Commentary
Deep Data and the Semantics of Local
In the case of local search, there is no prevailing reason beyond lack of attention to prevent the industry from doing a better job of serving the full range of consumer needs. For the time being, industry attention is still directed in a self-fulfilling way toward the activities that have always received attention. This is the safe bet, but safe bets don’t lead to progress…
Aligning Creative and Location to Make Better Mobile Ads
The ability to break creative down to where the consumer is interacting with location is already emerging as the next big trend for mobile marketing. Hand selecting where you want your creative to reach your customer makes a lot of sense — and the more you make it common practice, the more successful your mobile marketing efforts will be…
Why Online Marketers Are Rethinking Their Yelp Strategy
Merchants have historically been wary of Yelp reviews — and for good reason. Yelpers have tended to be snarky and more focused on humor than accuracy. But there are changes coming at the end of 2012 that are likely to make many marketing pros reevaluate their relationship to the user-generated reviews site…
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Apple’s Next Trick: Making the Retail POS Disappear
The idea is to enable shoppers to conduct roving transactions throughout retail stores by scanning items with their iPhones, paying on the spot via iTunes then going on their way. No checkout aisles, no gum-snapping shopgirl, no 15 items or less. It creates a world where the mobile device is the POS…
Bitcoin Finding Growth, Stability at the Local Level
The infamous virtual currency is slowly gaining steam in the real world. Acceptance of Bitcoin at brick-and-mortar businesses has climbed steadily since the first exchange was established in early 2009, driven largely by merchants looking for a cheaper alternative to credit and debit card transactions…
5 Marketplaces for Buying, Selling and Sharing With Neighbors
Startups are looking for new ways to reinvigorate the function of traditional newspaper classified listings. Positioned as an alternative to Craigslist, hyperlocal marketplaces that facilitate the buying, selling, and sharing of goods between neighbors are filling an untapped niche and bringing together people in local communities…
Street Fight Daily: OpenTable Buys Ness, Chicago Cabbies Sue Uber
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.… OpenTable Buys Ness, Tests Mobile Payments (TechCrunch)… Chicago Cabbies Sue Over Unregulated Uber, Lyft Services (Bloomberg)… For Yelp, an Expanding Push Into Politics (Hill)…
AOL’s Armstrong: ‘We’re Not Giving Up on Patch’
Aol’s tenure as Patch’s sole owner may be over, but Tim Armstrong, the company’s chief executive, is not giving up on the hyperlocal network just yet. During an interview on CNBC Thursday morning, Armstrong said that the company has retained a significant stake in Patch and called reports that the company “jettisoned” the struggling property to Hale Global incorrect…
One Model for Successful Hyperlocal News: Break the Rules
StuNewsLaguna has become a success in its sunset-renowned coastal community in Orange County, Calif., by ignoring and even violating some of the “best practices” of hyperlocal journalism, and paying no heed to the people-don’t-care-about-local-news critics. Shaena Stabler, the 28-year-old co-owner with founder and veteran Orange County journalist Stu Saffer, explains how she and Saffer are making StuNews succeed…
Street Fight Daily: Andreessen Bearish on Local News, Google Bets on Location-based Gaming
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.… Marc Andreessen: The ‘Problem with Local News is Most People Don’t Care’ (Poynter)… Google: Location-based Gaming as Popular as Virtual Reality in 10 Years (Polygon)… Will Facebook Build a Stand-Alone Local Search App? (Screenwerk)…
In Yelp Earnings, No Sign of the ‘Mobile Gap’
Yelp posted stronger than expected earnings on Thursday, sending shares up nearly 10% in after hours trading — a fitting coda to a banner year for the firm on Wall Street. Shares of Yelp more than tripled in 2013, driven in part by rapid international expansion, a burgeoning local ad market in the U.S., and well-received strategic initiatives…
As Offline Purchase Data Comes Online, Changes in Store for Local Marketing
If exchange is the purpose of a marketplace, transaction data — information about who bought what from whom, and for how much — is its pulse. With 90% of transactions occurring offline, the growth of connected payments, and the subsequent ability for businesses and consumers to understand who’s buying what in the real-world, has deep implications not only for the local marketplace, but for the wider digital economy as well….
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