Street Fight Daily: Facebook Nearby Now “Local Search,” Mobile Shift Threatens Google
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.
Facebook Nearby Is Now Facebook ‘Local Search’ (InsideFacebook)
Facebook has renamed its Nearby feature on iOS “Local Search,” making its function more obvious and possibly increasing the number of users who will try it. Now it’s seeking to be a Yelp competitor, allowing users to search for specific places, browse categories or see broadly what’s around them, organized by their friend’s recommendations, check-ins and other social cues, such as star ratings.
Report: Local Mobile Ad Revenue to Hit $9 Billion by 2017 (Street Fight)
Local mobile advertising is set to generate $9 billion in revenue by 2017, but it will take a smaller portion of total mobile ad spend than previously expected, according to a new study by BIA/Kelsey. The research firm revised its earlier estimates for local-mobile spends share from 44% to 38% of total mobile ad dollars in 2012 to account for slower than expected adoption of local strategies among national advertisers and an increase in mobile advertising as a whole.
As Web Search Goes Mobile, Competitors Chip at Google’s Lead (New York Times)
Google remains the undisputed king of search, with about two-thirds of the market. But the nature of search is changing, especially as more people search for what they want to buy, eat or learn on their mobile devices. This has put the $22 billion search industry, perhaps the most lucrative and influential of online businesses, at its most significant crossroad since its invention.
How Partnerships Can Help Hyperlocal Sites Expand Their Reach (Street Fight)
Tom Grubisich: There’s a saying that’s echoing more insistently today in hyperlocal publishing: “Don’t compete – collaborate.” Editor and publisher Susan Mernit puts that saying into practice at Oakland Local, partnering with other media and non-profits to juice content, build visibility, and generate revenue.
Arthur Frommer Gets His Brand Name Back from Google (Skift)
Arthur Frommer has regained the right to publish the guidebooks and run the travel website that bears his name. The announcement means that the popular line of guides is safe for the foreseeable future, though it’s not clear how much of the content is included in the deal, as Google is using a lot of Frommer content on Google+ Local and Zagat.
Case Study: Nonprofit Uses Hyperlocal Content to Reach Families (Street Fight)
What started out as an online cookie sale in 2008 turned into much more for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, when the pediatric cancer research nonprofit formed a partnership with hyperlocal content network Macaroni Kid to promote its local bake sales across the country in 2010.
Why Indoor Location will be bigger than GPS or Maps, and how it works (The Next Big Thing)
Don Dodge: Indoor Location and Positioning will be huge. Why? Because we spend most of our time indoors, working, shopping, eating, at the mall, at the office, on campus, etc. The race is on. The explosion of Smartphones with built in sensors, accelerometer, gyro, wifi radios, and camera make indoor positioning possible.
Nokia Anchors Location Data Strategy in Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
Nokia’s location technology comes partly as a result of its 2008 acquisition of Chicago digital mapmaker Navteq. The company believes its massive database of location information, as well as the apps that can be built on that platform, will help it regain lost ground in the ultracompetitive race between smartphone-makers.
Macy’s, Others Turn Stores Into Online Fulfillment Centers (Forbes)
A number of major retail chains are now expanding their capacity to fulfill online orders from stores, essentially turning their hundreds of retail locations into local distributions centers. In February, Macy’s announced it was expanding online fulfillment from 292 stores to 500 by the close of 2013 as part of its “omnichannel” push.
Food Delivery Tech Stays Hot, as EAT Club Raises $5M (Wall Street Journal)
The restaurant business is cutthroat with low margins but venture investors continue to pour money into startups offering new ways for people to find and order meals online. The latest to attract venture funding, EAT Club, raised $5 million in a Series A round, led by August Capital Wednesday.
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