Commentary
Tribune Hands Off TribLocal to Data-Rich Journatic
Old-media Tribune Company’s decision to invest in new-media startup Journatic, and let the fast growing content production company take over operations – but not ownership – of its TribLocal hyperlocal network, isn’t just about cost-cutting. Journatic has the resources and — just as important — the vision to use data to drive editorial content, all the way down to the neighborhood level…
Prescription for Patch: Become an All-in-One SMB Marketing Solution
There is a real opportunity to offer businesses a service that bundles together as many online promotional vehicles as possible into a simple, low-cost package that makes it easy for them to communicate with their customers. If Patch decided to go this route, the company would be well-positioned to make the service work. Unlike other local start-ups, it has the resources to build this kind of integrated system…
Selling a City to Tourists Via Hyperlocal
There is an emerging opportunity for cities to subsidize hyperlocal marketing efforts through hyperlocal platforms. For example, a city agency could create a neighborhood-based promotion on top of mobile payment play LevelUp in which a visitor who shared that they say, ate lunch at a traditional tourist destination, could win a promotion to receive a free round trip train fare to a peripheral neighborhood if they ate dinner at a restaurant in the neighborhood…
Latest Posts
Is Newspapers’ Falling Knife Finally Starting to Rise?
Wall Street thinks the long-term decline of newspaper revenues may be near bottom as print losses are close to being outweighed by consumer and digital revenue increases. With Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos buying into the industry as a long-term play, the broader financial markets are following suit. The newspaper industry is getting some of its most positive signs in years…
5 Revenue Diversification Strategies for Hyperlocal Publications
Revenue diversification is a hot topic within the hyperlocal community, as publishers seek out new ways to generate income without sacrificing the quality of the products they provide. Some publishers are gaining audience share by partnering with other local media, some are focusing on mobile ad strategies, and others are competing for grants as non-profit organizations. What they all have in common is an interest in finding new ways to expand beyond traditional banner ads…
Street Fight Daily: YP Buys Sense Networks, Taskrabbit Delivers Cold Medicine
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.… YP, a Mobile Search Firm, Buys Sense Networks (New York Times)… Walgreens Taps TaskRabbit to Deliver Cold Medicine to Shut-Ins (Mashable)… Facebook WiFi Comes to Some Netgear Routers, Allowing Small Businesses to Offer Free WiFi access (The Next Web)…
Why HouseCall Thinks Taxi Apps Are Just The Tip Of The Iceberg
Last year, four engineers from Qualcomm, who were responsible for the company’s location sensor product Gimbal, left the company to start HouseCall, a system that helps users find and book local providers who service home-related projects like plumbing or audio/visual installation. The company has built a similar marketplace model as Seamless in the food delivery sector, providing enterprise software for free to merchants and then selling leads generated by its consumer product…
5 Platforms For Location Data Analysis
Location data analysis platforms track the spatial behavior of consumers based on previous ad exposures. Although competing platforms work slightly differently from one another, each with its own features and limitations, the overall effect is that marketers can finally determine whether mobile ad exposures are actually luring customers inside their physical stores. Here are five examples of platforms that marketers can use for location data analysis…
How Community News Sites Can Get the Most Out of Facebook
To get specific about how publishers can maximize their presence on the biggest social media platform, I went to Jake Batsell, who is writing a forthcoming book on audience engagement. Here’s what he told me, based on more than a hundred interviews and visits to many old and new media community news operations…
Street Fight Daily: Groupon’s Big Acquisition Closes, Shopify Revamps iOS App
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.… Groupon Finalizes $260 Million Deal for Ticket Monster, LivingSocial’s Korean Business (Recode)… Uber Driver Hits, Kills Six-year-old Girl. Is “Not our Problem” Still an Appropriate Response? (Pando)… Shopify Revamps Its iOS App With A Focus On Payments And Store Management (TechCrunch)…
Streets Ahead: Google Chat, and Instagram Reels