Publisher Dave Harte Weighs in on the Quest for Hyperlocal Success in the U.K.
“I think we’re in a place where the larger media organizations are in the second cycle of trying to rethink hyperlocal, and in the meantime there have been some smaller innovators, often ex-journalists themselves, who are starting to develop out of it,” says the Bourneville Village publisher. “The key still remains having people in place to sell ads.”
A Year After Its SXSW Moment, Highlight Keeps Working to Connect People Nearby
Paul Davison’s location-based startup Highlight has had a strange trajectory. It was the darling of South by Southwest in 2012, then soon lost its sheen for a variety of reasons, prompting a series of “What Happened to Highlight?” posts around the time of this year’s Austin event. Street Fight recently caught up with Davison to talk about retrenching, the definition of fun, and his very real belief that using Highlight can change the world around us.
Banjo Founder: ‘Emotional Connection’ Is Key for Mobile
In less than a year, social discovery app Banjo has jumped from fewer than a million users to over four million. The mobile service allows users to discover real-time data across social networks and learn more about places, and it recently launched a tablet app. Street Fight caught up with Banjo founder and CEO Damien Patton to chat about the future of mobile, making money, and the value of data…
Mobile Coupons Gain Traction, But QR Codes Are Fading
The future of mobile coupons is nearly here and it looks bright, according to a recent study conducted by RadiumOne, which found that nearly half of women ages 35 to 54 would like to receive mobile coupons via SMS. Meanwhile, other methods of coupon delivery are rising in popularity as well…
Yodle CEO: Nearly 40% of the Leads We Generate Come From Mobile
In the fast-churning world of small-business-focused digital start-ups, Yodle’s nearly eight years in the business already make it a bit of a veteran player. Street Fight recently caught up with the company’s CEO, Court Cunningham, to talk about the future of mobile advertising and why small business websites are still so important as marketing channels…
Voice Media Group Enters Content Partnership With Foursquare
Alt-weekly publisher Voice Media Group has announced a partnership with Foursquare that will make event content from VMG’s Voice Places initiative available to users of the location-based app. “This was a natural next step in terms of combining our curated local content with the experience that they provide around location and events,” Scott Tobias, CEO of Voice Media Group, told Street Fight…
Weather Channel SVP: Changing the Pitch on a Local-by-Local Basis
Eric Hadley, the Weather Channel’s senior vice president for partner solutions and ad trade marketing, recently spoke with Street Fight about the local-national tension in weather coverage and information, the secrets behind Weather Channel’s success on mobile, and his predictions for the coming year. He will be appearing as a speaker at Street Fight Summit in New York later this month as part of an IAB-led panel titled “Using Location to Monetize Mobile Inventory.”
Spindle Tries to Pre-empt Local Discovery With Social Alerts
Last week, social discovery app Spindle rolled out a place-based alerts system designed to inform users of interesting and relevant social media updates from local businesses around them. Street Fight recently spoke with Spindle CEO and cofounder Pat Kinsel about about what makes Spindle’s value proposition so vital…
Should the Wash Post Expand Local or Give Up the Ghost?
Washington Post ombudsman Patrick Pexton is worried that his paper isn’t doing enough local coverage — and believes that a simple resource reallocation might fix the mix. But some think that fixing what ails the Washington Post’s local coverage is not that simple. In fact, says media blogger Alan Mutter, local coverage of this sort might not even make sense, considering the paper’s mission…
Groupon’s Mason: It Would Be ‘Weird’ If Board Wasn’t Discussing My Job
“There’s no question that we’ve had bumps in the road, but Groupon has created not just a business, but an entirely new category,” said the CEO. “If I ever thought I wasn’t the right guy for the job, I would be the first guy to fire myself. I care much more about the success of Groupon than being CEO.”
The Steaks in Square’s Future
Back in June, social/local analyst Rocky Agrawal bet Reuters financial journalist Felix Salmon a steak dinner that Square would be acquired by a company other than PayPal in 2012. At this point, a sale seems pretty unlikely before the end of the year — and I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon. So if someone wants to bet me that Square gets acquired before this time in 2013, I’ll take that bet…
Topix Expands Emphasis on Local Races in Runup to Election
With just a couple of weeks remaining until the election, hyperlocal news aggregator Topix is going all in — covering the smaller elections that don’t get national press or, for that matter, any press at all. In July, the company recruited David Marks from Politico to be editor-in-chief of its local politics coverage. Last week, the company launched a new offering that gives a granular look at local races. Street Fight recently caught up with Topix CEO Chris Tolles to talk about his site’s deepening focus on local politics…
Placecast Launches Card-Linked ShopAlerts for Smarter Geofencing
A new product from Placecast hopes to change the way you receive mobile discount offers. The company is launching a new “Card-Linked ShopAlerts” service that uses new technology to combine location, retailer, and credit card information to give consumers discounts at local stores and chains such as Starbucks, L’Oreal, and The North Face…
Wanderful Media Revamps Find&Save With Personalization in Mind
“We’re building toward a completely personalized experience, like Netflix,” said Dave Thomsen, the company’s EVP of product design. “When you’re logged in, you get a unique circular that’s customized for you based on what we know about you.” So the product will understand what you have looked for in the past and show deals you might be interested in now…