News and Analysis
Street Fight Daily: Online Ad Prices Rise, How Digital Brands Can Mirror Amazon’s Holiday Success
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Online Ad Prices Rise As Industry Combats Counterfeit Inventory, a Good Sign for Publishers… What E-Commerce Brands Can Learn from Amazon for Holiday Domination… Publishers Scramble to Make Their Annual Sales Numbers…
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Case Study: Local Deals Site Increases Subscribers With Offerpop Promotions
When Matt Toomey set out to launch a daily deals site in California’s Bay Area in September 2011, he knew he’d be challenged with competing against industry giants like Groupon and LivingSocial. What Toomey has learned in the 20 months since his company’s launch is that it takes more than just a great idea and close relationships with local businesses to make a deal site profitable — it also takes subscribers…
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Reportedly Circles Waze, Klout Dips Into Local Commerce
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Reports: Facebook Is Buying Social Mapping/Traffic App Waze For Up To $1B To Court Mobile Users (TechCrunch)… Klout Dips into Q&A and Local Commerce with Launch of New Questions Feature (GigaOm)… Trulia Agrees to Buy Real-Estate Software Maker Market Leader For $355 Million (Wall Street Journal)…
Groupon Rebounds in First Quarter Without Mason
Eric Lefkofsky, who is serving as co-interim chief executive with Ted Leonsis, opened the earnings call Wednesday evening with an apology to investors, admitting that the company had “spread [itself] too thin and failed to focus on things that will have the greatest impact.” Part of that extension, Lefkofsky admitted, was overinvesting in a secondary businesses like Groupon Goods at the cost of its more profitable local segment…
Employees’ Overtime Suit Forces Daily Voice to Seek Bankruptcy Protection
Daily Voice, the recently scaled-down regional network of 41 community news sites, filed for and won Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. The move gives the company relief from an expensive class-action suit by two former reporters who said they and other Daily Voice staff worked overtime consistently but were never paid for the extra hours…
AOL Chief: We Will Use ‘All Means Possible’ to Get Patch to Profitability by Q4
AOL’s hyperlocal media network Patch has rolled out its redesign from a handful of pilot communities to around 100 markets across the country, Tim Armstrong, AOL’s chief executive, said during an earnings call Wednesday morning. The move comes as AOL focuses in on Patch’s model, pushing the closely-watched hyperlocal news network to reach run-rate profitability by Q4 of this year…
In the Era of Networked Local Journalism, Everyone Can Contribute
A big opportunity exists for local publishers and media networks to curate and aggregate everything happening in a locality. This is the journalism of inclusion. If local contributors are curated and authorized to post in real time, content distribution is more efficient. As readers learn to understand this format, local media starts to look more like a community bulletin board, with users expected to factor in the credibility of the posters…
Why Local Media Companies Must Practice ‘Self-Cannibalism’
Instead of protecting our products, we should look instead to protecting our customers, their experiences, and our relationships with them. Never begin a discussion about the future with a focus on our products or services. What does the customer want and need, even if our existing products are not a part of the answer? The world is changing and it begins with empowered consumers…
Street Fight Daily: Google Maps to Get Overhaul, PlaceIQ Raises $6.75M
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Google Maps To Get A Major Design Overhaul (SearchEngineLand)… PlaceIQ Raises $6.75 Million To Serve You Ads Based On Your Location (PlaceIQ)… Yelp and the Wisdom of “The Lonely Crowd” (The New Yorker)…
Yext Redesigns App in Shift from Data to Content
A week after scoring a big integration with Facebook, Yext has redesigned its mobile application to focus on content creation. The move comes as the company looks to transition its network from a tool for merchants to occasionally update a phone number or address across multiple properties to something akin to a content marketing network where brick and mortar businesses can create and distribute photos and posts from a single location…
5 Platforms Local Retailers Can Use to Connect With Online Shoppers
Merchants with physical outposts are increasingly relying on hyperlocal solutions as a way to connect with consumers who prefer shopping online. These platforms give retailers a way to put their products in front of local shoppers, without actually requiring them to set up an online store or negotiate the logistics of shipping and delivery. Here are five platforms that merchants can use to get the job done…
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