life, but this particular one is one of the best. Not only is it located near campus, but the staff is incredibly nice and helpful. The waitresses have a nice sense of humor, and they make sure your experience is wonderful. It doesn’t take long to get seated at a table, but more importantly, it doesn’t take long to get your order! The food is delicious; the deserts, scrumptious! You need to order desert. The prices are good and affordable. Plus, they deliver! All in all, great restaurant. – Sylvie LeBlanc on Pizza Delight

This place is pricey, it is true. But holy smokes, it really is good food. I don’t think I can afford to go back but I wish I could! I had a french dip sandwich and it was so so so good. The meat was very tender, roast beef sliced thin with melted cheese on a homemade bun and with real french dip. The person I dined with had some sort of meatloaf which was also fantastic. Top quality food and prices to match. Unfortunately most people probably will not be willing to pay these prices and I fear it will go under. Hopefully they lower the prices, have some promos and get some people in there. If people just tasted the food and it was a bit lower in price I am sure it would be packed again. - Jaselyn Beckman on Braxton’s Tap and Grill

The perfect day to recognize your awesomeness would be April 11, a.k.a. National 411 Day. But we couldn’t wait. Instead, we’ve made National 411 Day a twice-a-year event also celebrated on Nov. 4. In the spirit of the day, we want you to write a review. We’ll tweet our favourite ones and plaster them on our Facebook wall. Here are some tips on writing them: http://www.411.ca/blog/get-the-411/give-the-411/
While you’re on the site, try our new tools to edit and add businesses. Marketing types call this crowdsourcing, but we prefer to call it crowd-pleasing ‘cause you’re improving the experience for everyone. Get more details on our blog: http://www.411.ca/blog/get-the-411/give-the-411/

Thanks again for making our Community a success. And stick around. We’ve got cool stuff coming.
The 411.ca Team

Merci, vous êtes super !

Nous avons commencé à bâtir la Communauté 411.ca en Juin. Grace à vous nous sommes désormais plus de 27 000 membres, pour un total de 28 000 recommandations écrites à ce jour. Des Canadiens à travers tout le pays ont pu «obtenir le 411» sur des restaurants, magasins et beaucoup d’autres commerces.

La journée officielle « 411.ca » se déroule habituellement le 4 Avril, mais cette année nous avons voulu aussi la célébrer ce vendredi 4 Novembre. Dans l’esprit de cette journée nous vous sollicitons pour écrire une recommandation. Nous publierons sur Twitter et Facebook nos favorites!

Voici quelques conseils pour écrire la vôtre : http://www.411.ca/blog/get-the-411/give-the-411/

Pendant que vous êtes sur notre site, profitez-en pour essayer nos nouvelles fonctionnalités. Vous allez pouvoir désormais éditer et ajouter des entreprises à votre guise! Obtenez plus de détails sur notre blog : http://www.411.ca/blog/get-the-411/give-the-411/

Merci encore d’avoir contribué au succès de notre communauté! Restez à l’affut car beaucoup de nouveautés arrivent… ;)

L’équipe 411.ca

What’s new, you ask?

Well, you can now add, edit and delete businesses on 411.ca! Exciting stuff, eh? Here’s how to go about it:


To edit a business:

First, you have to be on a business’s page. Are you there yet? Great! Look for a button that says “start editing” on the left hand side of the page, and click on it. There, you’ll be able to edit a business’s information field by for field (look for the “edit” and “add” buttons beside each field) or all in one shot (look for the “Edit All Information” button at the top right corner of the page). When you hit “save,” your changes will be submitted to our Community Managers. When they’ve approved it, you’ll get an email saying we’ve approved it, and your changes will appear on our site within 24 hours.


To add a business:

To add a business, your search query has to yield no results—something like, “abcdefg” is a good search query. On the results page, you’ll see an “Add a business” link. Click it, and you’ll be directed to a form where you can fill out the business’s details. You have lots of choices, from website info to business description to hours of operation. Be sure to fill out as much information as you can, but don’t worry if you don’t know it all…only the first couple of fields are mandatory. If you’re submitting your own business, you can go through our Owner Verification process, here, instead.


To report a problem:
If you’re on a business page, and you notice something wrong, click the “Report a Problem” button on the left hand side of the page. You’ll see a popup box where you can specify the problem with the business. Options include reporting the business as closed, reporting it as a duplicate on our site or reporting it as a fake business. For any of these cases, you can also enter your own reasons for reporting the business. When you hit the “Propose change” button, your changes will be submitted to our Community Managers. And when they’ve approved it, you’ll get an email saying we’ve approved it and your changes will appear on the site within 24 hours.


It’s all fast and easy!

Did I mention you can get points for your editing efforts? The more info you submit, the more points you’ll get…and the more points you get, the higher your influence level will be. You could be the leading influencer in your neighbourhood (which is pretty much equivalent to taking over the world).

Partagez les renseignements dont vous disposez et aidez votre communauté !

