Street Fight Daily: Uber Raises $1.2 Biliion, Yahoo’s Mobile Comeback
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Uber Raises $1.2 Billion, Putting Its Value at $40 Billion (New York Times)
The start-up closed a new $1.2 billion round of financing on Thursday, with investors valuing the company at a staggering $40 billion. Uber may eventually sell an additional $600 million in stock, and it is working with Goldman Sachs to sell, potentially, another $1 billion in debt to some of the Wall Street firm’s wealthy private clients.
At Pinterest, a New Pitch to Small Businesses (Street Fight)
Pinterest has managed to carve out a solid domain in a jam-packed social media landscape. Now, it’s time to build a business — and the local market is poised to play a big role, said Joel Meek, the head of the company’s small business efforts, during a BIA/Kelsey event in San Francisco on Thursday.
Yahoo to Surpass Twitter in U.S. Mobile Ads (AdAge)
Yahoo is poised to surpass Twitter next year to become the third-biggest company in U.S. mobile advertising, bolstering a key part of CEO Marissa Mayer’s turnaround effort. Yahoo is now projected to be the largest gainer of U.S. mobile-ad market share between 2014 and 2016, according to new data from eMarketer out today.
Openings and New Hires at Niche Media, Balihoo, and YP (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 Yext, SnapRetail, PlaceIQ, eBay, Hearst, and more.
Google Gooses Resellers of Its Biz Apps With 10% Incentive (Wall Street Journal)
Google revamped an incentive program for outside firms that sell its productivity apps and services Thursday, boosting the rewards for top-performing partners. The change will create more competition among partners and favor those who drum up more business for the company’s Google for Work division, which is trying to grab market share from Microsoft.
Does Amazon Local Forecast the Company’s Future as a Delivery Company? (Pando)
Amazon’s recent push into local food ordering raises an interesting question: might Amazon become less of a retailer and more of a delivery company that makes it easier to buy anything from anyone at any time? Warehouses are a means to an end. So why should Amazon expand its infrastructure when it can focus on everything else?
Local Search Marketers: Optimize Your Physical Location For The Virtual World (Search Engine Land)
Chris Silver Smith: Google is combining Street View images, neural network analysis, and a reverse Turing Test via reCAPTCHA to analyze the exteriors of storefronts. Welcome to the 21st century, where you may need to perform “optimization” on the real-world exterior of your stores to help ensure the best rankings in Google.
Did Starbucks Jump The Line On Square In Mobile Payments? (Upstart)
Starbucks is testing a new mobile app that lets coffee customers in Portland, Oregon, order ahead, pay, and swoop in and out of stores quickly for pickup. It may become a surprise leader in a consumer mobile payment space where old mobile partner Square is looking for a foothold.
Tinder For Hotel Guests Aims To Connect Travelers (USAToday)
Equal parts Tinder and Foursquare, the new HelloTel app aims to connect travelers with fellow road warriors — but has much bigger dreams down the road. The app allows travelers to check into a hotel and then broadcast that they’re interested in meeting up for drinks, dinner or networking.
LBMA Podcast: Amazon Home Services, Retail Prophet (Street Fight)
On the show: Google takes over Times Square; Drones in TGI Fridays; Shazam goes in-store with Mood Media; Audi’s new car sharing platform; Fujitsu turns light into image recognition. Our resource of the week is 3D printed maps for the blind.
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