News and Analysis

PlaceIQ Unveils Tool to Measure Holistic Impact of Ads on In-Store Visits

Quick-service restaurants that rely primarily on cash transactions have traditionally had a tough time understanding the real world impact of advertising on channels like television and desktop. A new product from PlaceIQ and comScore promises to change that.

Street Fight Daily: Uber Partners with Westfield Malls, Amazon Targets CPG Brands

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Partners with Westfield to Offer Mall Lounge and Pickup/Drop-off Points… Amazon Benefits as CPG Advertisers Trim Dollars… Walmart Acquires New York Delivery Startup Parcel…

The Impending HTTPstrophe — And What it Means for Local Businesses

“Google is rapidly moving towards a time when HTTPS will be an absolute necessity for websites,” writes David Mihm to Mike Blumenthal. “As soon as this month if an http:// website contains any input field, users will start getting scary security messages.”

Latest Posts

Case Study: Clothing Boutique Collects Customer Reviews

Online reviews allow e-commerce retailers to establish themselves as authentic and trustworthy in the eyes of consumers, but getting customers to leave feedback when they purchase products online isn’t always an easy task. Reve Boutique owner Meital Benaroya says she uses Zuberance to identify and reward her biggest “brand advocates.”

Topix Expands Emphasis on Local Races in Runup to Election

With just a couple of weeks remaining until the election, hyperlocal news aggregator Topix is going all in — covering the smaller elections that don’t get national press or, for that matter, any press at all. In July, the company recruited David Marks from Politico to be editor-in-chief of its local politics coverage. Last week, the company launched a new offering that gives a granular look at local races. Street Fight recently caught up with Topix CEO Chris Tolles to talk about his site’s deepening focus on local politics…

Street Fight Daily: Yahoo Cools On Local, Google To Update Wallet

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Mayer: Yahoo Not Planning To Invest In Local Search Right Now (Search Engine Land)… A New Version Of Google Wallet Is ‘Coming Soon’ (Business Insider)… Redbeacon Home Services Marketplace Launches Android App, Refocuses On Mobile (TechCrunch)…

Place Off: A Week in the Life of the Mobile Local Revolution

A couple columns back, I covered the collision of big data, mobile and local (please refrain from acronyms… “BiDaLoMo”!). That covered some location analytics players like JiWire and Sense Networks. But since then, the action has picked up. In the last week alone, I’ve had in-depth conversations with others defining this space including Placed, PlaceIQ, and Telenav…

Getting ‘Real-Time’ Into Hyperlocal Advertising

We’ve seen a demand to not only bring local advertisers back into the mix on mobile and online advertising, but a need to provide more relevant and more timely information within those ads. This is because consumers crave “new” at a pace never possible before now – and this desire shows in the response rates measured in multiples of a standard static banner ad…

Sense CEO: SMBs Must Reach Consumers at Decision-Making Points

“The mobile experience is a very personal interaction with the consumer.” says Sense Networks CEO David Petersen. “It’s one that you can interact with consumers and lots of times, when they’re on the go. I think it’s less formal than online. I think it’s a great medium for connecting with consumers and I think today it’s also exceptionally cheap.”

SFD: DNAinfo.com Heads to Chicago, Slow Adoption of Mobile Payments

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology...

Hyperlocal News Site DNAinfo.com Readies November Launch in Chicago (Crain’s Chicago Business)…

Mobile Payments: A Solution in Search of a Problem? (CNET)…

Google’s Woes Show Mobile Isn’t Just a Facebook Problem (Wired)…

True Innovation in Local News Organizations Still Lacking

News sites need to innovate around their core competencies by spending time understanding their customers (advertisers and consumers) and what problems they can solve for them. The solutions should be a good fit for the organization and should be something that they are uniquely positioned in the marketplace to provide…

Broadcastr’s Lindenbaum on ‘Putting the Web Back Into the World’

“The expectation for discovery of content is one that continues to rise,” says the company’s co-founder. “At a certain point people are expecting content that is perfect for them to just already be there for them. So, the more factors we can take into consideration in order to deliver on those expectations, the better we’re going to be. Location is one of those things”

Openings & New Hires at Constant Contact, Facebook, Groupon & More

Ever more personnel changes at Groupon, a new hire at Constant Contact, plus shifts across the industry in business development, sales and product management. On the move this week: Dalip Tyagi, Shagun Vatsa, Joshua Scherman, Sean Smyth, and more. Openings at Yext, Yahoo, Ebay, LinkedIn, Manta and more…