7 CMS Platforms for Hyperlocal Publishers
Although many publishers have adapted general-purpose systems like WordPress and Drupal to meet their needs — and others, like Patch and Sacramento Press, have built their own technology platforms from scratch — new CMS platforms are being developed specifically with the needs of local and regional publishers in mind. Here are seven CMS platforms that publishers can use to run local news websites…
Hyperlocal Sites Must Win Customers’ Hearts With Strong Brand Identity
Hyperlocal advertiser Papa Ads, Inc. launched “iShopStark.com” in 2007 in Canton, Ohio. It offers product reviews, price comparisons, and coupons in the Stark County metro area. In 2010, Gatehouse Media, owner of Copley Ohio Newspapers, launched ShopNStark.com in the same area, offering the same services as iShopStark. Papa Ads sued Copley, claiming that the new site infringes Papa Ads’ brand name and is causing confusion among the public…
PHOTOS: Street Fight Summit West 2012
Street Fight’s first West Coast conference brought together some of the very top minds in hyperlocal at San Francisco’s Bently Reserve on June 5th. The day-long intensive event took a close look at some of the most important issues affecting hyperlocal content, commerce and technology. We recently posted a gallery of photos from the event featuring some of the more exciting moments from the stage, as well as the networking scene in the back rooms and at the evening cocktail party…
Street Fight Daily: Apple & Google Face Off, Patch Predicts Profit
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.

Patch’s Webster Predicts Profit in Late 2013 (Net News Check)
Here’s a Sign Merchants are Starting to Really Like Groupon (Yipit Blog)
Pandora Partners With Local Media Companies to Expand Mobile Reach
“[Mobile advertising] is definitely a significant part of our strategy, a significant part of our DNA,” John Hilton, director of the company’s sales strategy told Street Fight. “So there’s going to be a lot of emphasis and focus on the mobile advertising dollar for us. In terms of revenue generation, we’ve done a significant job, and that’s just going to go up and to the right.”
Transaction Overview: Constant Contact Acquires SinglePlatform
While a clear strategic fit, Constant Contact made a bold financial move with this acquisition. Valuation paid is clearly based on the expectation of strong revenue growth in 2013 and beyond as well as the strategic value of SinglePlatform’s products and customer and publisher relationships…
PODCAST: This Week in Location-Based Marketing — LevelUp, INRIX
In this week’s episode, hosts Rob Woodbridge and Asif Khan look at the new version of Foursquare’s app and a round of funding for LevelUp. Google brings street view to the knapsack. Denny’s is giving away a lifetime of Grand Slams. Plus our top funding stories, our resource of the week and special guest Jim Bak, Director of Communications at INRIX…
Street Fight Daily: AOL Fends Off Starboard, ICANN Domains, Seamless
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology...

Why Newspapers Were Doomed All Along (Harvard Business Review Blog)…
Groupon Is Winning or Losing, Depending on Who You Ask (NBC Chicago Blog)…
Can Bloodied Patch Pull Off a Digital ‘Rocky’?
Patch could compete more effectively if adopted a community-faced news strategy. Instead of building a Ptolemaic news gathering universe in each community centered on one young, inexperienced, overwhelmed reporter-editor, it should set about recruiting regular reporter/contributors who know their communities inside and out…
Street Fight Daily: Yelp to Bing Local, IAB Launches Mobile Tools
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology...

IAB Launches Hub For Mobilizing Web Sites (MediaPost)…
Anyone Who Thinks Mobile Advertising Is Going to Be Huge Needs to See These Charts (Business Insider)…
Constant Contact Snaps Up SinglePlatform for $65 Million
Constant Contact announced this morning that it has snapped up Single Platform, a service that allows businesses to manage their online presence, for $65 million in cash. The New York-based startup’s solution, which began primarily as a way for restaurants to digitize and publish menus, will be integrated into Constant Contact’s local marketing suite…
Street Fight Daily: Twitter Localizes Trends, 10M Placecast Users
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology...
Twitter Launches Tailored Trends Based on Location, Who You Follow (TechCrunch)…
Waze And Others Contributing to Apple’s iOS 6 Maps’ Crowd Sourced Traffic Data (TechCrunch)…
Missing the Point on Paywalls (CJR)…
Yext Scores $27 Million in New Funding
The round comes two months after the company spun-off its original pay-per-call business and co-founder Brent Metz into an independent division called Felix — a move which, at the time, Yext CEO Howard Lerman told Street Fight was in response to the massive growth of the company’s PowerListings product and pressure from the board “to throw all of our weight behind it.”


Apple Crashes the Hyperlocal Party
The maps product that Apple showed goes a long ways towards effectively replacing Google Maps. And its just the latest salvo in a developing campaign by both sides to capitalize on the hyperlocal market. Apple Maps, iTunes, Passport and the other developing applications on iOS are a clear path to entering the hyperlocal market in a very smooth, sophisticated and gradual way — the Apple Way…