Street Fight Daily: Google Introduces Android Pay, Foursquare Wants to ‘Fake’ Beacon Tech
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Android Pay Is Finally Here (Huffington Post)
Google’s answer to the Apple Pay mobile payment service is debuting in the U.S., marking a do-over by the company behind the world’s most-used operating system for smartphones.
Dennis Crowley Explains Foursquare’s New ‘Magic Trick’ (Business Insider)
According to Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley, “For years, we’ve been working on tech that basically does what beacons are supposed to do…but does it without hardware. This is why all of those checkins are valuable — they’ve given us a map of the world meant to be read by cellphone sensors… and we’re finding this is a really easy way to ‘fake’ beacon technology.”
ironSource’s Cunningham: You Need Every Data Set at Your Disposal to Compete with Facebook and Google (Street Fight)
“In today’s ecosystem, there’s no fooling around anymore. You have some serious players taking 80 or 90 percent of the share, and the only way that you’re ever going to compete is with scale, targeting, a large user base, and product capabilities that can command real budgets,” said ironSource’s Chris Cunningham about consolidation in the ad-tech space.
Uber’s Chinese Rival Quietly Backs Its U.S. Rival Lyft (Wall Street Journal)
By investing in Lyft, China’s ride-hailing service Didi Kuaidi and Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent seek to boost the competitive threat to Uber in its home market as the app is expanding in China. (Subscription required)
With 8 Sites in Brooklyn, ‘Indie’ Corner Media Reports Doubling of Ad Revenue (Street Fight)
Tom Grubisich: Brooklyn is home to scores of fast-changing neighborhoods that are reshaping New York City’s largest borough. Seven of these neighborhoods are the turf of Corner Media Group, the independent mini-network that entrepreneur Liena Zagare has assembled over the past several years.
Big Data Doesn’t Exist (TechCrunch)
Slater Victoroff: More data means more understanding about how people make decisions, what people buy, what motivates them — right? But typically only a small fraction is useful for generating any non-trivial insight. Deep-learning models only work on massive amounts of data, for a corporate behemoth like Facebook or Google. Too many smaller companies don’t realize this and acquire data stores they can’t afford.
Openings and New Hires at Angie’s List, Yext, and Retailigence (Street Fight)
Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s column, Angie’s List names a new CEO, Dun & Bradstreet promotes a new Chief Sales Officer, and the Dallas Morning News nabs a managing editor from Pew Research Center.
The Washington Post is Blocking People With Ad Blockers From Reading Its Articles (Business Insider)
According to a Washington Post spokesperson, “Many people already receive our journalism for free online, with digital advertising paying only a portion of the cost. Without income via subscriptions or advertising, we are unable to deliver the journalism that people coming to our site expect from us. We are currently running a test using a few different approaches.”
Google My Business App Receives Major Facelift (Blumenthals)
Mike Blumenthal: Given Google’s recent reduced visibility of local results, the ever-present complexity of doing well in search, the rise of Facebook as a small business resource, and the demise of Plus as an SMB communication platform, this upgrade, while welcome, seems to be bit of chair shuffling on the deck of the Titanic.
Programmatic Buyers, Sellers Disagree on What’s Valuable (eMarketer)
On the sell side, advertising professionals felt the most valuable or desired forms of programmatic targeting were first-look or exclusive access and contextual targeting. But on the buy side, targeting ad sizes and formats was the least valued option.
Can the Surge in Ad Blocking Be Good for Advertisers? (Mobile Marketer)
Carolyn Parent: Delivering the wrong content, at the wrong time, to the wrong consumer has driven adoption of ad blocking. If you look at the message that consumers are sending – “I don’t want ads that don’t add value to me” – you see an opportunity for advertisers to adapt and give the consumer what they value: relevant, interesting, timely, and personalized content.
LBMA Podcast: Ikea’s Twitter Vending Machines, Nomadic Uno’s CEO (Street Fight)
On the show: SmarTone Telecom complicates the KISS principle; Ikea Canada powers discounts with Twitter vending machines; SeeLight helps the blind cross the street; Area360 raises $3.5M; Yogrt rakes in $3M; and more.
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