Street Fight Daily: Uber Racks Up Big Losses, Businesses Coming to WhatsApp

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

Uber Loses At Least $1.2 Billion in First Half of 2016 (Bloomberg)
In the second quarter the losses significantly exceeded $750 million, including a roughly $100 million shortfall in the U.S., those people said. That means Uber’s losses in the first half of 2016 totaled at least $1.27 billion.

WhatsApp to Let Business Operate on its Platform (TechCrunch)
WhatsApp will finally take a step to becoming a platform after the Facebook-owned company revealed it will begin to integrate businesses services into its app before the end of this year. The company first announced plans to connect its userbase — which stands at more than one billion — with businesses back in January.

TripAdvisor Acquires Social Mapping Service CityMaps (Street Fight)
TripAdvisor has announced the acquisition of New York-based social mapping startup CityMaps. The company launched in 2010 as map-based aggregator of third-party data and later evolved into a navigational tool and guide for travelers. TripAdvisor spokesman said the company will continue to operate as a standalone business.

Major Quick-Serve Restaurant Deploys Drones for Food Delivery (The Next Web)
Joining a growing list of companies that aspire to deliver consumer products by drone, Domino’s today launched its commercial drone delivery service in New Zealand. The project is a partnership between Domino’s and Flirtey — a drone delivery startup — and it’s set to launch later this year in test markets.

Openings and New Hires at YP, RetailNext, and TigerPistol (Street Fight)
Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. This week’s edition includes moves and new openings at Yodle, Infogroup, Bridg, and Valpak.

Facebook Referrals to Media Sites Decline on Desktop (eMarketer)
Yahoo, Time Warner and Gannett saw some of the biggest losses, among publishers who were ranked in the top 10 in terms of all site visits. For example, Yahoo’s desktop traffic from Facebook fell by 45% in Q2 2016 compared to Q1 2016, and Time Warner’s desktop traffic declined by 36%.

Raise Report: LendUp, DroneDeploy, Vettery Secure Fresh Funding (Street Fight)
Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes new rounds for Simbi, Dexter, MediaBrix, and RedShelf.

Social Media’s Role in Building Today’s Brands (MediaPost)
In partnership with research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, the consultancy Vivaldi recently released “The Power of Social Currency,” a 90-brand study of more 18,000 U.S. consumers that endeavors to answer the marketing question of our overhyped and hyperactive world: “How can a business of any size stand out and profit in an anywhere world?”

Amazon Takes a Page from Walmart’s Book on Grocery Retail (Quartz)
Amazon appears to be planning to let US customers order groceries online and pick them up at designated drive-in spots, according to planning documents reviewed by several local news outlets.

LMBA Podcast: Lyft, Klosebuy, Homebase, and Indoor Atlas (Street Fight)
Welcome to This Week in Location Based Marketing, a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan and Aubriana Lopez. On the show: PetSmart + MoodMedia, MediaMath + Factual, Pinterest, Be The Match + Snapchat.

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Joe Zappa is the Managing Editor of Street Fight. He has spearheaded the newsroom's editorial operations since 2018. Joe is an ad/martech veteran who has covered the space since 2015. You can contact him at [email protected]