It’s tempting to think of the web as a purely negative factor in the fortunes of local businesses.  After all, when the web offers you the whole world as your marketplace, it’s often difficult for local retailers to provide a competitive proposition to customers.

I’ve written about a few projects that use the web to support local business however.  For instance, Equity Eats is a crowdfunding platform that pledges to offer restaurants a chance to drum up support before they’ve even opened their doors to the first diner.

The concept is a simple one.  Restaurateurs can raise capital and support from potential customers, whilst at the same time affording locals the chance to back local commerce (and influence the kind of businesses that operate in their community).

Interestingly, the funds they raise are done in return for an equity stake in the business.  Not only are backers providing important funding to the start-up, but they’re also providing a degree of support in the very concept itself.

Gamifying support

Or you have the Macon Money game that was created and rolled out in Georgia by the Knight Foundation.  Residents of the town were given a bond that was redeemable for sums varying between $10 and $100.

Prior to the start of the game, each bond was cut in half, with the residents then told that if they wanted to cash in the bond, they had to locate the other half of the bond, which was held with an unknown member of the community.

If they managed to locate the other half, the bond could then be redeemed at a wide range of local businesses.

Supporting local bookshops

The latest idea to try and support local business is quite a tried and trusted method.  Browser plug-ins have a long and varied history, with many down the years aiming to enhance the shopping experience.

Bookindy is very much in that spirit, and offers a Chrome extension that tries to alert us of better deals at local bookshops whenever we browse a title on Amazon.

The project was created by William Cookson in an attempt to encourage us to use our local book stores and keep what he regarded as a wonderful thing alive and kicking.

The extension is powered by the online retailer Hive, who collate the offerings of hundreds of independent bookstores in one website.

Usage is as simple as most other browser extensions, with users simply required to download it and allow Bookindy to use their current location.  Then, whenever you browse Amazon, your screen will also show you the best deals available at book shops near you.

Should you choose to order the book, it can then either be delivered via Hive or collected from the shop itself.

It’s another interesting example of how innovative people are using the power of the web to fight back on behalf of local business.