DirectoryM - Blog

Quality Engineer (QE / QA) @ DirectoryM

2009-10-26T16:03:00.002-04:00

Job Summary:

DirectoryM is now hiring a Lead QA Engineer in our Boston, MA office. Help develop real-world, highly scalable Web services, used by millions of people every month. Reporting to the QA Manager, this position encompasses all aspects of Software Quality Engineering, from test creation and deployment, to automation, to process improvement. It requires a technical understanding of ASP.NET, C# and MS-SQL & MySQL databases. DirectoryM uses a fast-paced, feature-oriented development methodology with short development cycles and quick release cycles.

Responsibilities:

Test planning/documentation/execution
Test web applications, web sites, web services
Test Automation (up to 25% of testing)
QE process and tool improvement
Design, specification, and test review
Assist in Usability Testing

Minimum job requirements:

B.A. or B.Sc. in Computer Science or equivalent
- 4 to 10 years of software quality engineering experience
- 4+ years of Web QE experience
- 2+ years Test Automation experience
Experience with grey- and white-box testing methods
Demonstrable knowledge of Microsoft ASP.NET architecture and coding, C#, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL Server, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript
Strong communication and English language skills.
Proven ability for independent work.
Located in the greater Boston area.

DirectoryM is a fast-growing, exciting company with over 30 employees in Boston MA and offices in London, Paris, China & Central America. We are privately held and financially sound. You can learn more about us at DirectoryM.com.

Please send your resume directly to Jobs@DirectoryM.com.

Principal Software Developer Position @ DirectoryM

2009-09-16T17:31:00.002-04:00

Job Summary:

We are currently hiring a full-time Principal Software Engineer. This position will deliver significant new functionality to DirectoryM’s customer facing application suite. You will be responsible for the entire development life cycle, including requirements, architecture, design, coding, test and debug, and deployment.

Responsibilities:

Ideal candidate will have experience in building high volume web applications using C#, ASP.NET, MySQL and SQL Server. Your primary responsibilities will be the development of new web-based applications and upgrading existing production applications. Strong database experience is also necessary, so you must have a thorough understanding of SQL. This is a 100% hands-on position responsible for both front-end and back-end development in a team environment.

Preferred Languages & systems:

· Web Standards (HTML, XML, XHTML, CSS)
· C# & ASP.NET
· IIS 6.0, Windows 2003
· SQL Server 2000 / 2005
· MySQL

Minimum job requirements:

· B.A. or B.Sc. or equivalent
· 7+ years of professional software engineering experience
o 2+ years of production .NET experience
o 2+ years of Web development experience
· Deep experience with MS development tools, including MS SQL Server, ASP, ASP.NET and MS Visual Studio
· Strong software engineering process skills
· Strong verbal and written presentation skills
· Proven capacity to work independently and manage multiple, competing demands
· Located in the greater Boston area

DirectoryM is a fast-growing, exciting company with over 30 employees in Boston MA and offices in London, Paris, China & Central America. We offer highly competitive compensation packages and a full range of benefits. DirectoryM is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are privately held and financially sound. You can learn more about us at DirectoryM.com.

Please send your resume directly to Jobs@DirectoryM.com.

Junior Software Developer Position @ DirectoryM

2009-09-16T17:29:00.001-04:00

This position will deliver significant new functionality to DirectoryM’s customer facing application suite. You will be responsible for the entire development life cycle, including requirements, architecture, design, coding, test and debug, and deployment.

Responsibilities:

Ideal candidate will have experience in building web applications using C#, ASP.NET, MySQL and SQL Server. Your primary responsibilities will be the development of new web-based applications and upgrading existing production applications. Strong database experience is also necessary, so you must have a thorough understanding of SQL. This is a 100% hands-on position responsible for both front-end and back-end development in a team environment.