Oyez, oyez, communauté 411.ca, nous avons d’emballantes nouvelles pour vous ! L’équipe de 411.ca vient en effet d’intégrer à son site une nouvelle fonctionnalité excitante qui vous permettra, plus que jamais, « d’obtenir le 411 » !

Mais encore ?

Eh bien, vous pouvez maintenant ajouter, modifier et supprimer des profils d’entreprises sur le site de 411.ca ! Épatant, non ? Voici comment procéder.


Pour modifier une page d’entreprise
Vous devez d’abord vous rendre sur l’annonce du commerce en question. Vous y êtes ? Parfait ! Repérez le bouton « Modifier » situé du côté gauche de la page, et cliquez dessus. De là, vous pourrez modifier les renseignements relatifs à l’entreprise, un champ à la fois (à l’aide des boutons « modifier » et « ajouter » figurant à côté de chacun) ou tous en même temps (en utilisant le bouton « Modifier toutes les informations » situé dans le coin supérieur droit de la page). Lorsque vous cliquerez sur « Proposer la modification», les changements que vous aurez proposés seront transmis à nos gestionnaires de communauté. Lorsqu’ils auront été approuvés, vous en serez informé par courriel, et le site sera modifié dans les 24 heures.


Pour ajouter une entreprise
Pour ajouter une entreprise, vous devez d’abord effectuer une recherche qui ne génère aucun résultat. Entrez un mot clé comme « abcdefg », par exemple. Sur la page de résultats, vous verrez le lien « Ajouter une entreprise ». Suivez ce lien et vous serez redirigé vers un formulaire où vous pourrez saisir divers renseignements concernant l’entreprise, allant de l’adresse de son site Web à la description de ses services, sans oublier ses heures d’ouverture. Assurez-vous de fournir autant d’information que possible, mais ne vous inquiétez pas si vous n’avez pas tous les détails. Seule la première série de champs est obligatoire. S’il s’agit de votre propre entreprise, vous pouvez aussi procéder à la vérification du propriétaire en cliquant ici.

Pour signaler un problème
Si vous êtes sur une page d’entreprise et vous remarquez quelque chose qui ne va pas, vous pouvez cliquer sur le bouton « Signaler un problème » situé à gauche de la page. Une boite de dialogue apparaîtra et vous pourrez spécifier le problème.

Les options sont les suivantes :
- Entreprise fermée
- Apparaît plusieurs fois sur le site
- Semble fausse
- Autre

Lorsque vous cliquez sur le bouton « Proposer cette modification », vos modifications seront soumises à nos gestionnaires de communauté. Vous recevrez un courriel annonçant que nous avons approuvé vos changements et ils seront visibles sur le site dans les prochaines 24 heures.

C’est facile et rapide !

Vous ai-je indiqué que vos efforts seraient récompensés par des points ? Plus vous entrerez de renseignements, plus vous obtiendrez de points. Et plus vous amasserez de points, plus votre niveau d’influence augmentera. Vous pourriez devenir la personne la plus influente de votre voisinage (ce qui revient presque à dominer le monde).

So what makes a great review? Here are my top 3 suggestions:

1. Create honest content

The 411.ca Community wants to read your true, honest opinion about a business. If you had a great experience, we want to hear about it! If your experience wasn’t up to your expectations, write about that too! It’s important that you only write reviews for businesses you’ve actually been to or services you’ve actually used. And if you haven’t been to the business but you’ve dealt with the business owner and want to write about it, you can­—just be honest.

2. Write great, original content

Include as much information as you can. If you’re writing a review about a restaurant, include your opinion on the food, service, ambiance and price. You can write up to 1,024 characters for each review, so go crazy! A review with lots of details is helpful not just to users but to business owners, too. Oh yeah, don’t copy and paste previously published content from other websites or sources. And if you have strong opinions about the business, please ensure that you back up those opinions with solid facts.

Here are some questions to think about when writing a solid review:

-How did I hear about the business?
-When did I try it out?
-Who did I go with?
-What product or service did I buy?
-How much did everything cost?
-How satisfied was I with the product or service?
-What makes the business special?
-What did I like best about the business?
-What did I like least?
-How could the business improve?
-Would I recommend the business to a friend? Why or why not?

3. Produce content that reflects you

The meat of your content should be facts, but the writing is entirely you! So make sure your personality shines through in the reviews you write! Have fun…and your readers will too.

Comment écrire un bon commentaire

En tant que gestionnaire de communauté, mon travail consiste en grande partie à lire des commentaires. À mon retour à la maison, je les lis aussi en toute occasion. Grâce aux commentaires, j’ai pu déterminer dans quel hôtel séjourner durant mes vacances, quel entrepreneur plombier contacter et quel restaurant essayer. Lorsque j’ai emménagé à Toronto, ils m’ont même m’aidé à choisir un fournisseur de services Internet. Voilà pourquoi j’aime les commentaires dignes d’intérêt.

