News and Analysis

Street Fight Daily: Chatting with SMBs on Messenger Booms, Good News for Brick-and-Mortars

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… 330 Million People Connected with SMBs via Messenger for First Time in 2017… Brick-and-Mortar Chains Put E-Commerce on Defensive for Once… Google Collects Android Users’ Location Data Even When Location Services Are Disabled…

How Facebook Turns ‘Likes’ Into Dollars Right Down to the Local Level

Local news publishers typically know many of their community restaurateurs on a first-name basis, and are regular diners at the establishments. But they can’t offer the precise targeting capability of Facebook, whose services are, in most cases, fully automated — greatly lowering their cost.

Street Fight Daily: Sizmek Shutters Rocket Fuel Brand, Stitch Fix Prepares IPO in Amazon’s Shadow

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Sizmek Shuts Down the Rocket Fuel Brand to Focus on Ad Transparency… Stitch Fix Prepares an IPO in the Shadow of Amazon… Google AMP Update to Discourage Publishers from Using Teaser Pages…

Latest Posts

Openings & New Hires at Retailigence, Square, Patch, PayPal and more…

PubMatic keeps up a hiring spree; the Keith Rabois is-he-or-isn’t-he saga is over, but he’s not the only Square loss; Retailigence has a LOT of jobs on offer; and things are a-changing’ at YP. Plus, former Martha Stewart Omnimedia doyenne Susan Lyne leaves her post in hyperlocal before she even really got started And if you’re working in sales, you won’t want to skip this lineup of listings…

PODCAST: This Week in Location-Based Marketing — Timbre

In this week’s episode, hosts Rob Woodbridge and Asif Khan look at apps that can help you find street food; KLM’s social map; the girl scouts go all-in to sell you cookies; and questions about LivingSocial’s viability. Plus the resource of the week and special guest Mark Kasdorf, co-founder of location-based live music discovery app Timbre…

Street Fight Daily: Selling Main Street, Mobile Payments Ease Cash Flow

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.The Newsonomics of Selling Main Street (Nieman Lab)… Payments Brighten Cash Flow for Small Business (Wall Street Journal)… The Real Reason Why Google Is Dropping The Tablet vs. Desktop Distinction? It’s The User Context, Stupid! (Search Engine Land)…

Andrew Mason Out as Groupon CEO

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason was fired by the company’s board Thursday, less than 24 hours after dismal earnings sent the company’s stock price into a tailspin. The board is currently looking for a replacement, and board members Eric Lefkofsky and Ted Leonisis will serve as co-CEOs of the company until one is found…

With NJ News Co-op, Prof. Deb Galant Keeps to Her Hyperlocal Roots

In July 2012, the Baristanet founder decamped for the nearby groves of academe – to the new Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. Not surprisingly, Galant stayed true to her entrepreneurial spirit, launching the center’s NJ News Commons, which brings together news organizations from around the state to share stories and resources. Street Fight caught up with Galant recently to find out more about the news co-op, and why the project is important for hyperlocals…

Report: Blocking Access to Wi-Fi Could Hurt Retailers

Wi-fi connectivity may be starting to affect where consumers decide to shop, according to a new report by JiWire. The study, which surveyed users across the company’s ad-supported wi-fi network, found that one out of two mobile consumers are influenced by the availability of in-store wi-fi when deciding where to shop…

Street Fight Daily: AOL COO May Exit, Airbnb Expands Hyperlocal Contnent

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.COO Artie Minson Could Exit Aol, Patch Issues To Blame? (TechCrunch)… Airbnb’s Neighborhoods Program Expands With the Addition 93 Local Guides in 4 New Cities worldwide (The Next Web)… Foursquare CEO Looks Beyond Mobile Handsets: Anywhere There’s A Screen, We Want To Be On It (TechCrunch)…

Groupon’s Stock Dives as Deal Margins Shrink

Groupon lost more than a quarter of its market value in after hours trading on Wednesday after the company reported diminishing margins and continued international stagnancy in Q4. The once-resurgent daily deals company saw gross billings increase 24% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, but declining margins in both its local and ecommerce business forced its gross profit down 10% from a year earlier…

With Mobile Growing, WPP Sees Opportunity to Make DOOH Smarter

The agency’s Spafax Networks has announced a new partnership that will bring PlaceIQ’s audience data to its DOOH buying process. Like PlaceIQ’s channel partners in the mobile space, Spafax can use the latitude-longitude data associated with its inventory to target media by audience segments like “middle aged moms” or “business travelers” in vendor and geography.

LocalVox Turns to SMB Seminars to Drive Leads in New Markets

New York-based LocalVox is expanding from New York and Boston to Washington D.C. The move is a small-but-significant step in the company’s grand plan to replace legacy players like ReachLocal as the marketing platform of choice for local businesses. LocalVox’s product allows small business to publish content across their own email, social, and web properties, as well as to a host of listing sites and other media properties from a single touchpoint…