Preferred Languages & systems:

· Web Standards (HTML, XML, XHTML, CSS)
· C# & ASP.NET
· IIS 6.0, Windows 2003
· SQL Server 2000 / 2005
· MySQL

Minimum job requirements:

· B.A. or B.Sc. or equivalent
· 2+ years of professional software engineering experience
· Strong verbal and written presentation skills
· Proven capacity to work independently and manage multiple, competing demands
· Located in the greater Boston area

DirectoryM is a fast-growing, exciting company with over 30 employees in Boston MA and offices in London, Paris, China & Central America. We offer highly competitive compensation packages and a full range of benefits. DirectoryM is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are privately held and financially sound. You can learn more about us at www.DirectoryM.com.

Please send your resume directly to Jobs@DirectoryM.com.

Journal of New England Technology DM Article

2009-07-15T10:42:00.001-04:00

DirectoryM has made headlines once again, but this time in the Journal of New England Technology. Although the article discusses DirectoryM finances and earnings, it focuses primarily on the effort to increase localized content, which recently included investing $2 million into expanding DirectoryM’s online database centralization. Content centralization focuses on supplying consumers with relevant business services and information, and DirectoryM, according to cofounder and CEO, Panos Beathanis, is striving for global recognition: “Our goal is to become the central database in…countries well before anybody even thinks of database centralization.”

If you’d like to read the Journal of New England Technology article on DirectoryM, please click the following link: http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/07/13/daily22-DirectoryM-invests-2M-in-its-online-database.html

Inc. Article

2009-07-14T12:14:00.003-04:00

Note: In June of 2008, Inc. published an article on DirectoryM that featured how DirectoryM was dealing with its 4.5 million dollar debt resulting from a buy-back the previous year. This month, Inc. published a follow up article explaining how DirectoryM has dealt with the demands of such a debt, as well as how the company has grown, evolved, and changed since the last publication.

When managing a business, it’s difficult to organize, pay, and control debt. CEO and cofounder of DirectoryM, Panos Bethanis, understands this all too well. In 2007, Bethanis decided to buy back DirectoryM from venture capitalists, although this would place the company in a 4.5 million dollar debt. While there was skepticism from employees, partners, and financial experts, after an article featuring this decision was published by Inc. in June of 2008, DirectoryM continued growing and evolving.

According to Inc.’s recent Jully 2009 article, “DirectoryM now boasts partnerships with 500 content partners, which helped it reach its 2008 revenue goal of $4 million and open five international offices. The company has also added 75 employees, including 42 overseas.” In addition to featuring DirectoryM’s financial and personnel growth, the article also explains how Bethanis and his employees reestablished DirectoryM and dealt with what, in many instances, would have been overwhelming financial obstacles.

The following link features the new Inc. article:
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090701/buying-your-old-company-back.html

To read the June 2008 Inc. article, click the following link:
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080601/panos-bethanis-went-45-million-in-the-hole_pagen_3.html

LimoRes

2009-07-09T10:00:00.005-04:00

Do you need a ride home from the airport? Or, do you need information about transportation in a particular area? How about help with both?

DirectoryM’s vertical partnership with LimoRes can help with all your travel service and information needs. Because LimoRes is one of the chief transportation service companies in the traveling industry and DirectoryM features localized content, an affiliation results in an informative and successful partnership not only for the companies involved, but also-and most importantly-for the consumers who need services and/or information.

So what can a DirectoryM and LimoRes vertical partnership do for you?

A DirectoryM and LimoRes partnership combines local needs with brand expertise, so a prospective consumer receives high quality service in or around his/her immediate area. Do you need a ride to and from the airport? Are you looking for a limousine for your wedding party transportation? How about those important clients you want to impress? LimoRes offers a variety of transportation services, including, but not limited to, limousine rentals, airport taxis, and special-event transportation. Although based out of New York, LimoRes also offers services in over 172 countries and in 5,000 worldwide airports. By combining LimoRes’s transportation service knowledge and DirectoryM’s localized transportation information, both companies are more equipped to meet the needs, wants, and demands of their client base.

To read more about LimoRes, their services, and their pricing, check out the LimoRes website: http://www.limores.net/.

