Street Fight Daily: Uber Uses Ride Data for Restaurant Recommendations, AirBnB Launches ‘Trips’

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

Uber Uses Ride Data to Compile Guide on Local Restaurants (TechCrunch)
It’s an interesting use of Uber’s substantial pool of data, and one that could indicate how the company can diversify its business in the future beyond its various approaches to mobility and transportation. Restaurants is an obvious place type to tackle with this sort of crowdsourced recommendation model, but it’s far from the only category where such a thing would prove useful.

Is Black Friday’s Importance Waning for Brick-and-Mortar Retailers? (Street Fight)
As consumers do more of their holiday shopping online, brick-and-mortar retailers are working harder than ever to capitalize on evolving foot traffic patterns. Data scientists at Foursquare analyzed foot traffic trails from U.S. users to try and predict what next weekend’s sales numbers might look like.

AirBnB Is Transforming Itself from a Rental Company Into a Travel Agency (The Verge)
The San Francisco-based company upended the hotel business by letting homeowners and leasers rent out rooms and houses. Now, it’s trying to do the same for the travel and tourist industries. The new initiative is called Airbnb Trips, and it now provides the company a way to offer an experience instead of an accommodation.

World’s Leading QSR Uses Tech to Revolutionize Service (New York Times)
McDonald’s on Thursday announced changes that could reshape the diner’s experience, saying that it would expand its digital self-serve ordering stations and table service to all of its 14,000 American restaurants.

Openings and New Hires at Belly, Criteo, Endurance, TruMeasure (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 SpotHero, Acquisio, Walkbase, eZanga.

Moz Beefs Up Moz Local with New Features, Distribution, and Automation (Search Engine Land)
Moz has overhauled and enhanced its Moz Local offering, adding new features and automation the company says were requested by users and the broader local SEO community. The product previously offered listings monitoring and syndication.

Raise Report: New Funding for xAd, Glint, Periscope Data (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 funding for Womply, Musement, TrendKite, and Job Today.

For Today’s Consumers, Restaurant Popularity Hinges on Digital Accommodations (eMarketer)
Over 75% said that when visiting a restaurant, being able to make reservations online was at least somewhat important. Over 50% said the same about online or mobile ordering, loyalty and reward programs, and, perhaps surprisingly, free Wi-Fi. 

Smaato Becomes First Mobile Bidding Partner for Google’s Exchange (MediaPost)
Smaato, a global real-time ad platform for mobile publishers, played a big role in an announcement this week by Google. The company became the first mobile bidding  partner for Google’s Exchange. 

Why Mic is Going All-In on Instagram With a 10-Person Team (Digiday)
Many publishers have focused on building audiences on Snapchat. But for those without one of the coveted channels in the app’s Discover section, Instagram is an attractive alternative. In the past three months, Mic has reassigned 10 people to Instagram, away from Twitter, graphics and editing/writing.

Publishers Should Carve Out Core Identity, Not Rush to Please Either Google or Facebook (AdExchanger)
Christian Baesler: The right publisher strategy requires a commitment to a core content identity and some clever search and social media maneuvers to move flexibly across the two platforms to create stability.

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