News and Analysis
New Hires at Uberall, MightyHive, Dream Local
Every two weeks, our jobs columnist Geoff Michener provides a roundup of the latest hires in the digital marketing and media ecosystems. This week’s edition also includes new hires at Motive, JumpCrew, L’Oréal, and Pubmatic.
What Standard Cognition’s Big Play Means for Autonomous Retail
If autonomous checkout systems ever go mainstream, it will be because retailers finally figured out how to effectively harness in-store cameras to determine where customers are and what items they’re holding in real-time. Reaching that goal has proven elusive to AI technology providers thus far, but a San Francisco-based startup called Standard Cognition is hoping that its recent acquisition of Explorer.ai, a mapping and computer vision firm, will be the catalyst that’s necessary to accelerate growth and expand into new retail verticals.
Privacy-Forward Search Engine DuckDuckGo Partners with Apple Maps
Making a big splash in privacy, the ongoing story that has dominated location data-based marketing buzz in 2019, DuckDuckGo, the search engine that does not store user data in order to sell pricey ads, announced that it is using Apple’s MapKit JS to power searches. While the search engine’s results are sought out by far fewer users than search industry leader Google’s, the growth DuckDuckGo is experiencing further validates the impression the tech media has practically been screaming about this year: The winds on privacy are definitively changing, and data-driven companies that fail to heed those changes are in for quite a storm.
Commentary
In 2016, the Local Economy Is No Longer Local
Yes, we still shop at local stores, but the Walmart in the nearby shopping plaza isn’t the only competitor the local store needs to keep an eye on. Increasingly, it’s a host of online vendors and the growing crop of on-demand startups that have become an indelible feature of the local business landscape — both enablers and usurpers of their merchant partners.
Street Fight’s Predictions for 2016: Part Two
With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. We asked Street Fight staffers and weekly columnists what they thought would be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2016. We ran the first installment yesterday — now here are the rest.
Street Fight’s Predictions for 2016: Part One
With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. We asked Street Fight staffers and weekly columnists what they thought would be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2016. We’ll be running their outlooks in two installments, the first today and the second tomorrow.
Latest Posts
How SMBs Can Respond to the ‘Uber Effect’
If the past 15 years have taught us anything, it’s the resilience of brick-and-mortar businesses. Effective enterprises sense and respond to change by incorporating new technology and business models while relying on their distinct advantages, such as face-to-face service and distinctive ambience.
6 Platforms for On-Demand Doctor House Calls
Using location-based mobile technology, vendors are modernizing the concept of physician house calls. For a price, consumers in most metropolitan areas can order up a doctor just like they would a pizza. Here are six platforms that consumers can use to bring healthcare providers to their doorsteps.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook’s New Ad Features, Retailers Will Start Testing MCX Payments App
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Is Trying to Make It Even More Tempting for You to Buy Products from the News Feed (Business Insider)… Retailers to Begin Public Tests of MCX Mobile Payment App But Face Hurdles (Wall Street Journal)… Amazon’s Dash Buttons Hint at a Future of Interface-Free Shopping (The Verge)…
Mapsense CEO: The Rise of On-demand, Location-based Apps Is a ‘Huge’ Opportunity
Smartphone users are familiar with consumer-facing map services such as Google Maps, which consistently ranks among the most frequently used apps. But companies depending on maps are far more numerous than map services apps. Countless mobile apps that use location services such as delivery-oriented Instacart and transportation-oriented Uber rely on mapping software, and still more […]
Revived Daily Voice Expands Into North Jersey With 22 New Sites
Pushed to near death two-and-a-half years ago by heavy losses, regional community news network Daily Voice has resurrected itself, expanding in suburban Connecticut and New York State — and now the network is about to cross the Hudson River into northern New Jersey.
Street Fight Daily: Google Introduces New Parent Company, Amazon Launchpad’s Challenges
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Meet Alphabet, The New Conglomerate Absorbing Google (Marketing Land)… Amazon’s Next Big Challenge: Getting You to Buy Stuff You Didn’t Know You Wanted (Recode)… Startups Vie to Build an Uber for Health Care (Wall Street Journal)…
Street Fight Launches ‘Local Visionary Awards’ to Honor the Industry’s Best and Brightest
For four-and-a-half years, Street Fight has been the go-to resource for people working in local media, marketing, commerce and tech. Building on that history, today we are launching a 10-category competition designed to honor the very best campaigns and ideas in local.
6 Reasons Why Beacon Programs Fail
Beacons have been heralded as the future of retail, with 85% of retailers expected to use the technology by 2016. But getting a successful proximity-marketing program off the ground involves more than just setting out a few digital devices. Here are few common pitfalls and tips on how to avoid them.
Mono CEO: In Local Marketing, U.S. Is Maybe 5 Years Ahead of Europe
Since its founding in 2007, Mono Solutions has been giving SMBs a complete package — from website building, to helping with online visibility, to engaging with customers, to doing business online. We recently caught up with the company’s CEO, Louise Lachmann, to talk about how she sees the local industry evolving.
Street Fight Daily: Crowley on Foursquare’s Future, Google Still Working on Same-Day Delivery
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Groupon Reports Profit but Still Falls Short of Expectations (Wall Street Journal)… Google Puts Exec Behind ‘Buy Button’ in Charge of Express Delivery Service (Recode)… Understanding The Future Of Mobility (TechCrunch)…
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