New DBA position @ DirectoryM

2009-06-30T15:23:00.003-04:00

This position is brand new so whether it turns out to be fit for a junior, middle or senior DBA will really depend on what the individual brings to the job and what they make of it. The job description is attached below.

DBA

DirectoryM is now hiring a Database Administrator. You will be responsible for databases and servers at DirectoryM that power global 24/7/365 web applications. This position combines significant hands-on work with design and technical challenges. The DBA will report to the Director of Site Operations.

Job Responsibilities:

Manage DirectoryM’s 24/7/365 database application infrastructure and associated vendor relationships.
Significant hands-on work along with team development.
Implement strategic improvements to database infrastructure to lower costs and increase reliability.

Job Requirements:

B.A. or B.Sc. or equivalent. Advanced degree is desirable.
5+ years of database experience, including 2+ years designing and supporting a highly available Web site.
Deep experience with the following technologies:
MySql (running on Windows Server 2003)
MSSQL Server (running on Windows Server 2003)
Active/Passive replication & multi-master replication
Database tuning
Query analysis & optimization
Backup and restore planning
IIS & Windows Server 2003
Strong communication skills.
Proven ability for independent work.
Located in the greater Boston area.

DirectoryM is a fast-growing, exciting company with 30 employees headquartered in downtown Boston, MA and 30 employees in our worldwide offices. We offer highly competitive compensation packages, with a full range of benefits. DirectoryM is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are privately held, and venture backed. You can learn more about us at www.directorym.com.

Please send your resume directly to Jobs@DirectoryM.com

DirectoryM Growth

2009-06-24T11:41:00.007-04:00

For a moment, try to imagine life or a world without growth. You and your loved ones would never age. Technology would remain at a standstill. Without growth, you can say goodbye to any type of forward progression, whether that be professionally or personally. Yes, there would be movement, but it would just involve the same mundane activities.

Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it?

At DirectoryM, we’re preparing for summer filled with growth. Although our office in the United States has increased its number of employees, our China office has experienced the most amount of growth. This month, the DirectoryM China office moved into a larger office in downtown Guangzhou. To see the China office and the members of our China team, check out the photos at the end of this post.

By increasing the number of DirectoryM employees who can work in or for our office in China, as well as in France and our other international offices, DirectoryM is developing and blending a mix of both new and old strategies, ideas and opinions in order to meet the demand of our client base. Stress and obstacles aside, this growth is all focused on improving the quality of our work, our business, and our customers’ desires, needs, and wants.

While most growth is accompanied by fear and risk, DirectoryM has plunged deep in growth this summer in the same way children dive into frigid water to escape summer heat. Although these next steps may be difficult and dicey at times, DirectoryM is pleased to shift its priorities to meet a growing demand among its consumers. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said “The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” Currently, DirectoryM is standing at the beginning of a surge in employees, technological advancements, and, most importantly, client services. As for the direction we’re moving in? Well, that’s all up to you.

New PPCall eCommerce system launched today

2009-02-23T11:35:00.001-05:00

We are happy to announce that DirectoryM has now launched our revamped ecommerce system. For the first time we are offering small businesses the ability to create their own Pay Per Call campaign on the DirectoryM network. Calls can be targeted by Industry and Geography and businesses pay only for valid calls that they actually receive through our network.

Sign up today: https://SignUp.DirectoryM.com/Order/

Boston Globe / Boston.com article featuring DirectoryM

2009-01-12T12:46:00.003-05:00

Today a great article hit the press in the Boston Globe and Boston.com about DirectoryM and our past, present and future. It is focused on our new partnership with the publisher of the "For Dummies" books, but takes a nice look at what we are doing and the marketplace that we are operating.

Online ad firm sees a comeback - DirectoryM has teamed up with the publisher of the For Dummies books.

DirectoryM, an online advertising company specializing in local business information, says it is making a comeback, despite the faltering economy.

The Boston company recently signed a deal with the publishers of the CliffsNotes and For Dummies series to provide information about specific topics and businesses.

