Directory listing service JustDial has launched JustDial Data, a website that allows businesses to buy leads. This is a particularly interesting launch, since replicates a B2B yellow pages model on the web for JustDial, but appears to target only businesses. Where it becomes more functional than the regular directory listings business is that it allows users to download segmented data in a usable CSV (comma separated variables) format, which can then be imported into databases. This could be of use to telemarketers, or just to those targeting businesses. The online and telephone based search business cannot provide data in such a usable format to businesses, and businesses would otherwise have to manually note down that data, or scrape it. JustDial charges Rs 10 per lead for this business, but do note that not all the data is really usable, as you can tell from the third screenshot below. This also explains why I've been getting a call a week from JustDial on my office landline, wanting to verify business details for MediaNama. So JustDial is trying to improve its database, but I've never been informed on the phone that the data will be sold. This is apart from the fact that I don't remember ever giving JustDial any details related to MediaNama as a business; where did they get our details from? I don't verify any info, so they keep calling back. Where this becomes even more tricky for JustDial is that the same page also has a 'Consumer Leads' section which…
