News and Analysis
Google Updates Search to Recommend Local Events Based on User Interests
Google is bringing the personalization zeitgeist to local event recommendations. The company reported on its blog Thursday that it is releasing a series of new features that will make it easier for users to find essential information about events of interest to them right on search engine result pages.
Commentary
Hyperlocal Retail ROI: Identifying Low-Hanging Business Objectives
Understanding where, when, and why consumers visit a location is invaluable data when it comes to driving sales and improving customer experience. Identifying the most valuable metrics amongst the vast data that can be generated with indoor analytics is often an overlooked, but critical first step in implementing these solutions…
The Shifting Line Between Free and Paid Local Marketing Services
The manipulation of organic reach on Facebook is one of many examples of the shifting boundary between free and paid local marketing services. In “pure” local search, that boundary has tended to be relatively clear: look for a local business in your typical IYP and you’ll see sponsored listings at the top of the results page, followed by organic results. But that boundary is likely more clear to those of us who know what to look for than it is to the general user…
Probabilistic Device Matching Isn’t Perfect — But It Works
The use of probabilistic matching or statistical IDs to link multiple devices to an individual is often dismissed based on dubious accuracy. It’s true that the practice will never be 100% accurate, but even taking the conservative estimate at the lower end of this range, probabilistic matching enables marketers to scale their mobile advertising campaigns with reasonable expectations of performance…
Latest Posts
Are Community News Sites and Investors Ready for Each Other?
Venture-capital and angel investors have been avoiding digital community news — but there’s no mystery about why. There are some profitable one-offs, but most investors aren’t interested in one-offs. They want to put their money in the possibility of a good-sized payoff. That will only come with community news that is part of a network…
Street Fight Daily: Beacon Tech Tightens Security, SnapChat’s Local Filters
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Bluetooth Low Energy Gets New Security Features (GigaOm)… Snapchat Opens Geofilters So Anyone Can Submit Location-Based Artwork (TechCrunch)… Goldman Is Helping Uber Raise Money From Rich People (Bloomberg View)…
WeddingWire CEO: Building Technology For The Ephemeral Consumer
The ephemeral quality of the wedding consumer creates a fascinating dynamic for technology companies that serve the market. Last week, Street Fight caught up with WeddingWire CEO Tim Chi to talk about the changing opportunity for vertical marketplaces, and the role of software in building relationships with merchants…
Hyperlocal M&A in 2015 — Here’s What Some Potential Acquirers Are Looking For
With the new year just around the corner, corporate development teams are undoubtedly gearing up for 2015 acquisitions. The local technology industry saw plenty of M&A activity in 2014 and remains poised for another busy year as established firms look to stay on top and a new batch of public companies come into capital…
Street Fight Daily: The Classifieds Wars, Uber Expands Delivery
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Documents Show How Ebay’s Meg Whitman And Pierre Omidyar Conspired To Steal Craigslist’s Secrets (Pando)… Uber Expands Grocery Delivery Pilot, Renames It UberEssentials (The Next Web)… The Post-Google Local Survival Guide (Search Engine Land)…MA roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Documents Show How Ebay’s Meg Whitman And Pierre Omidyar Conspired To Steal Craigslist’s Secrets (Pando)… Uber Expands Grocery Delivery Pilot, Renames It UberEssentials (The Next Web)… The Post-Google Local Survival Guide (Search Engine Land)…
How Jim Brady’s Billy Penn Tailors News to Philly’s Millennials
BillyPennDigital local news pioneer Jim Brady launched mobile-focused Billy Penn in Philadelphia a month ago. Brady, joined by other Billy Penn staffers, talked with Street Fight recently about what the site is doing to stand out in a major metro market that has more than 70 websites covering local news…
Street Fight Daily: Stores Slide on Black Friday, Jack Dorsey’s New Legacy
MA roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Bricks-and-Mortar Sales Edge Lower At Start Of Holiday Season; Online Surges (Retuers)… This Man Was Supposed To Become Steve Jobs 2.0 — Here’s What Happened Instead (Business Insider)… New Facebook Rules Will Sting Entrepreneurs (Wall Street Journal)…
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AI Is Breaking Down Data Silos — Without Breaking Privacy