Street Fight Daily: Zomato Buys Urbanspoon, Ford Opens Dashboard
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Zomato Food Portal Buys Urbanspoon to Expand in U.S. (Businessweek)
Zomato, a New Delhi-based restaurant and dining Web portal, has acquired Urbanspoon from IAC to gain a foothold in the U.S. and Australian markets. The companies will compete with Yelp and other startups that provide online restaurant guides, reviews and mobile applications for people seeking places to dine.
Why Local Marketing Is a Function of Commerce, Not Media (Street Fight)
Steven Jacobs: I’ve come to believe that the initial narrative about digital — the one about eyeballs simply moving online — actually impedes an effective analysis of the local marketing industry. Once we see local marketing as a function of commerce (and not media) we start to find a more dramatic shift than previously thought.
With Applink 3.0, Ford Lets You Choose Your Navigation App (GigaOm)
Ford on Monday unveiled the newest version of its AppLink system, which bridges the apps in your in your smartphone with apps in your car, and the key feature of that upgrade is its ability to support third-party navigation apps.
75% Of Small & Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs) Say Internet Marketing Is Effective (Search Engine Land)
Confidence is up, and SMBs are looking to increase their spend. According toa new study, nearly 40% of SMBs are looking to spend more on Internet marketing in 2015 than they did in 2014, and many more are still undecided, so this number will rise.
Latest iOS 8.2 iPhone Beta Adds Apple Watch Bluetooth Support (9to5Mac)
The latest iOS 8.2 beta for the iPhone adds support for Apple’s next major product launch: the Apple Watch. Additionally, the instructions inside of the Bluetooth menu specifically indicate that Apple will release a dedicated “Apple Watch app” for setting up and controlling the wearable device.
JUICE Mobile CEO: Beacons Are The Gateway Drug To The Internet Of Things (AdExchanger)
In December, JUICE Mobile spun off its beacon network into a standalone ad tech company called Freckle IoT. Already the largest beacon network in the Canada marketplace, the company describes itself as “a testing ground for the activation of next-generation connected devices.”
Instacart Confirms $220 Million Investment. Now Comes the Hard Part (Recode)
Instacart has confirmed its giant $220 million investment led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. But the company, whose service lets people order groceries from local stores such as Whole Foods and Costco and have them delivered on the same day, faces a long list of challenges to live up to the hype that comes with such a deal.
Fidelity Introduces Location-Based Stock-Picking App, for Some Reason (New York Times)
The brokerage firm Fidelity announced a new feature Monday on its mobile app: “Stocks Nearby.” It helps you hook up with the publicly traded companies doing business nearest your current location. It’s Grindr, but for stocks.
Investors Must Confront The On-Demand Economy’s Legal Problem (TechCrunch)
Chances are, no venture capital pitch deck you’ve ever seen had a slide entitled “Worker Classification.” And yet, many companies in the “sharing economy” or “on-demand economy” rely on workforces whose legal status may be in jeopardy.
Shazam Will Now Use Beacon Technology To Recommend Songs Based On Your Location (The Next Web)
Shazam has officially announced it is adding context awareness SDK Gimbal to its software to provide location-based recommendations. Using beacon technology to locate the user’s proximity, the app will provide a more contextual recommendation based on when and where the user is at any given time.
Demandware Snags Point Of Sale Provider Tomax To Extend Reach From Web To Store (TechCrunch)
Demandware announced today that it bought Tomax, a cloud-based point of sale company for approximately $75M in cash and incentives. he acquisition extends Demandware’s reach from eCommerce websites to the brick-and-mortar storefront.
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