Street Fight Daily: Snap Becoming a Search Engine, Google’s Data Wars Come Down to Location

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

Snapchat is Becoming a Search Engine (Quartz)
The “camera company” announced that it is revamping the way users search for Stories — the daily photos and videos that people and brands post to their accounts — as well as opening up a new advertising revenue stream.

The Coming DIY Cataclysm (Street Fight)
“It seems like the agency business of the future — both large and boutique — will largely add value around integration of best-of-breed point solutions, which I don’t see many large entities like YP attempting to tackle yet.,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal. 

For Google’s Data Wars, It All Comes Down to Location (WSJ)
Google and the Justice Department are clashing in courtrooms across the country over the government’s power to compel the company to turn over emails and other personal data sought in criminal probes.

Mobile Payments: Does Local’s Holy Grail Have Holes? (Street Fight)
Michael Boland: Mobile payments continue to be equally opportune and elusive. The potential benefits are huge, but I’m skeptical that mainstream consumers will alter their entrenched habits when they still don’t see cash or credit cards as a pain point.

How Uber Uses Psychological Tricks to Push Its Drivers’ Buttons (NYT)
Uber is engaged in an extraordinary behind-the-scenes experiment in behavioral science to manipulate them in the service of its corporate growth.

Facebook, Mozilla, Craig Newmark, Others Launch $14 Million Fund to Support News Integrity (VentureBeat)
The money will be invested in the News Integrity Initiative with the goal of increasing trust in journalism worldwide and “better informing the public conversation.”

Agencies Bear Responsibility for Brand Safety (MediaPost)
Brooke Reno: Last week, Google came under intense fire for its inability to protect brands on its YouTube platform. Is Google to blame? Partially, but this is also an easy opportunity to gang up on the big guy and let agencies off the hook.

Big Brand Pullouts Will Have Limited Impact on YouTube (Digiday)
Theater is an effective way to garner headlines, but it’s not always reliable when it comes to siphoning money from platforms.

Macy’s CEO: Here Is How We Plan to Win Again (The Street)
Newly minted Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette is primed to attempt a feat that may or may not come to fruition — a Macy’s turnaround amidst one of the most challenging periods in retail ever.

A Reporter in Rural India Uses WhatsApp to Spread Local News and Makes Money On It (Nieman Lab)
Ask someone for the local news in the Pilibhit district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh — near the Nepal border and 135 miles away from the state’s capital of Lucknow — and you’ll occasionally get the answer: “Look on WhatsApp!”

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