Street Fight Daily: Facebook Eyes Mobile Payments, Microsoft Supports Passbook
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology
Facebook Moves Deeper Into Mobile Payments (Financial Times)
Not content with being just a platform to host cat photos and status updates, Facebook is readying itself to provide financial services in the form of remittances and electronic money. The social network is only weeks away from obtaining regulatory approval in Ireland for a service that would allow its users to store money on Facebook and use it to pay and exchange money with others, according to several people involved in the process.
Facebook’s Levy: ‘No Singular Event’ Triggered Decline in Businesses’ Organic Reach (Street Fight)
According to reports, the social networking company has “slashed organic page reach,” reducing the number of users which can see a business’s photos, posts, and updates. In a wide ranging interview with Street Fight, Dan Levy, director of small business at Facebook, talks about the decline organic reach for businesses, the evolving relationship between marketer and consumer, and the company’s unique challenge of managing 25 million business clients.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8.1 Update Supports Apple Passbook Passes (TechCrunch)
Looks like there’s one more feature in the developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1: Support for Apple Passbook files. These are appearing directly in Microsoft Wallet, so how did Microsoft manage this and will the feature continue to be available?
7 Tools for Re-activating Dormant Customers (Street Fight)
The cost of acquiring a new customer is five times higher than the cost to keep an existing one, which is one of the reasons why businesses of all sizes are beefing up their loyalty programs and using social media to keep fans engaged. But what about customers who’ve fallen off the bandwagon — those whose accounts have gone dormant after not coming in for a period of weeks or months?
A Silicon Valley Disater: A 21-Year-Old Stanford Kid Got $30 Million, Then Everything Blew Up (Business Insider)
Nine months later after the largest seed round in Silicon Valley history, the app still has yet to launch publicly. We spoke to a half-dozen former Clinkle employees and other insiders to find out what happened and what scared Chi-Chao Chang away.
Epicurious Partners With inMarket to Use In-Store Tracking Beacons (AdAge)
Condé Nast’s 19-year-old recipe warehouse Epicurious is the latest company to join food purveyors such as McCormick in tapping tech firm inMarket’s expanding network of mobile tracking beacons, which connect consumers to content and discounts as they stroll the grocery aisles. Through the partnership, Epicurious aims to deliver information and deals on partner products to people who have downloaded its self-titled app.
Priceline CEO Says Facebook and Twitter Ads Fail to Drive Transactions (Skift)
Priceline spends feverishly on Google Inc. advertisements to grab users searching for a hotel in New York or Paris — and because ads on Facebook and Twitter have failed to deliver results, Chief Executive Officer Darren Huston said. The comments by the chief of one of the biggest spenders on online advertising are set to stoke debate over which forms of digital marketing are most effective.
In Ride-Sharing Debate, Who’s the Bad Guy? Opposing View (USA Today)
Trevor Johnson: Uber, Lyft and other “ride sharing” companies are violating the laws and regulations that govern for-hire transportation everywhere they operate. In fact, ignoring the law is crucial to their success. They are competing unfairly with traditional taxi businesses that abide by the law, while endangering the jobs of thousands of small-business owners.
Survey: Older Generations Embrace Mobile As Local Shopping Companion (SearchEngineLand)
According to the results of a new consumer survey conducted by Thrive Analytics and released today by the Local Search Association, older generations — including Boomers and Seniors — are embracing mobile as a local shopping companion. In fact, in many instances, age is a much smaller than expected factor in determining mobile usage and preference during the purchasing process.
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