"It's a good time for us," said chief executive Panos Bethanis, who cofounded the firm. "Boston is a very good place to grow right now." Not long ago, the story was different.

Read the full article

France & Brazil

2008-12-04T17:31:00.002-05:00

Welcoming our newest international sites are France and Brazil.

France
- DirectoryM France
- Tout Local

Brazil
- Artigos Informativos

New Advertiser Registration is Live

2008-12-04T16:45:00.002-05:00

The headline pretty much says it all, but the new streamlined registration page is live. Check it out at http://subscribe.directorym.com or any one of our international sites. This page has cleaner look and feel, a simplified registration form and explicitly shows where the new free listing will appear. Enjoy the nice design courtesy of Justin.

PRESS: JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. JOINS DIRECTORYM IN CONTENT SYNDICATION PARTNERSHIP

2008-12-04T14:25:00.001-05:00

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—December 8 ,be 2008—DirectoryM, a leader of local content platforms on the Internet, announced today a content license partnership with John Wiley & Sons, Inc., a leading publisher of popular brands including CliffsNotes®, Frommer’s® and For Dummies® books. Under terms of the partnership, select content from the For Dummies book series is being syndicated onto DirectoryM’s hyper-local platforms. For Dummies content now appears in conjunction with DirectoryM’s local resources to provide users with both information on local merchants and content that corresponds directly to their needs.

Read the full release

Announcing: Project Lighthouse

2008-07-09T11:46:00.002-04:00

DirectoryM launched a program providing local businesses with free online advertising beginning with free phone leads for 90 days. The program is Phase one of Project Lighthouse, an initiative to educate local businesses and enable them to experience firsthand the benefits of promoting themselves online.

“Most local or small business owners don’t realize that online advertising is not reserved for large, national companies,” said Panos Bethanis, CEO of DirectoryM. “In fact, online advertising is especially beneficial for small businesses in challenging economic times because the ROI is quantifiable by measuring calls, leads, and click-throughs – something you can’t do as effectively off-line.”

As people continue to transition away from traditional media, such as newspapers, television and even their local phone books, to the Web, the opportunity for businesses to reach new customers online has exploded. As such, the market for local online ads will reach $8.5 billion this year, according to Borrell Research. Unfortunately, many local businesses are reluctant to invest in online marketing because of the complexity and competitive environment resulting from big investments by national companies targeting local buyers.

“With Project Lighthouse, we’re eliminating the risks by offering a free introductory relationship with absolutely no strings attached,” continued Bethanis.

DirectoryM has launched Project Lighthouse to offer small businesses the opportunity to capitalize on local online advertising by placing them in front of buyers actively searching for solutions. Providing direct contact information for each local business adheres to DirectoryM’s commitment to satisfy Internet users first by delivering relevant content, information and business solutions to their fingertips. By expanding its listings, the company can offer even more relevant content to users browsing its directories and content guides.

The DirectoryM network reaches visitors at more than 200 regional media sites, including local newspaper, TV, radio and business journal Web sites, a network that garners more than 500 million page views each month. With this promotion, DirectoryM offers local businesses the opportunity to reach motivated shoppers looking to make purchasing decisions through these sites’ directories and buyers guides.

DirectoryM’s Project Lighthouse promotion allows companies a simple approach to reaching new customers through the DirectoryM network for free. To participate, companies can complete a simple online registration form available at: http://subscribe.directorym.com/register.aspx

Inc.com: Panos Bethanis Went $4.5 million in the Hole to Buy Back His Company

2008-05-30T10:17:00.001-04:00

By: Hannah Clark Steiman

Panos Bethanis closed the front door of his house in Boston's South End at 2 o'clock on a bitterly cold January morning in 2007. Eleven friends and colleagues, exhausted after a marathon meeting, had just filed out the door. Bethanis had invited his buddies over that evening to pitch them his strategy for buying an online directory business called DirectoryM. He had founded the company five years earlier but had sold a majority stake to a pair of venture capital firms in 2005. Now, with the company struggling, Bethanis saw an opportunity to get his company back.

