Street Fight Daily: TripAdvisor Targets OpenTable, Cracks In The Geoweb
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
TripAdvisor Goes on a Dining Reservations Binge With Acquisition of Iens (Skift)
TripAdvisor wants to establish itself as the leading restaurant reservations platform in Europe before OpenTable gets around to showing up in earnest. It accelerated that push with the acquisition of review site Iens, including its reservations platform Seatme, according to published reports.
Do We Really Want to Live in an Uber-fied World? (Street Fight)
Nick Hughes: Given Uber’s recent missteps, we, as an industry, need to take a long look in the mirror. Founders really need to think hard about the culture they are creating, and the potential uses and misuses of the data they are generating and collecting.
Cracks In The Digital Map: What The ‘Geoweb’ Gets Wrong About Real Streets (Guardian)
A closer look at thes “geoweb” reveals that our digital mirror bears chinks and subtle distortions. Some businesses exploit loopholes to advance their virtual prominence. Others are obscured through their own ignorance. Still others don’t appear on the internet at all.
6 Platforms Merchants Can Use for Real-Time Customer Interaction (Street Fight)
New customer interaction solutions are using mobile and location technology for enhanced customer experiences. In many cases, these hyperlocal tools give business owners a way to interact with customers in real-time and resolve problems before complaints start showing up online.
Line Launches a Taxi Booking Service in Japan Because Chat Apps Have Become Platforms (TechCrunch)
Last year we saw the West wake up to the potential of messaging apps and 2015 is the year that U.S. apps will become platforms. Few places is that trend illustrated best than Japan, where top chat app Line has just launched its own taxi service.
Groupon Sales Chief Steps Down (Recode)
Rajen Ruparell, an entrepreneur who joined Groupon in an acquisition and went on to hold several prominent roles at the deals company including running national sales, has stepped down from his day-to-day role at the company, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Brands And Retailers: If You Don’t Get Mobile Right Soon, You’re Screwed (MarketingLand)
Greg Sterling: If nothing else holiday 2014 drove home the importance of mobile as a shopping tool. Mobile traffic numbers and even mobile e-commerce sales beat expectations, according to data from multiple sources.
The Best Metrics for Quantifying Mobile Campaign Success (Local Search Insider)
Dan Hight: Clicks and calls alone are not an adequate indicator of brand awareness or engagement. In fact, they’re often unrelated or negatively correlated to engaged actions, and can be influenced by outside factors.
Nearby Live Lets You Anonymously Meet New People Via Your Smartphone (TechCrunch)
The app’s premise, which was perhaps a little bit ahead of its time when it first launched several years ago, has been to connect users with new people — that is, those they didn’t know — in order to allow users to participate in one-on-one chats, share pictures, and more.
Rate Your Server With Grate, a New Restaurant-review App (SFGate)
A new app called Grate intends to be a kinder, more discreet way for diners to rate their servers, and for restaurants to keep tabs on their service staff. Using public data, it has already added thousands, if not millions, of restaurants around the world to its listings.
LBMA Podcast: PlaceIQ Partners With Starcom on SMGMaps (Street Fight)
On the show: Danish sensors; VIPLocum; TempleRun in virtual reality; LuceX3 builds your conscience into a vending machine; SiriusXM targets the connected car; Red/Green app helps plan your social life; and Cicret bracelet moves the screen to your skin.
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