Court Weighs Dismissal of HuffPo Suit — Implications for Hyperlocals
A Federal Court in New York City is holding a hearing this afternoon to decide whether it will dismiss a lawsuit filed against the Huffington Post by unpaid writers and contributors who claim they’re entitled to a share of the proceeds from AOL’s 2011 purchase of the news site. The ruling may affect the future of hyperlocal publishers’ relationships with their contributors…
Street Fight Daily: 02.10.12
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...
Where Does Arianna Fit Into AOL’s New Patch Plans? (PaidContent)…
Dear Patch: I Was Hyperlocal Long Before You (Romenesko)…
Groupon Hires Paul Taaffe to Improve the Online-Coupon Site’s Public Face (Bloomberg)…
Street Fight Daily: 05.05.11
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups.…
Those who use social location-based apps such as Foursquare or Facebook Places represent just 17% of the mobile population, according to a new study. Of those opting out of participating in the checkin craze, or any other social location behavior for that matter, 48% cited privacy concerns as their primary reason for not doing so. (Mashable)…
During AOL’s earnings call, one of the top questions from analysts was what is AOL’s plan with Patch? The company dumped $40 million into the hyperlocal network for the second quarter in a row, and it didn’t generate much revenue. Here’s Tim Armstrong’s explanation. (Business Insider)…
IAC-owned local media and advertising property CityGrid Media is acquiring social media monitoring and sentiment analysis platform BuzzLabs. The company allows publishers to leverage social content, keeps consumers better informed, and helps local businesses monitor their presence across the web. (TechCrunch)…
Street Fight Daily: 05.03.11
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups.…
Add another big player to the list of Groupon competitors: AT&T. The telecom giant Monday began pre-registration to consumers in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth for a service via the company’s yp.com that will send daily deals to consumers. (Mashable)…
New York magazine is about to launch a weekly “deals” e-newsletter and online adjunct, but instead of matching offers play to advertisers, it will aggregate “the best of the best” of other e-commerce sites’ picks. (PaidContent)…
“Location is a serious battleground, and whoever has the best handle on it, both gathering it and using it, is best positioned to reap a lot of money as we build a lot of services based on location,” writes Ryan Kim. (GigaOm)…
HuffPo Harnesses Patch Hyperlocals for Bin Laden News
In the months since AOL bought The Huffington Post, the company’s execs have talked a number of times about plans to incorporate coverage from Patch’s network of hyperlocal sites into HuffPo’s national report. Arianna Huffington herself recently said she expects Patch will be a key element of HuffPo’s coverage of the 2012 presidential election, and Patch local reports from California were recently used in stories about the Japanese tsunami. But last night we really saw that collaboration in action, as HuffPo drew on Patch’s network to flesh out out its coverage with hyperlocal reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden…
Street Fight Daily: 04.08.11
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups.… Google Latitude, the search giant’s location-sharing mobile app, is launching check-in offers nationwide, giving users the ability to unlock discounts with a handful of launch partners. (Mashable)… Arianna Huffington says that Patch will be key to HuffPo’s coverage of the 2012 presidential election. “We’re launching over 30 new patches in primary states,” she said. (THR)… Yahoo has beefed up its local coverage, adding to its staff of local editors and aggregating local news, deals, and events in specific neighborhoods and cities on Yahoo Local. (PaidContent)
Getting Consent Is Key for Hyperlocals Relying on Crowdsourced Content
Hyperlocal publishers must ensure that they secure rights from their contributors to use the content — and to make clear whether a contributor is entitled to compensation. Copyright law confers ownership of content on the original author of the content (except in employment circumstances where the publisher automatically owns the content). The copyright owner solely controls how the content may be distributed…