Street Fight Daily: Apple Wants In on Digital Ad Bonanza, Microsoft Buys GitHub

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…

Apple Looks to Expand Advertising Business with New Network for Apps (WSJ)
The iPhone maker is looking to expand its digital-advertising business, people familiar with the matter said, as it shifts its growth strategy beyond selling devices toward pushing services on them.

Report: 71% of Retailers Now Leverage Location Data for Advertising (Street Fight)
Nearly eight in 10 retailers now partner with third-party data providers to collect geolocation data, and 71% are leveraging location data for advertising purposes, according to a new report.

Microsoft Has Acquired GitHub for $7.5B in Stock (TechCrunch)
Microsoft is acquiring GitHub because it’s a perfect fit for its own ambitions to be the go-to platform for every developer, and every developer need, no matter the platform.

Google’s Local Improvements — Posts Become Essential, and Mike Wins the Bet! (Street Fight)
“Google’s made plenty of laudatory improvements to Google My Business and associated products over the past 24 months, and there does seem to be a qualitative shift in the way it’s approaching the space,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal in their biweekly column.

The Cost of a Bad Ad (MarTech Advisor)
Kabir Mathur: Bad ad experiences not only offend audiences, but they also hurt an app’s bottom line. This isn’t just a vague assertion. It’s a quantifiable effect that app developers must understand as they evaluate monetization opportunities.

Privacy Concerns May Not Hurt Facebook, But Rising CPMs Might (AdExchanger)
Andy La Fond: Facebook and concerns about privacy have been in the headlines since March, but that news may have hidden a bigger problem for Facebook: the rising cost of impressions for advertisers.

Analytics Startup Domo Files for IPO (CNBC)
Domo, a company that helps business owners access real-time data from their smartphones, filed for a public offering on Friday. Here are some details from the prospectus…

Too Close for Comfort: Avoiding Personalization Creep (MediaPost)
Ray Schultz: With GDPR now in effect, it may be time to review your personalization program. Are your emails creeping people out?