Street Fight Daily: Uber to Disclose Traffic Data, Waymo Creates Its Own Sensor Unit

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

Uber Extends an Olive Branch to Local Governments: Its Data (New York Times)
Uber on Sunday unveiled Movement. The stand-alone site, which Uber will invite planning agencies and researchers to visit in the coming weeks, will allow outsiders to study traffic patterns and speeds across cities using data collected by tens of thousands of Uber vehicles.

Local’s Next Battleground: In-Car Media (Street Fight)
Mike Boland: A few recent moves have begun to triangulate how Uber might build out auxiliary revenue channels. It will be all about enhancing your ride, then, down the road, an ad model. And it won’t involve in-car signage or digital displays.

Waymo Creates Its Own Sensor Unit (Wall Street Journal)
Waymo LLC, the self-driving-car unit of Alphabet Inc., has created its own sensor package, suggesting the technology company sees itself supplying both the software and hardware required for autonomous vehicles. Recode: Waymo says it has cut the cost of crucial self-driving tech by 90%.

7 Startups Vying to Become the Uber of Pot (Street Fight)
So-called “Uber for pot” startups are in high demand, not just among consumers but investors, as well. Marijuana-focused private equity firms and VC firms are diving in headfirst, paving the way for growth in the industry. Here are seven examples of on-demand cannabis vendors serving the market right now.

Despite New FCC Rules, Verizon Plans ‘Aggressive Path’ on Ad Targeting (MediaPost)
New FCC privacy rules, which took effect this week, prohibit Internet service providers from drawing on information about subscribers’ Web activity and app usage for ad targeting without their opt-in consent.

How Amazon and Nvidia Won CES This Year (TechCrunch)
Darrell Etherington: Retail giant Amazon was just about everywhere at CES without having much in the way of official presence. The company’s Alexa virtual assistant basically turned up wherever it made the slightest amount of sense – and even in some places it definitely didn’t.

Facebook Hires Journalist Campbell Brown to Spearhead News Partnerships (Poynter)
Brown, who was previously a journalist for CNN and NBC News, will be “working directly with (Facebook’s) partners to help them understand how Facebook can expand the reach of their journalism and contribute value to their businesses.

Automakers and Suppliers Team Up to Share the Cost of Self-Driving Cars (Reuters)
While some companies, such as Tesla Motors, General Motors and Ford Motor, are trying to develop proprietary driverless systems, a larger group of automakers appears to have decided it makes more sense to develop self-driving technology in collaboration with suppliers.

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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]