Street Fight Daily: Groupon Staff Strained, Foursquare ‘Nearby Friends’ Back
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.
Groupon Staff Feel the Heat (Wall Street Journal)
Groupon Inc. is facing a new hurdle: strains on its sales force. Such pressures are a boon to people like Mike Silagadze. The chief executive of education-software firm Top Hat Monocle Inc. said that over the past month, his Toronto start-up has received hundreds of résumés from Groupon sales representatives who may want to jump ship.
‘Nearby Friends’ Feature Returns to Foursquare (PC Mag)
Foursquare has been going through some growing pains since it unveiled its “all new” apps in early June. The big reveal, which focused on simplicity and usability, brought an entirely new experience to seasoned users and newbies. There were a few things, however, that users didn’t like and Foursquare Friday brought back what it called its most missed feature: the ability to swap between nearby check-ins and all activity.
St. Paul Daily Puts Engagement On Wheels (NetNewsCheck)
Digital First Media-owned TwinCities.com, the online home of the Pioneer Press, is taking digital engagement to the streets of St. Paul, Minn., with its new TCRover mobile newsroom. The experiment is already poised to roll out in some of Digital First’s other markets.
How a Minor Change by Facebook Resulted in a $92 Million Acquisition by Gannett (ReadWriteWeb)
One of the biggest newspaper companies in the world may be trying to get into the Facebook advertising game. Gannett Co., publisher of USA Today and scores of regional and local newspapers, is reportedly close to announcing a $92 million acquisition of BLINQ Media, which specializes in building technology to boost engagement with ads on Facebook.
Startups Want to Help People Get to Know Their Neighbors (BetaKit)
How can neighbors keep up with the Joneses when they’ve never even met the Joneses? Startups like NextDoor, JazLife and Here’s Your Neighborhood want to help neighbors create hyperlocal connections. Striving to establish a few more relationships in backyards instead of across ponds, these startups are following the recent localization trend.
LivingSocial to Pull Out of Middle East (The National)
LivingSocial is planning to pull out of the Middle East just one year after entering the market through the acquisition of a homegrown player. The daily deals giant, based in the United States and one of the world’s largest after Groupon, is considering selling its business in the region amid intense competition from rival sites.
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