One Last Round of 2012 Predictions: Deals, Photo-Sharing, and Google Killers
In the coming year, the big names in mobile local usage (i.e. Yelp, Foursquare) will start to monetize their apps for the first time; U.S. mobile ad revenues will grow 50 percent over 2011, reaching $1.6 billion in 2012; and better targeting and personalization will replace deep discounts as the user “hook” for deals companies…
In 2012: Local Loyalty Flameout, 2nd Wave of Hyperlocal News Sites
Last column, I wrote a quick end-of-year wish list for hyperlocal advertising and related matters. This column, since it’s already far too late to make predictions, I am going to go ahead and make some. Because, I think, 2012 will be a year of many changes for hyperlocal. Post-haste, here are my three predictions.
The Problem With Local Online Advertising — It’s Ugly
Advertising can really be an eyesore, and a lot of local online advertising elicits consumer aversion. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes obvious to local merchants that bombarding local residents with “visual pollution” in the form of banner ads on hyperlocal sites is on the way out…
Using LBS to Find Jobs and Workers
The unemployment rate is dropping — a little. At 8.6%, there are still a lot of people out of work. Meanwhile, employers are still hiring. If leveraged properly, location-based services can offer the extra boost that helps job seekers and employers make a connection and find the right fit.
How Groupon Will Expand in 2012
As Groupon matures, its path will doubtless expand beyond its core product. Perhaps that’s why I have such a hard time keeping a straight face when people say that Groupon’s model for daily deals is fundamentally broken. It’s not. If anything, their second act has the potential to be even bigger than their first…
Hyperlocal in 2012: More Consolidation and Scale, Less ‘Free’
What it comes down to is that hyperlocal companies like Foursquare and Groupon, despite their “hyperlocal” raison d’etre, need scale to bring an effective proposition to merchants and big brands. Scale helps, even if that just means a larger audience within a metro area or even a single neighborhood…
Protecting Hyperlocal Sites From User Malfeasance
The socialization of news sites encourages users to post comments and content, but such postings may be peppered with plagiarized content that infringes copyrights. Surprisingly, many hyperlocal publishers fail to take simple steps that could insulate their liability for content provided by users…
Alex’s Holiday Wishes for Hyperlocal
Personal Fight columnist Alex Salkever writes his list of what he wants to see in hyperlocal in the coming year: more “new, easy ways” for SMBs to get into the game. He’d also like to see Facebook build “an app to allow hyperlocals to build out truly robust offerings. Directories, collaborative content, editing, privileges – like a basic CMS but in the FB platform.”
Jane Stevens: The ‘Revolution’ of Social Media and Local News
We know that news is being transformed by social media — the Facebook or Twitter effect, for short — but do we really understand that what’s happening, especially at the local level, can be, and maybe should be, a revolution? I borrow that potent description from journalist Jane Stevens, whom I recently caught up with to talk about how social media is transforming local…
The Call of the Mall: Where Mobile Advertising Might Really Rock
Since you are going to be spending money, why not get deals that might help you save money? That’s the theory behind the upwelling of location-based advertising startups hoping to hit it big at the mall. The benefits of layering hyperlocal onto a mall experience are numerous…