Street Fight Daily: Airbnb Rethinks Mobile, Foursquare’s New Partner
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology
Airbnb Makes Listing Lodging All Mobile (USA Today)
Airbnb today launched all the tools necessary to list accommodations from the palms of those using leading smartphones. The startup, based here, unleashed new versions of apps for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android that enable hosts to offer complete listings via smartphones and accept payments.
Why Local Marketers Need to Start Thinking About Their Instagram Strategy (Street Fight)
Rob Reed: Instagram presents an unparalleled opportunity to build and share a brand — to show a different side by leveraging this highly visual medium. What most marketers don’t realize, though, is that Instagram is also a local marketing channel. The reason for this knowledge gap is that, unlike Facebook and Twitter, Instagram is very difficult to manage natively.
Verizon Extends NFL Play to Foursquare Ads (AdWeek)
Starting this week, Verizon FiOS ads will appear after folks check-in via the mobile app in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Boston. Foursquare users who click through the ads will be taken to a mobile landing page where they can enter an exclusive contest involving the Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.
Conference Notebook: Taking Uber Beyond Taxis, Kittens and Ice Cream (Street Fight)
Steven Jacobs: Don’t worry OpenTable. Uber isn’t going to start booking tables — at least, not yet. During an interview at the Business Insider Ignition Conference in New York on Thursday, the company’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, ruled out markets like hotels and restaurant reservations that do not involve delivery as potential areas of expansion for the on-demand service while hinting at a future beyond the taxi industry.
Apple Maps Takes Off: Cue The Antitrust Lawsuit? (ReadWrite)
Apple Maps is on a tear, taking market share from Google Maps according to new comScore data. Given the similarities to Microsoft’s illegal tying of Internet Explorer into Windows back in the late 1990s, Apple may be setting itself up for an antitrust lawsuit.
Digby’s Eric Newman: The Next Generation of Retail Apps Will Change Everything (Street Fight)
The Austin-based Digby is trying to help retailers adapt. Street Fight sat down with Eric Newman, Vice President of Products and Marketing at Digby to learn more about how retailers can develop richer location aware apps to speak to consumers in a relevant way and drive in-store visits.
Why Retailers And Developers Should Pay Attention to Apple’s iBeacon (Huffington Post)
iBeacons will allow mobile apps to target users more accurately than any other technology has allowed before without draining your phone’s battery. For these reasons and more iBeacon presents a revolutionary opportunity for app developers and retailers interested in indoor mapping, mobile payments and targeted advertising.
What 8 Years In A NASCAR Pit Crew Taught Banjo’s CEO About Pivoting (Fast Company)
Damien Patton spent eight years servicing cars, working his way up to head mechanic for a team that he assures won a lot. More than any of his other varied life experiences, which include living in a freeway underpass in L.A., commuting to MIT graduate school from Las Vegas, and fighting a war, changing tires taught him how to succeed in Silicon Valley, where he now runs social-discovery startup Banjo.
How Online Mapmakers Are Helping the Red Cross Save Lives in the Philippines (Atlantic)
Since Saturday, more than 400 volunteers have made nearly three quarters of a million additions to a free, online map of areas in and around the Philippines. Those additions reflect the land before the storm, but they will help Red Cross workers and volunteers make critical decisions after it about where to send food, water, and supplies.
KFC Makes Click-To-Store Locator Core Mobile Advertising Metric (Mobile Commerce Daily)
KFC is sticking with location as a key part of a new mobile advertising campaign that uses a combination of expandable, banner and audio ads to drive foot traffic. The fast-food chain is using several different types of mobile ads within the Pandora iPhone application to drive awareness for the new Go Cup snacks.
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