Street Fight Daily: Etsy’s New Card Reader, Uber Delivers Flu Shots
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology..
Etsy Introduces Credit Card Reader to Go Beyond the Web (Recode)
Online marketplace Etsy will start offering free credit card readers to some of its U.S. sellers as part of an effort to extend its reach beyond the Internet. The dongles will be used in conjunction with an Etsy app to allow sellers to accept credit card and debit card purchases while hawking their wares at craft fairs and in other retail settings.
The Power of Visual Appeal in Local Search (Street Fight)
Damian Rollison: Though users may visit local search sites and apps with the conscious intent of seeking out text-based information such as phone numbers, hours, and addresses, visual content encountered along the way may have a greater influence than textual information on deciding which businesses to visit.
Uber Delivers Flu Shots: How On-Demand Tech Can Actually Do Good (Wired)
With the Uber app, users could call for a registered nurse, who would arrive to administer a flu shot at an indoor location of their choosing. The shots were free, and one request was good for shots for up to 10 people.
In New App Marketplace, Signs of the Square’s Future (Street Fight)
The company launched its Square App Marketplace yesterday to allow third-parties to develop applications that integrate directly into its point-of-sale product. The move marks an important step in Square’s evolution as it shifts focus from consumer-facing payments to an arguably much larger business software market.
Will The Check-in Survive? Foursquare’s Controversial Relaunch, By The Numbers (VentureBeat)
It’s been two months since Foursquare relaunched, and things aren’t looking good. App usage and downloads are down. Way down. But Web traffic is up. Maybe. We’re not sold on that, but it’s what Foursquare tells us.
Paid Placement Helps Grubhub Pad Its Bottom Line (Street Fight)
Grubhub posted better-than-expected earnings Thursday sending shares up slightly in early trading. The online ordering company saw revenue and profit inch up slightly in a seasonally less active third quarter due in part to the adoption of a new auction-based commission model.
Millennials Are Migrating Away From Review Sites Yelp And Angie’s List (MarketWatch)
While macroeconomic factors have had some effect, social media have raised the stakes for the legacy review sites. Consumers are increasingly opting for free reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations from their trusted friends and relatives on social networks like Facebook and Foursquare over more traditional review sites.
Airbnb Valued At $13b Ahead Of Staff Stock Sale (CNBC)
Airbnb’s valuation is set to rise to $13 billion, up from $10 billion earlier this year, as it prepares an employee stock sale, according to people familiar with its plans. The valuation would make the accommodation site second only to Uber in the rankings of Silicon Valley’s most valuable private companies.
Museums Morph Digitally (New York Times)
The museum was not only allowing visitors to use their mobile phones while browsing the artworks, but encouraging it. The digital experience was embraced and meant to enhance the physical experience of exploring the museum.
“Smart Cities” Are Coming—but Will Need Some Better Ideas (Quartz)
Daniel Medina: What’s still missing is a large number of practical, useful applications for all this data. Perhaps hyper-local, real-time weather conditions will occasionally be useful. But using sensors to help optimize your sidewalk routes—by pedestrian traffic sounds less compelling.
Luxe Raises $5.5 Million From 11 Different Venture Capitalists for On-Demand Valet Parking (Recode)
Luxe, which goes live to the public today in San Francisco, has raised $5.5 million in what it is improbably calling a “seed round” from a whole bunch of venture capital firms. It is one of at least four brand-new on-demand valet parking apps, part of the larger trend of smartphone-enabled instant gratification.
LBMA Podcast: SideSwipe’s Gestures, TomTom Opens Up (Street Fight)
On the show: FritoLays hands out samples in bus shelters; Pinpoint offers location-based audio game; Geofeedia and Adnear raise; TomTom opens up; Chico’s embraces RFID; Loopd brings beacons to conferences. Plus, what happened to Hailo and why RFID in a world of beacons.
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