Street Fight Daily: TaskRabbit Pivots, Bill Gurley On Uber
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology
TaskRabbit Pivots, Launches On-demand Service for Cleaning, Handiwork, Moving, & Errands (VentureBeat)
Task-outsourcing site TaskRabbit just killed off its famous task bidding system for a new model: instantly bookable services in four of its most popular categories. With the destruction of the bidding service, TaskRabbit has ushered in fixed hourly rates for tasks such as food delivery.
Designing a New Value Proposition for Consumer Location Data (Street Fight)
Steven Jacobs: In a paper published earlier this month, a group of researchers tried to put a price tag on the personally identifiable information that flows from our mobile devices. The results shine a light on the unique challenges facing companies interested in mining location data, and the divergent paths of two tech companies that have built businesses around that information.
How to Miss By a Mile: An Alternative Look at Uber’s Potential Market Size (Above the Crowd)
Bill Gurley: Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, concluded that his best estimate of the value of Uber is $5.9 billion, far short of the value recently determined by the market. My goal is to offer a plausible argument that the core assumptions used in Damodaran’s analysis may be off by a factor of 25 times, perhaps even more.
Birchbox Is Opening Its First Retail Store, And Here’s What It Looks Like (BusinessInsider)
The popular discovery ecommerce platform Birchbox is venturing into the world of brick-and-mortar retail, according to a statement from the company. The store incorporates artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a personalized shopping experience.
MLB’s iBeacon Project Enters Phase Two With Interactive Ballpark Attractions (TechCrunch)
Major League Baseball was among the first to embrace Apple’s iBeacon technology on a wide scale, installing them in 28 MLB ballparks across the U.S. last year to help iPhone owners check-in to games automatically and collect special offers. Now, the project is entering phase two, with a debut project at this year’s All-Star Game at Target Field.
Airbnb Tweaks Its Review Process for More Honest Feedback (FastCompany)
Starting July 10, reviews from guests and hosts will be revealed simultaneously, and only when both parties have given their assessments of the trip. This way, guests and hosts aren’t guilted into posting something overly positive or seeking revenge by posting something overly critical.
GoDaddy Acqui-hires Smart Calendar App Canary (VatorNews)
Web-hosting and domain registration giant GoDaddy has purchased smart calendar app Canary, which allows Google Calendar users to schedule meetings. The Canary team will be joining the Get Found team at GoDaddy, the division that is designed to help small businesses connect with customers and increase their online presence.
Groupon Launches Tonight-Only Hotels in Its Mobile Apps (Skift)
Groupon has launchd a last-minute and mostly tonight-only hotel-booking feature in its mobile apps to compete against HotelTonight and similar apps around the world. These Getaway Tonight deals are mobile-only, and are sourced through a new extranet that enables hoteliers to load their last-minute, distressed inventory at any time.
With Privacy Concerns Rising in Retail, Prism Skylabs Says Video Analytics are The Future (GigaOm)
Prism Skylabs, a video analytics startup targeting retailers, is hoping that new WiFi-randomization features in iOS 8 helping to cull the competitive market and improve consumer privacy. Its a hope many consumers probably share, but it could also be wishful thinking.
YP’s “Mybook” Makes Local Search More Social (SearchEngineLand)
Greg Sterling: YP has been investing in its mobile app, doing brand advertising and generally seeking ways to better compete with rivals such as Google, Foursquare and Yelp. It doesn’t have the reach of Google or the content of Yelp but with its mybook feature the company may have found a way.
Is Your Mobile Marketing Too Precise? How Over-Targeting Can Under-Deliver (VentureBeat)
Maureen Little: Many marketers dive into mobile with too much focus on mobile-specific tactics, such as the ability to target users in very specific locations through hyper-local targeting. Often this hyper-local approach can do campaigns a disservice, deteriorating the intended results.
At Lunch With Restaurant Payment Startup Cover, Which Just Raised $5.5 Million (Recode)
A new startup, Cover, allows people to set up their payment preferences in advance and settle tabs at restaurants without pulling out their wallets. It’s like the experience of getting out at the end of an Uber ride, but for restaurants.
LBMA Podcast: SnapChat Tests Location, MapCo’s Howard Curtis (Street Fight)
Top stories of the week include: Google acquires Skybox Imaging; Aisle411 partners with Walgreens and Google; Robocat’s Thermodo weather keychain; Apple patents location-based security; and Ikea Russia builds a website inside of Instagram.
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