Read the full article

A Case Study on DirectoryM in Inc magazine

2008-05-27T15:30:00.003-04:00

Inc magazine has just published case study about DirectoryM. It is available on the news stand, but not yet online. Run out and buy the magazine or hold out a few days and we will post a link to it...

Akamai!

2007-05-22T11:14:00.001-04:00

In a previous post, I talked about the fact that we were testing Akamai out for serving our site and that we were in the process of testing a couple of sections. We have since completed testing those sections and have now rolled Akamai throughout our entire site.

This should mean a huge improvement in performance and download time for everyone. It should also help us as we scale. I would like to thank the team at Akamai for helping us work through the configuration and testing. I have working with other CDN's (Content Delivery Networks) in the past and have been very impressed with Akamai's support and product.

PRESS: DirectoryM Relaunches Local Ad Platform After Company Buyback

2008-01-31T13:27:00.002-05:00

LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER an employee buyback, DirectoryM is relaunching its ad platform, bridging the gap between local businesses, news and radio outlets, and content publishers like the New York Times, and AutoByTel.

Through a hosted platform, the Cambridge, Mass.-based tech and service provider allows publishers to populate their sites with local business directories and contextually-relevant articles, offering visitors a combination of ads and additional content.

Read more at MediaPost

PRESS: Employees Purchase DirectoryM and Launch One of the Fastest Growing Local Online Advertising Platforms to Monetize Traffic and Content

2008-02-05T17:02:00.001-05:00

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Having purchased the company back from its previous investors, the employees of DirectoryM today re-launched the company and its flagship local advertising network. With a new executive team in place, the employee-owned company offers publishers the first online advertising solution to unite and monetize their two key assets—traffic and content—while enabling local advertisers to optimize ad spend by delivering industry leading conversion rates on more than 1.5 million unique visitors per month.

Read more at BusinessWire

PRESS: Employees purchase DirectoryM, re-launch company

2008-02-05T17:04:00.001-05:00

Coverage of our press in the Boston Business Journal.

PRESS: Employee-owners push DirectoryM forward

2008-02-08T11:49:00.001-05:00

From: Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology - by Christopher Calnan Mass High Tech

Nine months after its employees bought out investors, DirectoryM Inc. is reporting its second relaunch in four years and 15 percent year-over-year growth.

Cambridge-based DirectoryM, an online advertising firm, shifted its marketing approach from selling advertising alone to selling advertising linked to the online content that drives the traffic, said CEO Panos Bethanis. For example, a reader in the market for a new car who searches a directory of local car dealers will also find links to car reviews, delivered by DirectoryM. The strategy change has resulted in a surging conversion rate for advertisers and the company reaching profitability in October 2007, Bethanis said.

Read more at Mass High Tech

New Offices!

2008-12-03T16:02:00.002-05:00

DirectoryM has moved across the river. We have moved from Kendall Square in Cambridge to our new office space in downtown Boston. This means new addresses and a new phone number, so please update your contact information.

New Address:
100 Franklin St, 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02110

New Phone Number:
866.315.9389

China

2008-08-14T11:43:00.003-04:00

Continuing our international announcements... Articles China. This was our first development and product outside of English and Spanish. It turned out to be as challenging and as worthwhile as we initially thought. I hope you enjoy.

Spain - España!

2008-08-14T11:39:00.002-04:00

Our international expansion continues... I am pleased to announce that we have launched both Articles & our Directory in Spain.

- DirectoryM España
- Artículos Informativos España

Canada & Mexico

2008-04-29T14:52:00.002-04:00

Earlier this month we very quietly launched our first international sites. We now have directories and articles serving all of the United States, Canada & Mexico. In addition, we also have Spanish language support for our articles the United States. Our new sites are listed below:

- Canadian Directory: www.DirectoryM.ca
- Mexican Directory: www.directoryM.com.mx

- Canadian Articles: Articles.DirectoryM.ca
- Mexican Articles: www.ArticulosInformativos.com.mx

- Spanish Articles US: www.ArticulosInformativos.com