En quoi consiste donc un bon commentaire ? Voici les trois meilleurs conseils que je pourrais vous donner :

1. Créez du contenu véridique
La communauté 411.ca veut lire ce que vous pensez honnêtement d’une entreprise. Si votre expérience vous a comblé, racontez-le-nous ! Si vous avez été déçu, n’hésitez pas à nous en faire part également ! Il est important que vous commentiez uniquement les entreprises avec lesquelles vous avez déjà traité, ou les services que vous avez déjà essayés. Si vous n’avez jamais mis le pied dans un commerce, mais avez déjà fait affaire avec son propriétaire et désirez partager votre expérience, vous pouvez le faire, à condition d’être honnête.

2. Rédigez du contenu intéressant et original
Incluez autant d’information que possible. Si vous écrivez un commentaire au sujet d’un restaurant, indiquez ce que vous avez pensé de la nourriture, du service, de l’ambiance et des prix. Vous avez à votre disposition 1 024 caractères par recommandation, alors laissez-vous aller ! Un commentaire détaillé est utile aux autres utilisateurs, mais aussi au propriétaire de l’entreprise. Oh, et pendant que j’y pense, ne recopiez pas le contenu déjà publié dans d’autres sites ou sources externes. Et si vous avez des idées très arrêtées au sujet d’une entreprise, assurez-vous de les appuyer par des faits bien établis.

Posez-vous ces quelques questions pour vous assurer de rédiger un commentaire instructif :
‒ Comment ai-je entendu parler de l’entreprise ?
‒ Quand ai-je fait l’essai de ses produits ou services ?
‒ Avec qui y suis-je allé ?
‒ Quel produit ou service ai-je achetés ?
‒ Combien ai-je payé ?
‒ À quel point ai-je été satisfait du produit ou du service en question?
‒ En quoi l’entreprise se distingue-t-elle de ses concurrents ?
‒ Qu’ai-je le plus aimé de cette entreprise ?
‒ Qu’ai-je le moins aimé ?
‒ Comment cette entreprise pourrait-elle s’améliorer ?
‒ La recommanderais-je à un ami ? Pourquoi ?

3. Produisez du contenu qui vous ressemble
Les faits doivent constituer l’essentiel de votre contenu, mais le style vous appartient ! Veillez à ce que votre personnalité ressorte à travers vos commentaires ! Amusez-vous… et vos lecteurs en feront autant.

You have a wide variety of skills and thrive in an environment that is constantly changing and full of challenge. You have clear communication skills and are a relationship builder who can effortlessly interface between business groups and technical departments.

The role offers tremendous opportunities to work with interesting technologies, excellent people and to work as part of a growing team. This is NOT a standard 9-5 but a high-energy, always-on, can-do position.

Qualifying Experience/Skills:

• BSc in Computer Science or equivalent 5+ years experience in a technical environment (preferably in the internet search industry or software development industry)
• LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySql-PHP)
• HTML, JavaScript, CSS, JQuery
• Java
• Experience with Agile Development Methodology preferred but not essential
• Very strong communication skills

Competencies and Traits:

• Communication – great verbal and written communication skills. Ability to present thoughts, status and issues in a clear and actionable fashion
• Proactive – see the gaps and fills them; Reactive – quick to respond, helpful
• Able to conduct documentation and code reviews for team members to ensure architecture and standards compliance

If you are looking for a new exciting opportunity and you meet the above requirements, please email your resume to kgordon@411.ca

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1) Business Search

411.ca is all about discovering your neighbourhood, so we’ve really focussed on making our search results as relevant as possible. We’ve localized our search by limiting our results to 100km of your location. What this means for you: You’ll only find businesses more than 100km outside of your specified area if you type in the name of the city that business is in. If I’m in Toronto looking for a specific business in Montreal, I have to type that specific business name, for example “411 Montreal”, into the search box. Entering “411” will only yield search results in Toronto. Fast and easy, right? We also made the Categories and Features on the left hand side of the search results page more relevant for you. If you search for a business using a category and feature, you’ll get sidebar options that match that category and feature.

2) Province Search
Looking for a person or business but not sure what city they’re in? No problem! Now you can find what you’re looking for if you only know the province. For example, if you’re looking for John Smith and you know he’s in Ontario, you can type “John Smith Ontario” into the search bar and you’ll get results for all John Smiths in Ontario. (Bonus: You can use province abbreviations too.)

3) Address Search
We received a lot of feedback from people who wanted to find a person or business simply by typing in an address. You now have that option too! For example, search for 411.ca’s Montreal Address, 1000 Saint-Antoine Ouest Montreal and you’ll get results fast.

The 411.ca team has been working many long and hard hours to create a great search experience for you. Thanks so much for all of your questions and feedback over the past few months. You’ve helped make us better. And we’re just getting started. There are lots more changes coming soon. Stay tuned!

-The 411.ca Team