Street Fight Daily: AOL’s MapQuest Buys Everlater, Groupon Hires COO Again
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.
AOL’s MapQuest ‘Discovers’ Everlater (Seeking Alpha)
In a fairly rare M&A move, AOL has acquired online travel journal startup Everlater to expand its MapQuest offering into the travel industry. The announcement coincides with the launch of MapQuest Discover, an interactive travel planning and discovery tool. Although this appears to be AOL’s first acquisition specifically for MapQuest, it may not be the last.
Groupon Tries Out Having a COO Again, Promotes Kal Raman (AllThingsD)
After burning through two chief operating officers in the run-up to its IPO, Groupon has promoted Kal Raman to the twice-cursed position. This represents the second promotion for the executive since joining in April, so clearly, after what was essentially a very long job interview, Groupon is confident that the third time will be the charm.
PayPal Tests QR Codes In Shop Windows; Mobile Check-Ins At Stores For Personalized Service (TechCrunch)
PayPal is rolling out a number of payments pilots this week in international markets, showcasing the company’s mobile payments technologies. Using the PayPal mobile app, customers can check-in to a store and then place an order and pay using their PayPal account.
How I Built It: Search for Doctor Leads to Yelp (The Wall Street Journal)
Jeremy Stoppelman was a Harvard Business School student exploring ideas for promising startups when he caught the flu – the online search for a doctor eventually led to the creation of Yelp. Since then, users have posted more than 33 million reviews on Yelp, sharing their opinions about doctors, restaurants, florists, auto shops and other service-based businesses.
LevelUp: First Mobile Payment System to Power an Entire Sports Arena (GigaOm)
LevelUp said it’s the first mobile payment service to serve every point of sale in a major sporting venue. It’s launching at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, where users can pay with LevelUp at 200 concession stands.
Nara Brings Its Restaurant Recommendation Service To iOS And Android, Expands To 25 Cities (TechCrunch)
Nara, which is launching its mobile apps for iOS and Android todaym tries to learn your preferences and uses its own set of proprietary algorithms to give you personalized recommendations. Recommendations in Nara are based on what the system has learned about you, but you can also search and filter through the service’s database to find restaurants based on cuisine and neighborhood.
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