Street Fight Daily: Jet.com Pilots Grocery Delivery, OpenTable Battles New Competitors
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Jet.com Piloting Grocery Delivery (But it May Take 2 Days to Arrive) (The Next Web)
In its attempt to further rival Amazon, e-retailer Jet.com today added a new category of products: fresh grocery. Items like milk, eggs, fruits, and meats will be available for select customers as the site begins pilot testing this new service in 875 zip codes spanning New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.
When It Comes to OpenTable, Restaurant Industry Has Few Reservations (Street Fight)
Catherine Porter, the company’s SVP of strategy and business development, recently caught up with Street Fight with a sneak peek of what’s on the menu for OpenTable this year, and how simplifying the reservation process is bringing more patrons to local businesses. San Francisco Chronicle: Reserve and other startups fight OpenTable for a seat.
Viv Aims to Out-Siri Siri in Its First Public Demo (CNet)
When it comes to artificial intelligence and digital assistants, Dag Kittlaus brings a lot of gravitas to the table: he co-created Siri, which Apple later purchased and made the “voice” of iPhone. And now Kittlaus has co-created what may well be the next generation of Siri: Viv, a new AI startup that aims to replace the app world as we know it with natural language commands.
In Google/Facebook Duel, SMBs Are the Real Winners (Street Fight)
Len Short: With Google’s recent changes, Facebook may now offer small business advertisers a better way to reach low-funnel shoppers — those currently in-market for a product or service, not just those vaguely searching for the category. Google’s move could drive many businesses into Facebook’s arms.
Ripple Wants to Deliver Local News, and It Wants Your Help Writing It (Recode)
Ripple.co, which launches out of beta today, is a site and mobile app dedicated to big cities including San Francisco, New York, London and Bangkok, featuring a location-sensitive newsfeed stocked with stories that come from other local news sites — or from a volunteer group of contributors who want to write about their own neighborhood.
BigCommerce Lands $30 Million to Help Small Businesses Compete in Amazon’s World (Recode)
BigCommerce has raised $30 million in new funding, as investors continue to bet on software companies that help small businesses compete while the popularity of online shopping continues to grow. The Austin, Texas-based company has now raised $155 million over seven years, with the most recent investment being led by GGV Capital.
How ShopAdvisor and Gravy Plan to Target Venue Patrons Before They Shop (Geomarketing)
Being able to target consumers who have attended an entertainment venue when they’re near a certain type of retailer is the basis of the partnership between ShopAdvisor, the proximity-based shopping guide, and venue-attendee verification Gravy.
Uber Recognizes New York Drivers’ Group, Short of a Union (New York Times)
Uber announced an agreement on Tuesday with a prominent union to create an association for drivers in New York that would establish a forum for regular dialogue and afford them some limited benefits and protections — but that would stop short of unionization.
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