Street Fight Daily: Mobile Spend Nears $100B, Uber Hires Security Chief

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…

Global Mobile Ad Spending Will Climb to $100 Billion in 2016 (AdAge)
The mobile ad spending pie is set to reach $100 billion next year, according to a report by eMarketer.This figure is more than a 400% increase from 2013, and it will likely double to nearly $200 billion between 2016 and 2019, accounting for more than a quarter of all media ad spending worldwide.

Here Are the Mobile Services Millennials Can’t Live Without (Street Fight)
There’s an old adage in tech circles that startups should build products that are painkillers — not vitamins. As the argument goes, pain — not pleasure — drives people to change their habits. So what’s the biggest painkiller on mobile? It turns out it may be local applications, according to a new report from Pew Research.

Uber Hires a Security Chief From Facebook (New York Times)
Uber said Thursday it had hired Joe Sullivan to be its first chief security officer, luring him from Facebook, where he held the same position for more than half of the social network’s existence. Mr. Sullivan will most likely be responsible for overseeing the security of Uber’s vast driver data to improving safety measures for drivers and passengers.

How to Make Connections With Increasingly Mobile Consumers (Street Fight)
Mark Sullivan: Smartphones are capturing the gaze of an increasing amount of people, for an increasingly long period at a time. So how does a small business owner communicate with a smartphone-obsessed population? Here are a few proven tactics that can help take advantage of the direct link smartphones provide to the consumer.

Square Eyes Bars, Restaurants With Open Tickets (USA Today)
Payments service Square is making a push to get behind the bar. The San Francisco-based company is introducing a new feature called Open Tickets to its Square Register platform, targeting bars and restaurants that work regularly with open tabs.

Google AdWords Verification Policy For Phone Numbers In Call Extensions (Search Roundtable)
Google launched call extensions about four years ago within the Google AdWords advertising platform. Google is requiring Google AdWords advertisers using call or location extensions to verify the phone numbers listed in their ads for them to actually show up.

Run For Your Life, Chicken Little — The Google Mopocalypse Is Coming! (SearchEngineLand)
Will Scott: Mobile Internet usage is growing at a startling rate. Within the last five years, we were telling clients, “Let’s worry about it when it gets to 20%.” For many of our clients in local businesses, mobile is now approaching 50% of their reported traffic and continuing to grow.

An Ex-Googler Launches An In-Home Care Startup Called Honor And Raises $20 Million (TechCrunch)
Seth Sternberg, who sold a messaging service to Google for around $100 million, is launching a new startup centered around in-home care — and has raised a ton of money to build it. Honor, a combination of an online service that connects in-home caregivers, seniors and their families, has raised $20 million.

Google’s Steady Gains In Paid Search Location Tracking A Win-Win (Search Engine Land)
Andy Taylor: Over the past year, Google has greatly improved its ability to track user locations at ever more granular levels. Whether using proximity bidding, average household income levers, or standard geographic location targets, advertisers now have more ways than ever before to update bids for users that meet different geographic criteria.

3 Ways Small Businesses Can Use Video Marketing (Mashable)
Video marketing is exploding in popularity, and with good reason: According to a report from Vidyard, more than 70% of marketers say that video produces conversions better than any other type of content. Small businesses need to start thinking about video as a channel for making personal connections.

LBMA Podcast: Revmetrix, Plenti and Target’s VP of Product (Street Fight)
On the show: Five Boros Chocolate map packaging; Oreo’s solar eclipse; E-lance for dog walkers; TransitScreen does what it’s name says; Pivot brings the past to life. And the special guest is Alan Wizemann, VP of product at Target.

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