News and Analysis

Street Fight Daily: Amazon Begins Whole Foods Deliveries, SEO Metrics To Bear in Mind

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Begins Offering Whole Foods Deliveries via Prime… SEO Metrics You Should Be Tracking But Probably Aren’t… A Crazy Idea for Funding Local News: Charge People for It…

Whole Foods Comes Out a Brand Winner on Super Bowl Sunday

Eagles fans weren’t the only ones cheering about Super Bowl LII on Sunday. Upscale grocery chains like Whole Foods saw increases in foot traffic in the hours before kickoff, even while multi-purpose stores like Walmart saw fewer shoppers than normal, according to newly released data from Simpli.fi.

Street Fight Daily: Snap Shows Signs of Life, GroundTruth Launches New Platform

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snap Shares Skyrocket As It Makes Ad Buying Easier and Sees User Growth… Understanding the B2B Content Marketing Landscape… Poll: Facebook’s Algorithm Change Isn’t All Bad for Publishers…

Latest Posts

LBMA Podcast: Foursquare Sells Data, iInside’s Jon Rosen

In this week’s episode: Foursquare sells your data – finally! Apple uses location to conserve your battery power. Inglot creates the ultimate video shadow box display. Coupons are making their post-recession comeback. Chuck Martin talks the mobile web retail push in our mobile minute. Jon Rosen of iInside is our special guest.

Street Fight Daily: Patch To Close 400 Sites, eBay Launches Retail CRM

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technologyAOL Won’t Deny The Rumor That Patch’s CEO Is Out After Just Two Months On The Job (Business Insider)… eBay Launches Salesforce-like Platform For Merchants (TheNextWeb)… Google Directs ‘Relevant Ads’ to Maps (CNet)…

‘Understanding the Reader’ and the Bottom Line: Do They Connect?

Google’s beta testing of aggregated community news for its recently launched smartphone app Now (“the right information at just the right time”) got some big “hmmm” headlines last week. But is this Google experiment bringing any fear and trembling to community news and information sites?

Case Study: Restaurant Chain Uses Mobile Promotions to Reach Millennials

Homestyle Dining Chief Marketing Officer Jon Rice knew that implementing a sweepstakes program across all of his company’s 142 Bonanza and Ponderosa steakhouse franchises would be a logistical challenge. So he opted to partner with Front Flip, a mobile engagement and loyalty platform, to generate excitement, boost engagement, and gain more insight about his guests…

Street Fight Daily: Amazon May Expand Deliveries, In-Store Tech Heats Up

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technologyAmazon Is Going To Start Delivering Groceries To New York City In 2014, Says Analyst (Business Insider)… In-Store Tech Is So Hot Right Now: Sephora Acquires Fragrance Software Startup Scentsa (AllThingsD)… Smartphone Owners Turn to Local TV News Apps (eMarketer)…

Groupon Names Lefkofsky CEO as Business Rebounds

Groupon’s search for a new chief executive ended Wednesday evening with a familiar name: Eric Lefkofsky. During an earnings call Wednesday, the company announced that the firm’s long-time executive chairman, who has shared the leadership duties with Ted Leonisis since the company fired founder Andrew Mason in February, will take on the full responsibilities as CEO. “Everything we do is with local in mind,” Lefkofsky stressed during the earnings call…

AOL’s Armstrong: 1/3 of Patch Sites Currently Have ‘Viable Business Model’

On an earnings call Wednesday, AOL’s CEO Tim Armstrong said that the remaining 600 or so sites are split between properties that are on their way to viability, and sites that will likely not reach profitability by the end of the year. The news comes as AOL works to bring the closely-watched hyperlocal media network to run-rate profitability by the end of 2013, a commitment that Armstrong says the company still plans to meet…

How Will Jeff Bezos Redefine the Newspaper?

Amazon has always been a virtual marketplace, where the location of the buyer has very little to do with a transaction. Bringing the Bezos vision to bear on a community-oriented portal could mean any number of things, but it certainly means the potential for services that bear some resemblance to traditional journalism but are remediated into a form that takes advantage of digital commerce and social media, while maintaining a sense of local community…

As Local Media Shed Staff, Personal Franchise Sites Could Fill the Void

The independent voice of the individual can make “the news” more personal, more compelling, and more exciting. The nuances of the trade can be taught, but people planted within the community with knowledge and perspective offer something that traditional media companies can’t or won’t. And linking local bloggers together is a viable concept…

Street Fight Daily: Behind Foursquare’s Founder, Thrillist Expands Local Coverage

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technologyWill Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley Finally Get It Right? (Fast Company)… Thrillist Expands, Becomes a Blend of Frommer’s and Foursquare (AdAge)… Seamless and the Online-Takeout Trend Makes Restaurants Queasy (BusinessWeek)…