Street Fight Daily: The ‘New’ Foursquare, Apple Eyes Mobile Wallet
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology
The Next Age of Foursquare Begins (Verge)
Foursquare 8.0, a complete redesign of the company’s existing app that has until now been kept secret. The new Foursquare swaps the service’s trademark green for pink , and ditches its famous bouncing-ball logo for a vibrant “F” flag. The company looks nothing like before, and that’s the point.
WPP Mobile Exec: Location Already ‘Not Special’ in Ad Tech (Street Fight)
In a conversation this week, Michael Lieberman, chief executive North America at WPP’s Joule, discussed the copy-cat syndrome among mobile-local ad tech, how brands have ditched geo-fencing, and why influencing consumers’ impulse purchases might be the next big growth market for digital marketing dollars.
Apple’s Mobile Wallet Talks Heat Up (Information)
Conversations between Apple and payments-industry companies have heated up in recent months, with Apple executives have discussed launching a mobile “wallet” as soon as this fall for people to use their iPhones to pay for goods in physical stores. Apple has told some partners its system would involvea piece of hardware where sensitive information such as a phone owner’s financial credentials can be stored.
How Community Involvement Can Pay Off for Local Publishers (Street Fight)
Tom Grubisich: Commuter traffic tie-ups and convenience store holdups can’t be the heart of a community news product. “Duty” coverage is still part of many sites’ content menu, but, by itself, it can’t build a solid relationship with community. The trick is to empower users “to take action to improve their communities.
New Google Maps for Android and iOS Takes a Jab at Foursquare (Mashable)
Google has announced a new version of Google Maps for Android and iOS devices, adding a new Explore function that lets you find interesting spots near your location. It’s not only location-sensitive — the feature also pays attention to the context, meaning you’ll get different results depending on the time of day and the weather.
Half of Smartphone Owners Don’t Want Their Locations Tracked (AdWeek)
Attention retailers: shoppers are not as interested with beacons and in-store tracking as you think they are, according to a new report from digital marketing platform Punchtab. The findings come at an interesting time as marketers are beginning to share new case studies and launch location-based programs.
Facebook Now Makes 62% of Its Ad Money From Mobile (AdAge)
The majority of the social network’s advertising revenue — 62% of the $2.68 billion Facebook made from advertising in the second quarter, according to results it released on Wednesday — already comes from mobile. At this point 30% of its monthly users only check out Facebook on their tablets or smartphones.
Dear Foursquare: A Breakup Letter (Medium)
David E. Weekly: I’ve used you in obscure locations worldwide to find reliably awesome and delicious experiences when the overly US-centric Yelp let me down. But now, now you’ve failed at everything you were once good at. You didn’t stay true to your roots. You doubted yourself in your middle age. Swarm sucked. It crashed. All. The. Time. On iOS. On Android.
If TaskRabbit Is the Future of Employment, the Employed Are F*%&ed (ValleyWag)
The employment of the future is here, and it’s terrific for everyone except the people doing the work. TaskRabbit, which lets you outsource the things you don’t want to do to people who need money, is at the forefront of this chore revolution, and it’s already making some lives harder.
Squatting Guest Won’t Leave California Airbnb Host’s Condo (New York Daily News)
Cory Tschogl rented her condo to ‘Maksym,’ who refused to leave after his scheduled 44-day stay and hasn’t paid up. Turns out he’s not in the wrong, thanks to tenants’ rights laws.
Angie’s List Slips on Q2 Loss, Weak Outlook (Reuters)
Angie’s List forecast quarterly revenue below estimates and reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss as it spent more to sign up customers. Angie’s List’s “big deals” product, which offers emailed discounts to members, lagged expectations and weighed on the revenue forecast, Barrington Research Associates analyst Jeff Houston said.
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