News and Analysis

Google’s Product Bid for DIY Wallet Share

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“Google has been on a tear this past month in the DIY realm,” notes Mike Blumenthal in his bi-monthly conversation with David Mihm. “Three major product rollouts in a 30-day span; Websites, Posts and now SMS messaging. And Google only needs uptake on one of them to get a chance to sell Adwords Express.”

Street Fight Daily: Snap’s Location Partnerships Yield Fruit, Paid Search Outperforms Social

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat’s Foursquare and Factual Partnerships Double Geofilter Usage… Paid Search Advertising Still Outranks Social in Performance… Amazon Might Launch Its Own Messaging App That Would Allow Users to Order Food…

Job Changes at DexYP, Pinterest, Cuebiq, and Vendasta

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Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest openings and new hires in this dynamic industry. This week’s edition includes moves and new openings at Mono Solutions, Groupon and HomeStars .

Latest Posts

Hyperlocal Start-Ups Say They Can’t Measure Their Engagement. Huh?

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Independent hyperlocal news sites are busy trying to get their users fully engaged, but they say they can’t measure how well their strategies are working. A new study from J-Lab at American University finds that nearly eight in 10 news sites “could not measure whether their engagement strategies were also converting readers into advertisers, donors, content contributors or volunteers.”

Case Study: Bay Area News Group Uses Wave2 for Self-Serve Ads

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At the Bay Area News Group, a publisher of small and mid-sized papers around San Francisco, community information manager Elizabeth Naughton says using Wave2 Media’s self-serve platform has given her sales team more “breathing room,” which allows them to spend more time meeting advertisers and making social calls to customers. As a result, Naughton says advertisers have begun running larger ads and BANG has been able to generate more revenue…

Street Fight Daily: Foursquare Redesigns, $15M for Indiegogo

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

Foursquare Gets A New Look: Redesign Makes Checking In Stickier And More Social (TechCrunch)…

Kickstarter Competitor Indiegogo Raises $15M (BetaBeat)…

In Scare for Newspapers, Digital Ad Growth Stalls (Reuters)…

#SFSW12: Foursquare’s Luedorf Says Users Still in Focus, Over Revenue

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Although the company isn’t planning on charging merchants to use its basic dashboard tools—which provide insight into consumer demographics and trends— Luedorf said Foursquare “isn’t closing the door” on the possibility of charging businesses for its yield management system, more commonly known as specials. The self-serve tool gives businesses a way to drive traffic on slow days by introducing specials targeted at customers who check-in within a certain distance of their establishments.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Mobile Ads, Leaky LinkedIn

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Facebook Would Like to Sell You a Mobile Ad (All Things D)

LinkedIn’s Leaky Mobile App Has Access to Your Meeting Notes (NYT/Bits Blog)

Foursquare’s Luedorf Says Users Still in Focus, Over Revenue (Street Fight)

Jack Dorsey Backs Away from Twitter (SAI)

Groupon’s Evolution Is Hurting Facebook (But Helping Google) (Forbes)

Launch of Airtime Hobbled by Glitches (WSJ)

Geoloqi CEO: ‘Your Phone Is a Remote Control for Reality’

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t Street Fight Summit West on Tuesday afternoon Geoloqi co-founder Amber Case described a world in which smartphone users could get their prescriptions filled automatically upon entering their local pharmacies, or be checked-in automatically upon arriving at hotels: “This is about predicting your future experience based on location, using your own data,” Case said…

Topix CEO: To Make Hyperlocal Publishing Profitable ‘Be a Monopoly’

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Hyperlocal publishing can actually be a profitable endeavor. That was the main takeaway from a fireside chat with Business Insider contributing editor Owen Thomas and Topix CEO Chris Tolles at Street Fight Summit West on Tuesday. “We are profitable. It took a long, long time,” Tolles said. “Keeping costs down was a big part in that.”

Street Fight Study: 33% Search Daily for Local Businesses via Mobile

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Local search and discovery is quickly becoming one of the most routine and ubiquitous activities for the local consumer, according to a new “Consumer Insights Report” released by Street Fight and YP at Street Fight Summit West today. Nearly 90% of consumers surveyed reported searching for a local business on a PC, tablet, or mobile device within the last week — and over 30% said they do so on a daily basis…

SMB Marketing Platform bzzHive Announces Launch at #SFSW12

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CEO Dave Walker announced the launch of his company’s beta site at the Street Fight Summit West in San Francisco on Monday. bzzHive, a web start-up that aims to streamline the marketing process for small businesses and their suppliers, helps marketing services suppliers reach and sell to small businesses.

#SFSW12: Next-Gen Loyalty — Mobile Payments vs. Credit Cards

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Traditional paper punchcards are on their way toward extinction, but leaders from top loyalty companies weren’t in complete agreement over which platforms are best positioned to capitalize on the changing tide during a morning panel discussion at Street Fight Summit West on Tuesday…