Street Fight Daily: Inside Uber/Lyft Funding War, Small Brands Hit Roadblock on Instagram

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

Funding Talks at Uber and Lyft Complicate Ride-Hailing Allegiances (NYT)
The only thing changing faster than who is winning the race in the cutthroat world of ride hailing are the shifting behind-the-scenes allegiances between those companies and investors. TechCrunch: Waymo wants to postpone trial with Uber

iPhoneX, AR & Local: How Do All the Pieces Fit? (Street Fight)
Michael Boland: There are lots of ways that augmented reality (AR) is a natural fit for local commerce. But questions remain: How will AR will materialize in local? How long it will take? And how do these factors signal local startups and media companies where to place their chips?

Small Brands Are Finding It Harder to Get Verified on Instagram (Digiday)
Out of all platforms, a verification badge on Instagram has become the most exclusive. Agency executives say Instagram is only becoming more secretive and selective.

How Social Media Disasters Can Tarnish Brands (Street Fight)
Kevin Lee: Gaffes by businesses, celebrities, and politicians on Twitter and Facebook have been with us since the advent of social media, but recent events have highlighted two very serious consequences for brands that may not have been clear previously.

Never Mind GDPR, Here Comes Apple’s Intelligent Tracking (AdExchanger)
Alan Chapell: This move represents an escalation in the arms race between those who control the user experience and those seeking to more effectively draw insights from users.

This Is How the Top 25 Online Apparel Retailers in the U.S. Are Evolving (AdWeek)
All the challenges in today’s retail market “place a huge emphasis on creative and innovative marketing and digital operations—brand recognition is critical, but it certainly isn’t enough,” said Gitit Greenberg, director of digital insights at SimilarWeb.

Google Travel Is Worth $100 Billion — Even More Than Priceline (Skift)
At $100 billion, Google’s travel business contributes about 15 percent to Google’s $650 billion market cap.

Slack Confirms It Has Raised $250 Million at $5 Billion Valuation (VentureBeat)
Workplace collaboration platform Slack has closed its long-rumored new round of funding at $250 million, led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund, as it seeks to beat back a growing list of competitors with deep pockets.

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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]