Street Fight Daily: Square Raises $150M, New York’s Secret Beacons
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Square Raises $150 Million at a $6 Billion Valuation (New York Times)
The company recently closed a venture financing round of $150 million, valuing Square at $6 billion, according to a person briefed on the investment. This latest round, which was led by a new investor, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, places Square in the company of Internet start-ups like Pinterest and Spotify.
Why a Former Current TV Exec Believes in the Economics of Local Video (Street Fight)
Street Fight recently caught up with Mark Goldman, the former COO of Current TV and current chief of online video platform ExtendTV, to talk about missed opportunities with Current, why he believes digital will not kill television (completely), and where he sees the local video market heading in the next few years.
Hundreds Of Devices Hidden Inside New York City Phone Booths (BuzzFeed)
A company that controls thousands of New York City’s phone booth advertising displays has planted tiny radio transmitters known as “beacons” — devices that can be used to track people’s movements — in hundreds of pay phone booths in Manhattan, BuzzFeed News has learned.
Microsoft Launches New Office 365 Subscription Plans For Small And Midsize Businesses (TechCrunch)
Microsoft is rolling out new Office 365 plans for companies with fewer than 250 employees that will slowly replace the company’s existing plans for small and midsize businesses. The company had already outlined some of these changes earlier this year, so this week’s announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise.
Marriott Settles FCC Complaint About Blocking Rival Wi-Fi Networks (Recode)
Marriott International agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a federal complaint that it illegally blocked rival Wi-Fi networks at a Nashville resort so consumers would have to buy access from the hotel, the Federal Communications Commission announced Friday.
Retailers Should Put ‘Connected Shoppers’ at the Center of the Experience (AdAge)
At Advertising Week, Michael Dill, managing partner at the shopper marketing agency Match Marketing Group, profiled three types of “connected shoppers” — home users, home users with some mobile experience, and those for whom the net is the norm. Here are four key takeaways for marketers seeking to understand their behaviors.
The New Paypal Has To Focus On Consumer Experience (Linkedin)
Rocky Agrawal: With the pending spin off of PayPal, there’s one big thing PayPal needs to do — focus on the consumer experience. Between a reputation for lousy customer service and its failure to make a meaningful play in the offline space, the independent PayPal has a lot of challenges.
Huh? Car Sales Rise But Not Advertising. (Medilife)
In seven of nine months so far in 2014, cars have sold at a rate of more than 16 million per year, a pace not seen since before the recession. But this year automotive advertising was essentially flat, down 0.5 percent, during the first half of the year, according to Kantar Media, to $7.032 billion.
I Just Used Nimbl To Get 40 Bucks Delivered To The AOL Office (TechCrunch)
The idea of Nimbl is that you can use the app to call a Nimbl “runner,” who will bring cash to your location. It might seem a little silly at first, like the latest startup catering to lazy techies — techies who, in this case, can’t be bothered to find an ATM — but it’s more helpful than you think.
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