Street Fight Daily: Apple’s Street View Competitor, Google Reinvents the City

Share this:

Apple-iOS-6-Maps

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

Apple Confirms Vans Are For Maps Data Improvement, Discloses Future Locations (Apple Insider)
Apple has officially brought to an end the speculation surrounding its formerly secretive mapping vans, revealing that the vehicles are collecting data for future Apple Maps updates, and also emphasizing both privacy and transparency with a list of upcoming driving locations.

#SFSW15 VIDEO: Deep Linking Will Solve Some — But Not All — of Mobile’s Problems (Street Fight)
Mobile still lacks some of the infrastructure that helped the web spawn two decades of unparalleled growth — namely, the ability to easily move from app to app. But a technology known as deep linking could solve that problem, and in doing so bring the efficiencies of the web to mobile.

Sidewalk Labs, a Start-Up Created by Google, Has Bold Aims to Improve City Living (New York Times)
The Silicon Valley giant is starting and funding an independent company dedicated to coming up with new technologies to improve urban life. The founders describe Sidewalk Labs as an “urban innovation company” that will pursue technologies to cut curb energy use, streamline transportation and reduce the cost of city living.

Case Study: Using Pre-Order Apps to Streamline Lunch Operations (Street Fight)
Given its location in the mid-Market area of San Francisco, Alta CA has a unique clientele. The bustling neighborhood restaurant has customers who are willing to try out the latest apps and services, and as a result it’s become a sort-of testing ground for hyperlocal marketing solutions.

Digital Device Use Influences $1.7 Trillion in In-Store Retail Sales (eMarketer)
Deloitte estimated that this year, digital would influence 64% of in-store retail sales and reaffirmed the widespread notion that the influence of digital and mobile on the brick-and-mortar shopping process meant retailers had to link all channels.

A Blow for Mobile Advertising: The Next Version of Safari Will Let Users Block Ads on iPhones And iPads (Nieman Lab)
It didn’t get a mention in Apple’s big keynote announcements Monday — which already had plenty of interest to publishers — but deep within Apple’s developer documentation lies perhaps the most important item of all to the news industry. Adblocking is coming to the iPhone with iOS 9.

Uber Reached Out to CFO Prospects (Wall Street Journal)
As Uber takes steps that could lead to a public offering, the ride-hailing company continues to search for the right finance chief. At least two executives directly approached by Uber for the CFO spot have turned it down, a person familiar with the matter said.

What the Media Industry Can Teach Us About Digital Business Models (Harvard Business Review)
Why has this been the best of times for some in media and the worst of time for others? The answer reveals the critical role business models play in determining competitive winners in times of disruptive change.

Are Beacons Yesterday’s Retail Technology? (Marketing)
Supermarket giant Carrefour has invested in an alternative approach. While beacons use Bluetooth LE to determine the distance of a shopper (but not their precise location), Philips has developed an LED lighting system that transmits promotional codes to smartphones via light waves.

Get Street Fight Daily in your inbox! Subscribe to our newsletter.

Tags: