Street Fight Daily: Big Cuts at LivingSocial, Yahoo’s SMB Head Departs
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
LivingSocial Lays Off 400, Eyes Changes to Amazon Relationship (Recode)
Onetime daily-deals darling LivingSocial is cutting a fifth of its staff as its new CEO attempts to lay the foundation for a turnaround of the Washington, D.C.-based company. The company said approximately 400 employees, all based in North America, are losing their jobs in the cuts.
Is Location More Than a Feature in Mobile Advertising? (Street Fight)
The rise of smartphones has created a wealth of location data that marketers on both the buy- and sell-side are desperate to capitalize on. But is location really more than just another targeting mechanism for mobile advertising? That was the question posed to a Street Fight Summit panel Tuesday.
Yahoo’s Small Business Head Amit Kumar Departs Company (Recode)
Amit Kumar, a well-regarded entrepreneur who has sold two startups to Yahoo, is leaving the company, according to sources. He has been its VP and GM of small business, a role he took after the Silicon Valley Internet giant bought e-commerce app platform Lexity a little over a year ago.
Openings and New Hires at Belly, UBL, WorldNow, and FreshLime (Street Fight)
Every two weeks, Kelly Benish — who knows practically everyone in hyperlocal — covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s edition, new jobs and hires at Fathom Voice, Hearst, PlaceIQ, Sonata and more.
Sorry Apple Pay, Small Biz Just Not That Into You (CNBC)
A new report from Newtek found 82 percent of small businesses do not currently have a point-of-sale terminal that is able to accept near-field-communication contactless payments like Google Wallet or Apple Pay. What’s more, 93 percent of small-business owners told Newtek they aren’t planning to make those payment types available to their customers.
Survey: Locating Stores Is Primary Mobile Shopping Activity (Marketing Land)
New consumer data from shopping site Retale argue that consumers will spend more money on shopping this year. And much of that spending will be influenced by mobile. Among those that own smartphones or tablets, nearly three-fourths said they would use mobile devices to shop this year.
Here’s Why a Boston Court Tossed Skyhook’s Appeal vs. Google (Bostinno)
A Massachusetts Appeals Court judge dismissed Skyhook Wireless’ lawsuit vs. Google, ruling that device makers Motorola and Samsung showed Skyhook the door not because Google pushed them to, but because Skyhook’s geolocation product was inferior and cost too much.
Concert Discovery Superstar Songkick Starts Selling Tickets (TechCrunch)
Concert discovery app Songkick has begun to sell concert tickets directly. It’s a huge move that will let Songkick earn 20X as much as referring users to other ticket sellers, because Songkick gets a 10 percent to 15 percent fee for hosting the transaction.
Storefont Co-Founder Discusses Retail Pop-Ups, Building Better Brand Relationships Offline (PSFK)
In just two years, Storefront has grown to offer over 1,000 pop-up retail spaces for a number of different kinds of brands. Founder Tristan Pollock discuss how temporary spaces will ”disrupt” the retail arena by expanding on consumer touchpoints and allowing brands to become more creative with their in-store offerings.
Groupon Shuffles Its Management Ranks (Chicago Business Journal)
When the company surprised Wall Street last week by beating earnings forecasts, it also announced the departure of Kal Raman, the former chief operating officer who was named CEO of Groupon’s Asia-Pacific business in August. Mr. Raman is leaving to become CEO of a Texas-based real estate-technology company.
LBMA Podcast: Nomi’s Acquisition and Swirl’s Ad Exchange (Street Fight)
On the show: Neiman Marcus wants you to snap, find and shop; Appy Pie’s new API; Mogl funded; Facebook relaunches Atlas; iHeartRadio vending machine with Instagram; TouchTunes partners with Kinetic Active Exchange; and a resource of the week from Esri.
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