Street Fight Daily: Twitter Adds Offers, Uber Eyes $40B Valuation
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Twitter Introduces Offers: Discounts You Claim in Tweets and Redeem in Stores (Recode)
The social network today is introducing Twitter Offers, discounts that users can claim right from an advertiser’s tweet by linking their credit or debit card account with Twitter. The Twitter user can then redeem the discount simply by paying with the synced card in the retailer’s physical store or online shop.
Why Apple Maps is Partnering With Local Search Companies (Street Fight)
Andrew Shotland: Apple has come to realize that relying on big data aggregators is great for getting bulk but not so great for getting quality, particularly when you want real-time info like whether or not a location is open or closed at the moment. If the system works, we should see a dramatic increase in POI data quality quickly.
Uber Said Poised to Raise Funds Showing $40 Billion Value (Bloomberg)
Uber is close to raising a round of financing that would value the mobile car-booking company at $35 billion to $40 billion. If Uber completes the funding, a valuation of $35 billion to $40 billion would more than double its $17 billion value from a June financing.
For AmEx’s Small Business Saturday, A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats (Street FIght)
Between 2007 to 2010, the rate of small business growth in the U.S. dropped by more than 12% annually. Fast forward five years, and the small business sector is showing signs of a comeback. Initiatives like Small Business Saturday, a project underwritten by American Express, are aimed at spurring that further.
Clinkle Is Bribing College Students With a Vending Machine Full of Cash (ValleyWag)
Clinkle, a well-funded startup run by Lucas Duplan, the Prince Joffrey of mobile payments, recently revealed its $30 million idea. After rounds of layoffs and many setbacks, young Duplan has bestowed the world with a vending machine that gives you $20.
As Amazon’s Iron Grip Slips, Best Buy Is Taking Advantage (Pando)
As the holiday shopping season approaches, it worth looking at how Best Buy managed its rocky but dogged recovery. It reveals subtle but significant changes in the ecommerce market that are coming as Amazon’s priorities shift from the lowest-price retailer to an array of scattered and costly new initiatives.
SMBs Must Get Mobile Payments or Get Left Behind (Local Search Insider)
Greg Sterling: Consumers are starting to expect more efficiency and convenience, less incompetence, fewer delays and bottlenecks as they seek to buy things in stores. The arrival of Apple Pay against the backdrop of many other developments is starting to reshape consumer expectations around mobile payments.
This Car Gadget Links Your Smoking Engine To The Right Mechanic (GigaOm)
Mechanic Advisor, a kind of Yelp for auto repair shops, is launching its own connected car device that plugs into your vehicle’s on-board diagnostic port and helps you interpret that scary check engine light. What’s more, with the help of its smartphone app, Mechanic Advisor will even recommend a grease monkey that can fix the problem.
These Apps Mean You’ll Never Wait in Line for Coffee Again (Bloomberg)
Fast-food chains including McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, Subway, and Dunkin’ Donuts are using, testing, or developing order ahead apps apps. Startups such as OrderAhead, a three-year-old company in San Francisco, are assembling networks of merchants and taking a 5 percent to 10 percent cut of each transaction.
LBMA Podcast: Groupon Acquires Swarm, Lord & Taylor Deploys Beacons (Street Fight)
On the show: LINKNYC replaces payphones with WiFi in NYC; Radio Shack goes back to its roots with Little Bits; LivingSocial lets merchants in on the deal; Snapchat partners with Square; Spotify partners with Uber; Target Partners with PointInside.
Get Street Fight Daily in your inbox! Subscribe to our newsletter.
