Street Fight Daily: HERE Wants to Compete with Google Maps, Yahoo’s Grim Financials
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Seeking Investments from Microsoft and Amazon, HERE Signals Intent to Compete Aggressively with Google Maps (Search Engine Land)
It’s been reported this week that Microsoft and Amazon are in talks to take a possible minority stake in HERE Maps, which is now owned by Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler. After Nokia sold HERE to the German consortium, there was a question of how broadly and aggressively the platform would compete in the market, and HERE is now indicating that it intends to compete directly with Google and Apple.
The Context for Contextual Marketing Is Changing (Street Fight)
Gib Olander: The idea behind contextual marketing makes a lot of sense. But in practice, contextual marketing is getting pretty hairy, especially for location-based marketing. That’s because context is getting more complicated.
Yahoo Paints Grim Financial Picture as Deadline for Bids Nears (New York Times)
As Yahoo asks potential bidders to submit first-round offers for its core business next week, it is also warning them about a troubling decline in revenue and profit while obscuring the costs and cash flow of various business units.
IAB Primer on Ad Blocking for Publishers Leans Toward Carrots Over Sticks (Street Fight)
According to the IAB, “Ad blocking is a crucial wakeup call to brands and all that serve them about their abuse of consumers’ good will.” Street Fight recently spoke with IAB general manager Scott Cunningham about how the group is working to help publishers combat ad blocking.
Why Pinterest Forces You Off Its Mobile Site and Into Its App (VentureBeat)
Ever had services boot you off their mobile site and force you to download an app? Casey Winters is responsible for why that happens to Pinterest users. Winters, the company’s product lead for growth, found that aggressively promoting Pinterest’s native app and limiting the mobile site’s functionality ultimately left the social network with more loyal users and thus, more money. Recode: Pinterest In Talks to Buy — or ‘Acqhire’ — Deep Linking Startup URX.
Google Eyes Move Into Political Polling Work (The Hill)
Google is using the 2016 election to seek a foothold in the political polling industry. The Internet giant has been pushing its survey products to the staffers and operatives who work for campaigns, as well as the journalists who cover them. The company makes money from the surveys, but the work has the added benefit of keeping the Google brand prominent in the political conversation.
Unacast Looks to Monetize Its Location Data, Hires ironSource’s Cunningham as CRO (Street Fight)
Beacon and proximity data company Unacast announced today that Chris Cunningham, formerly the Vice President of Revenue for ironSource, is joining the company as chief revenue officer. Cunningham will help Unacast monetize all of the data it aggregates from beacons and sensors.
More U.S. Households Buying Groceries via Digital Channels (eMarketer)
Digital grocery shopping in the U.S. appears here to stay — 21 percent of households purchased groceries digitally in 2015. But while it’s on the rise, people still have reservations about buying their groceries online.
Self-Driving Delivery Vehicle Startup Dispatch Raises $2 Million Seed Round (TechCrunch)
On-demand delivery is something consumers have come to expect. With that in mind, startup Dispatch is building a fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles designed for sidewalks and bike paths, and the company has announced a $2 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Making Sense of the Many Business Models in the Sharing Economy (Fast Company)
Boyd Cohen: There is a lot of diversity within the sharing economy, and this has significant implications for the scalability, profitability, investability, and the social and environmental impact of users and communities as a whole.
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