News and Analysis

Google Local Service Ads: Ready for Primetime

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“While I do think this is about a new revenue stream in new categories and cleaning up spammy industries the rebranding might just also be an effort (unusual for Google) brand clarity around their Google Home product,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm in their bi-weekly column..

Deep Dive Into Facebook Finds Dim Revenue Hopes for News Sites

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Grzegorz Piechota, a digital strategist for news media companies worldwide, talked with Street Fight recently about his research into Facebook for WAN-IFRA and what his findings may augur for publishers in their quest for more revenue from the platforms, especially at the local level.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Sets Sights on Yelp and Foursquare, Uber Approves $10B SoftBank Deal

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Relaunches Events App as Facebook Local… Uber Approves SoftBank’s Multi-Billion Dollar Investment Offer… Spirited Media Fights Collapse of Local News…

Latest Posts

What SMBs Need to Know About Facebook’s News Feed Redesign

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In the hopes of creating a better user experience (and ultimately more monetization opportunities), Facebook recently overhauled the design and functionality of its news feed — aiming to become the “personalized newspaper” of the digital age. The redesigned layout will include bigger photos, maps and news articles and users can now sort through feeds based on interests — so SMBs currently managing a page should definitely adjust the way they approach their Facebook marketing and creative strategy…

Alt-Weeklies Struggling — Can They Leverage SMB Relationships to Connect Online?

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While alt-weeklies really used to own the market for irreverent commentary and events listings in cities around the country, the introduction of online competition over the past decade has really degraded their snarky monopolies. Tiffany Shackelford, executive director at the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN), spoke to Street Fight recently about how alt-weeklies need to evolve their strategic thinking…

Study: Brands’ Spend in Mobile-Local Media to Eclipse Online in 2017

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National advertisers will spend more local dollars on mobile than online media in 2017, according to a new study by BIA/Kelsey. The report projects that national spend on local-mobile media will increase six-fold over the next five years, jumping from $1 billion in 2012 to $6.4 billion five years later…

Street Fight Daily: Directories File for Bankruptcy, Foursquare Searches for Funding

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Directory Firms Dex One, SuperMedia File for Bankruptcy (Reuters)… Foursquare Aims At A Moving Target As It Tries To Close Another Round Of Funding (TechCrunch)… Flashlight Apps, Location and Why Consumers Still Don’t Understand Privacy (The Next Web)…

How Media Buyers Buy Hyperlocal

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In a Street Fight webinar sponsored by YP Thursday, Mitch
Bernstein, the director of client strategy at Neo@Ogilvy, and YP’s
Onil Gunawardana discussed the value of hyperlocal from a media
buyer’s perspective, highlighting its ability drive conversions in
a still-nascent mobile space and provide marketers with deeper
insights into their consumer’s path to purchase…

Openings & New Hires at Angie’s List, Topix, Google, Signpost and more…

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One hyperlocal publisher expands (Topix) while another contracts (The Daily Voice). Angie’s List moves on from its CFO, JiWire hires a former Yahoo exec, and the head of The Local Search Association decamps (after 25 years) to head up The Association of Directory Publishers. Plus, gigs at PayPal, comScore, AOL, LinkedIn, Newsle, Amazon and more…

PODCAST: This Week in Location-Based Marketing — WillowTree

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In this week’s episode, hosts Rob Woodbridge and Asif Khan report back from DX3 Canada. Meanwhile, ShopSavvy transitions to a retail app and U-Haul brings augmented reality to Detroit. Plus special guest Blake Sirach, VP Design for WillowTree — the makers of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center mobile app experience.

Street Fight Daily: Google Breaks Up Mapping Unit, Boston Phoenix Shuttered

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Google Breaks Up Mapping and Commerce Unit (AllThingsD)… Boston Phoenix to Close; Portland, Providence Papers Remain Open (Boston.com)… Ok, So Maybe Greed Is Groupon, But The Much Bigger Issue Is The Product (TechCrunch)…

Street Fight Announces Second Annual West Coast Summit

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Following up on a January event that gathered over 400 hyperlocal industry professionals in New York City, Street Fight is pleased to announce that we will be bringing our trademark conference to the West Coast again on June 4th, 2013. Street Fight Summit West 2013 will be held once again at the Bently Reserve in downtown San Francisco…

Village Soup Shows ‘Native’ Ads Can Work on Local News Sites

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With the recent push toward “native” advertising, we’ve learned (if we hadn’t known already) that ads can be “news.” In terms of local information value, ads-as-news may never trump the apartment-house fire that leaves several families homeless — but it has become clear that there’s room for both, especially in the local digital space…