Street Fight Daily: 01.09.12
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups.
Microsoft Finally Dumps Deal Provider Now Owned by Google (AllThingsD)
Microsoft has inked a new partnership with 8coupons to replace The Dealmap, which had been providing local offers to Bing Deals for about nine months. The partnership understandably ended once Microsoft’s big search rival, Google, acquired The Dealmap in August.
Groupon’s New Year’s Resolution? To Make Money on Yours! (AllThingsD)
So far this year, one of the hottest daily deal categories has been — you guessed it — weight-loss programs and fitness classes. The number of fitness-related deals offered over the past few days is twice as high as average, according to Yipit.
Politicians’ Spending on Digital Ads Skyrockets (Mashable)
A new survey conducted by STRATA found that U.S. political campaigns in 2011-2012 have spent 100% more to buy online advertisements than they did during the 2010 midterm elections. Which platform is getting the lion’s share of those ad dollars? Facebook, by a wide margin.
Arizona Non-Profit Stands Guard Over Local News (NetNewsCheck)
Dylan Smith, founder and editor of Internet pureplay the Tucson Sentinel, covers topics relevant to his audience, such as border issues and the environment. Despite its small revenue stream, the Arizona nonprofit sees itself as better suited to survive the news industry’s turbulent transition to the digital world than the area’s bigger traditional newspapers.
7 Habits of Highly Successful Daily Deal Sites (Daily Deal Media)
Marc Horne: Traits of successful daily deal sites include: The Use of Incentives; “Innovators” and First Mover Advantages; Character/Animal/Food Usage; Use of Comedy and Sarcasm; Just Plain Awesome Deals; Convenience and Ease of Use; and Great Customer Service.
Open Source Maps Gain Ground as Google Paywall Looms (Wired)
OpenStreetMap, or OSM, is yet another example of a project that manages to compete with a massive tech company simply by crowdsourcing a problem. Much like Wikipedia challenged Encyclopedia Britannica and Linux took on Microsoft Windows, OpenStreetMap is battling Google Maps, and at least in some cases, it’s winning.
Get Street Fight Daily in your inbox! Subscribe to our newsletter.