Triangulating the Future of Local Commerce
Street Fight’s charter is to chronicle innovation and business success within the local commerce universe. After doing this for almost ten years, we’ve developed an eye for the cause and effect dynamics that drive the industry and its subsectors (search, social, mobile, media, advertising, etc.).
Just as past behavior can indicate future outcomes, this seasoned industry perspective has engendered a penchant for future-gazing — a ritual that continues to bear fruit. That includes recent bullseyes like Amazon’s move into “retail as a service” and Uber’s move into local advertising.
To formalize this new flavor of Street Fight coverage, we’re launching Future Finders. It will be an ongoing column at Street Fight, including our voices and yours. If you have something concrete and predictive (though not self-serving) to say, we’ll give you priority in going to the front of the line in our crowded and selective pipeline of outside contributions (submissions guidelines here).
You’ll also see Future Finders authorship from columnists like Managing Editor Joe Zappa, Lead Analyst Mike Boland, as well as frequent contributors like Brandify (Street Fight’s owner) VP of Product Damian Rollison and Director of Marketing Dustin Hayes.
See the full archive below and return here for updates. We’ll also create plenty of front-page links so you can find your way back. Contact us if you’re interested in participating in or sponsoring Street Fight narratives that will increasingly look forward instead of back.
Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Parking
The fluctuating need for car parking spaces is a source of frustration and concern for city officials all over the world. In the US alone, there are said to be between 105 million and two billion spaces – which is potentially more than the number of cars in existence across the globe. While during busy periods, such as the holiday season, these extensive parking lots are likely to be filled, most of the time they sit empty and unused.
This is wasteful when growing urban areas are constantly in need of more space for housing, schools, and business development. But an array of technologies and technical processes such as automation, the Internet of Things, and self-driving vehicles promise the potential transformation of parking lots and, with them, cityscapes themselves.