Street Fight Daily: 04.19.11
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups.
Groupon is buying Pelago, maker of local discovery app Whrrl, in a bid to improve its ability to bring together consumers and local discount offers. This could also mean a broader direction for Groupon as it looks to expand beyond daily deals to more mobile and personalized discounts. (GigaOm)
LocalResponse is a “social advertising platform” that lets small businesses sift through the stream of public check-in and review data to see who their most loyal customers are, and send them coupons and messages on Twitter. (NYT/Bits)
Foursquare has added a feature that will bring some context to your historical check-ins. Now, when users look back at their check-ins, they won’t see only their pictures, but also pictures taken by friends who were also checked in at the event. (ReadWriteWeb)
Gannett is focusing on an expansion into local digital marketing, particularly around the hot trend of online daily deals. The company’s new plan also calls for greater matching of hyperlocal community efforts tied to its TV broadcast stations. (Paid Content)
The remaining staff at TBD.com and WJLA-TV are planning to relaunch the two D.C. local sites in the coming days. Back in February, Allbritton laid off several TBD.com staffers and announced it was refocusing the social-media-friendly news site on the entertainment scene. (Lost Remote)
Thinknear wants to give small, local businesses an opportunity to promote themselves with deals that help their bottom line instead of hurt it. The company’s product pushes deals to nearby mobile phones depending on a business’s current foot traffic. (Mashable)
BiteHunter, the first real-time search engine that aggregates dining deals from Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and other websites to help people find deals on the best places to eat, has received $250,000 in seed funding. (Daily Deal Media)
Hyperlocal advertising company DataSphere Technologies plans to open a new facility in Tempe, Arizona with room for as many as 220 employees. The company powers over 1,000 hyperlocal news sites. (GeekWire)
Get Street Fight Daily in your inbox! Subscribe to our newsletter.