News and Analysis

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. 

Constant Contact Expands Beyond Email, Adds Website Builder for SMBs

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Constant Contact, known for its email marketing platform, is expanding to offer an AI-driven website builder as well as tools for branding, productivity, and e-commerce. It’s the first major expansion for Constant Contact since its acquisition by Endurance International Group.

The company’s new website builder is specifically designed for SMB owners and operators without the time or expertise typically required to build an effective site from scratch. Constant Contact claims sites can be created in minutes.

Captivate and Hivestack Partner to Expand Programmatic DOOH Ads

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Location-based digital video network Captivate and location-based mar tech company Hivestack are teaming up to expand access to programmatic digital out-of-home ads, the companies announced.

Hivestack’s marketplace and ad exchange will allow customers to buy video inventory on Captivate, which will bring engaging video ads to offices across North America. Captivate offers a professional audience of particularly high interest to marketers.

Commentary

Report: Most Local Merchants Will Increase Marketing and Shift Budgets to Digital this Year

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The majority of local businesses are increasing their spending on advertising and marketing this year, and they’re shifting their dollars towards a broad variety of digital tactics. Those are two of the key findings from Street Fight’s just-released study, The Local Merchant Report 2017. Our analysis also revealed a pattern of momentum spending that makes a […]

Constructing the Enterprise Priority List for Local Search

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“I think some local managers in corporations are getting pushback as to why their local traffic is falling, and if it is why should they maintain local pages? What is hard to explain is that those pages DO feed Google,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “But these locations need to be not just well structured, but easily found and crawled by Google, not hidden behind some opaque code.”

Will Social AR Be the Next Local Battlefield?

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We saw it with Pokemon Go and of course Snapchat. But the real glimpse of the mobile AR future came during Facebook’s recent AR-studded F8 conference keynote. The central message repeated by Mark Zuckerberg was that the smartphone camera is the new AR platform.

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: Google Maps to Feature Local Ads, Foursquare’s Restaurants Bot

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Maps Will Feature Local Search Ads for Businesses… PlaceIQ Releases Location Data Accuracy Study, Debuts ‘Dynamic Distancing’ Tech… Foursquare Just Quietly Released a Bot for Finding Restaurants…

As Google Doubles Down on Mobile, How Can SMBs Keep Pace?

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Google has been refocusing its efforts to create a “better web” by not only increasing the importance of mobile-friendly websites and better mobile browsing experiences but by fundamentally redefining what the mobile web experience is altogether.

Sponsored Post: 8 Awesome Content Marketing Ideas that Deliver Local Marketing Results

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Sometimes making a small adjustment and re-posting a piece can help you extend your reach to a new audience, build a loyal following and even have a direct impact on converting viewers into customers. Seize the opportunity to repurpose, reuse and recycle already-created content in a new way…

Case Study: Hardware Store Shifts Marketing Mix, Joins the ‘Buy Local’ Movement

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Taylor’s Do it Center is never going to be able to compete with corporate heavyweights like Home Depot and Lowe’s. But the company is hoping to turn its locally owned status into an asset, rather than a liability, by partnering with other small businesses and educating consumers on the benefits of buying local.

Street Fight Daily: AmazonFresh to See Major Expansion, Tribune Rejects Second Gannett Offer

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon to Launch Fresh Grocery Delivery Service in New Markets Including U.K. and Boston… Tribune Rejects Gannett’s Second Offer, Talks May Be Ahead… Why Buy Buttons on Pinterest and Instagram Still Haven’t Taken Off for Retailers…

Why Location Was a Dominant Theme at This Year’s Google I/O

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With clearer direction and some major updates to how mobile sensors can interact with the physical world, Google has not only taken the position that location-awareness will be a driver of mobile advancement in the years go come, they have leapfrogged Apple’s efforts in doings so.

VCs Share 7 Strategies for Hyperlocal Startups Looking to Raise Money

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As access to venture capital funding softens within the startup community, it’s becoming even more important for hyperlocal firms to think more strategically about how they’ll fund their great ideas. Here, several top VCs talk about the groundwork that founders need to do to make their funding goals a reality in 2016.

Street Fight Daily: Washington Post Revamps Digital Ads, Bad Mobile Experiences Hurt Brands

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google and Postmates Make the Case for SMB Deliveries… The Washington Post Introduces “Fuse,” New Tech for Ads Across All Post Platforms… Why Google Beat Yahoo in the War for the Internet…

Openings and New Hires at Blueshift, Upserve, OpenTable and flok

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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 Foursquare, Thumbtack, and Search Influence.

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.