Raise Report: New Funding for Bridge2 Solutions, BigCommerce, Big Panda

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Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This edition’s raises include new rounds for Unacast and Grey Jean Technologies.

Street Fight Daily: Microsoft Building Its Own Bot, UberMedia Expanding Attribution Business

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Walmart Outperforms Estimates, but Online Retail Lags… Looking for a Sustainable Business Model for a Regional Newspaper? Start at the Star Tribune… Microsoft is Building Its Own Bot to Rival Google Assistant and Viv…

Swirl Looks to Close the Digital Divide Between E-Commerce and Physical Stores

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Pushing back against a shifting tide and changing consumer behavior won’t be easy, but executives at in-store digital marketing technology provider Swirl believe they can change the way consumers shop. Hilmi Ozguc, Swirl’s CEO, says the key will be arming physical retailers with the same datasets as e-commerce giants.

Pasadena Now: 20 Articles Daily and 75 Advertisers — But Big Challenges As Well

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“We built an online community newspaper the old-fashioned way — with daily deadlines, plenty of shoe leather and a grueling schedule of personally attending dozens of community events every month,” publisher James Macpherson says about his 12-year-old local news site.

Street Fight Daily: Google Debuts Assistant, Investors Losing Interest in Delivery

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Meet Google Assistant: A New Search Platform, Rather Than A Gadget or an App… Swirl Looks to Close the Digital Divide Between E-Commerce and Physical Stores

ClipCall Uses Mobile and Video to Help Consumers Connect With Home Service Providers

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Lots of companies have taken a whack at the local home services space — from Angie’s List to a raft of startups. ClipCall, which came out of beta in January and will present t Street Fight summit West on June 7th, relies on customers using the company’s app to record video of a job they need doing and then sends that video out to nearby experts.

How True Religion Uses Wearables to Elevate the Shopping Experience

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“It’s no secret that today’s retail landscape has shifted from ‘shopping efficiency’ to experiential. Customers want and expect elevated treatment from their brands. Specifically, brands that they frequent,” says the company’s SVP for direct to consumer, John Hazen.

Street Fight Daily: Google to Introduce Echo Rival, Amazon to Open More Stores

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google To Introduce its Voice-Activated Home Device… Amazon To Open More Brick-and-Mortar Stores, Beef Up Prime Services… ClipCall Uses Mobile and Video to Help Consumers Connect with Home Service Providers…

Unacast Raises $5 Million to Build Out Its Beacon Network

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CEO Thomas Walle (who will be speaking at #SFSW16 in just three weeks) says the company will use the funding to develop more partnerships to build out its network of proximity companies so that it can use the aggregate data to “index the physical world.”

Street Fight Daily: Product Ads Come to Google Image Search, Weighing Bots’ Promise

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Product Listing Ads Officially Launch in Image Search… MCX, the Big Retailer Answer to Apple Pay, Announces Layoffs and Another Product Delay… Amazon Launches Restaurant Delivery in Manhattan with More Than 350 Eateries

Homebrew VC Wants to Build Out Startups That Bring Value to Location

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The firm has built up an impressive roster of investments in seed stage companies focused on the “bottom-up economy.” Co-founders Hunter Walk and Satya Patel have a particular interest in seeing businesses advance in tech and value-added location services.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon to Launch in $80 Billion Market, Uber Under Pressure

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon is About to Launch in a New $80 Billion Market… Should Yelp Start Worrying about Angie’s List?… Uber’s Ride-Sharing Dominance Comes Under Pressure…

Street Culture: Thirstie Holds Focus on Engagement and Slow Growth

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The company’s CEO said he is witnessing many on-demand companies slowly but surely go out of business, and is more convinced than ever that offering that extra little bit of knowledge to customers is what will inspire them to spend more time with Thirstie, and return to the app on a regular basis.

Street Fight Daily: Google’s Mobile Update, Facebook’s Influence on the News

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Boost Has Rolled Out… Facebook and the News: Trends, Filter Bubbles and Algorithmic Bias…

A Need to Survive Keeps Feuding Newspapers Together in New Marketing Venture

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A month ago, four major newspaper chains proudly announced the founding of Nucleus Marketing Solutions, a partnership that would help them compete with “the platforms.” Today, one of the chains, Tribune Publishing, is threatening another, Gannett, with a “poison pill” strategy to prevent a hostile takeover.

5 On-Demand Platforms to Connect Busy Parents With Local Services

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Uber-style apps for children face an uphill battle, in part because trust isn’t something the on-demand economy is known for and people aren’t as willing to entrust their children with a stranger as they are their laundry or their take-out. But creative solutions abound.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon Crushing Retail Competitors, McDonald’s Leads in QSR Foot Traffic

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google’s Answer to Amazon Echo is Named Chirp and is Coming Soon… Apple Pay Spreads Into a New Market… This Chart Shows How Amazon is Crushing Retail Competitors…

When It Comes To OpenTable, the Restaurant Industry Has Few Reservations

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Catherine Porter, the company’s SVP of strategy and business development, recently caught up with Street Fight with a sneak peek of what’s on the menu for OpenTable this year, and how simplifying the reservation process is bringing more patrons to local businesses.

Street Fight Daily: Jet.com Pilots Grocery Delivery, OpenTable Battles New Competitors

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Jet.com is Piloting Grocery Delivery (But it May Take 2 Days to Arrive)… Reserve, Other Startups Fight OpenTable for a Seat… Uber Recognizes New York Drivers Group, Short of a Union…

Will an ‘Internet of People’ Threaten the On-Demand Heavies and Give Power to SMBs?

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Fermat wants to allow customers and small businesses (or people offering services) to talk directly to one another and pay for services using the likes of Bitcoin. As founder Luis Molina says: “Fermat aims to replace the ‘Sharing Economy,’ where powerful intermediaries extract significant value and information from every exchange.”