News and Analysis

Google Revises Policy Asking Users for Permission to Listen to Their Assistant Recordings

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The fact that this was an open practice that at least some consumers simply did not understand they were either opting into or automatically participating in points to calls for greater transparency and regulation. Google says it “fell short” of its “high standards” on the issue, but legislation like Europe’s GDPR, CCPA, and legislation in some 10 other US states indicates those standards may be imposed on tech companies by government agencies going forward.

5 Privacy-Focused Mapping Solutions

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Mainstream navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze seem to dominate the marketplace, but consumers who are interested in maintaining as much online privacy as possible have options to choose from, too.

Innovative mapping and navigation companies are launching new platforms with user privacy in mind. Framing themselves as the “private” alternative to general use navigation apps, these platforms collect minimal personal data from users and often work without tracking user locations.

Here are five examples of privacy-focused mapping platforms.

California’s Gig Economy Bill Becomes Law

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The landmark California gig economy bill that may force companies such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash that employ thousands of drivers as independent contractors to hire those people as employees became law today. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill.

If the bill does ultimately affect Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and other companies in the so-called gig economy thriving on venture capital for the last decade, it will severely disrupt their business models, which rely on cheap labor. 

Commentary

Three Lessons from the Dex Media/YP Merger

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For Dex Media and YP to become DexYP, they had to teach one another three lessons that every business in the local space should know: the primacy of distribution, the fallacy of stagnation, and the inevitability of market consolidation.

Accidental Ad-Blocking: The Brand-Safety Snag that Advertisers Can Fix

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When it comes to ads that brands want to publish on the web as well as in-app, there’s a brand-safety technology snag that many advertisers don’t know about — and it’s costing them in-app impressions. Think of it as accidental ad-blocking.

Cutting Through the Crowds at Festivals: How Brands Can Reach Summer Groupies

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When fans use their mobile phones to travel to or around a festival, or when contacting their friends on-site, they’re giving brands valuable information about where they are and what they like. And if advertisers know how to capitalize on this data, they’ll be able to identify and reach their ideal audiences.

Latest Posts

How Community News Can Win Respect — And Bring in Revenue

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“You can’t always focus on monetization,” says 30A’s Mike Ragsdale. “You have to focus on what’s good for the community and for your audience. In my experience, if you do that, the money will eventually follow. Put others first, and they’ll inevitably support you.”

#SFSW16 VIDEO: The Virtual Reality Revolution and Its Implications for Local

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With the rise of Oculus and a host of other new companies, there has been lots of talk this year about the potential local and retail implications for virtual reality and augmented reality. At Street Fight Summit West in San Francisco earlier this month, a panel examined how brands and retailers see the VR/AR opportunity.

Street Fight Daily: Ads Coming to Google’s Local Pack, xAd Partners with ComScore for Attribution

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Confirms Ads Are Coming to Local Pack… ComScore is Working with xAd to Measure Foot Traffic From Online Ads… How a Publisher’s New Trend-Predicting Platform Will Benefit Advertisers…

Your Local Broadcast: Centric Finds the Cameras in Your Neighborhood

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The new service is a video discovery app and broadcasting platform that enable users to browse, view and interact with video that’s being shared around them. “It’s like being handed a new map to your neighborhood that has all sorts of stuff you didn’t know existed before,” said CEO Vincent Gibson.

#SFSW16 VIDEO: How On-Demand Is Changing the Way Brick-and-Mortar Businesses Compete With Ecommerce

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While ecommerce companies have doubled down on taking their chunks out of the local pie, some on-demand services are trying to find ways to use their immediacy to help brick-and-mortar businesses fight back. At Street Fight Summit West earlier this month, a panel looked at this tension between ecommerce and brick-and-mortar.

Street Fight Daily: Startups Tackle Local News, Facebook Partners With Undertone Networks

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Launches Chatbot-Equipped Mobile Travel Guide… Undertone Partners with Facebook Canvas for Faster Mobile Ads and Better Targeting… Neighborhood Watch: Online Startups Tackle Local News…

Openings and New Hires at AOL, Swirl, Web.com

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Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. This week’s edition includes moves and new openings at Lavu, Blueshift Labs, and Placed.

#SFSW16 VIDEO: Connecting the Dots on the Path to Purchase

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To many in the industry, the idea of making connections between marketing impressions and dollars spent seems like it could be the holy grail — giving proof positive to businesses that their marketing dollars are well-spent, and unlocking further budget.

Street Fight Daily: The Voice Search Explosion, Publishers Tap Into Location-Based Programmatic

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Even Facebook Can’t Just Waltz Into the Location Data Space… How the Voice Search Explosion Will Change Local Search… Condé Nast, The New York Times, and Forbes Tap Into Location-Based Programmatic Platform…

#SFSW16 VIDEO: Rethinking Restaurants — Local Tech Remakes an Industry

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Restaurants are a particularly large and important vertical in local, and as such they’ve long been a testing ground for a variety of digital products. Now a new generation of companies is starting to use local marketing and delivery services to rethink what a restaurant is and how we think about our dining experiences.