Paulding.com’s Hughes: Patch’s Plan B Should Be Franchises

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The founder of the Knight News Challenge-winning indie hyperlocal talks with Street Fight about what it’s like to compete with the local Patch, the key mistake he made, and why the future of hyperlocal may include owner-operated franchises.

Street Fight Daily: 01.20.11

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

798 Daily Deal Sites Closed in the Last 6 Months of 2011 (Daily Deal Media)…

‘Patch May Be A Big Waste Of Money For AOL, But My Dad Loves It’ (Business Insider)…

Online Ads Will Waste $12.4 Billion This Year In the U.S. (ReadWriteWeb)…

3 Ways to Reinvigorate Patch’s Business Model

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Although Patch.com is growing its reader base, the company still seems to be struggling with the traditional banner ad based business model. Here are a few new ways Patch can evolve its business and bring value to local merchants…

Street Fight Daily: 01.11.12

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

Will Groupon’s Deal With Deutsche Telekom Be A Winning Template For Growth? (PaidContent)…

Rumor: Layoffs and Restructuring at Gilt Groupe as New Verticals Fail to Deliver Growth (BetaBeat)…

Will Patch’s Fate Foretell the Future of Local Online News? Hardly (Knight Digital Media Center)…

Patch Triples Traffic Year-Over-Year, Claims Growth Across Network ‘Consistent’

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According to ComScore data, the company became the fourth-largest network of local sites in December, trailing only Yelp, CityGrid and Yahoo! Local. Patch also reports that its traffic grew 5% in December, to total of 9.9 million UVs versus 9.5 million UVs in November…

Street Fight Daily: 01.10.12

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

Local Services Marketplace Thumbtack Raises $4.5 Million (TechCrunch)…

Patch Dispatches Little Green Truck to Primary States (Capital New York)…

TaskRabbit Acquires Service Provider Directory SkillSlate (TechCrunch)…

Local Quotables: Moyal, Mims, Tolles, Lessin and more…

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As the first week of 2012 commences, everyone is speculating about what will happen this year in the hyperlocal industry. Jonathan Moyal sees Lucky Ant helping communities play a bigger role in local business. Jeremy Mims predicts growth for Groupon and Michelle Jones hopes to create an alternative to Yelp. Also, Sam Lessin describes how Facebook’s check-in with timelines is an entirely new kind of LBS and more.

Street Fight Daily: 01.06.12

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

Armstrong: ‘Really Large Amount’ of Patches to Be Profitable by End of 2013 (Dow Jones Newswires)…

GoLocal24 Expands Into Massachusetts, Hires Veteran Newscaster (Boston Globe)…

Groupon Still Chasing $25 Billion Mirage (Forbes)…

Street Fight Daily: 01.03.12

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

AOL’s Armstrong Touts Patch Growth in Year-End Company Memo (Capital New York)…

Uninsured Turn to Daily Deal Sites for Health Care (Associated Press)…

Real Estate Agents Look Beyond the Check-in (Inman)…

Street Fight Daily: 01.02.12

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

Ex-AOL Salesman: Here’s How To Save Patch (Business Insider)…

Foursquare’s Claim to Fame, the Check-in, Could Become Its Downfall (VentureBeat)…

SEC Pressed Groupon on Accounting (New York Times)…

Street Fight’s 10 Most Popular Stories of 2011

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From Patch antics to Gannett’s Deal Chicken to a Flipboard hyperlocal how-to, here’s a look back at some of the Street Fight stories that really touched a nerve (at least as far as pageviews go) during our 8 1/2-month run. Hope you all have a happy new year, and we look forward to bringing you more great content, research, and events about sustainable hyperlocal business models in 2012!

Hyperlocal Execs’ 2012 Predictions: Webster, Tolles, Priebatsch and More…

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As 2011 draws to a close, it’s clear that it’s been a pretty momentous time for hyperlocal businesses. Looking toward next year, we asked a few hyperlocal luminaries to weigh in on what they think will be the biggest story in 2012…

Street Fight Daily: 12.22.11

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups.

DealFind Launches Its Version Of Groupon Now: ‘Everyday Deals’ (TechCrunch)…
AOL Shareholder: Patch Will Lose ‘As Much As $150M in 2011’ (Business Insider)…
The Power of Foursquare (TechCrunch)…

Street Fight Daily: 12.16.11

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

Consumers Not Turning to Social Media Sites for Local Business Info (Mashable)…

With Factual, 1 API Now Unlocks Data for 55 Million Places (GigaOm)…

Patch Salesperson Says Company Is Quietly Letting People Go (Business Insider)…

Westchester’s Hyperlocal News Market Is a Four-Sided Shootout

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Prestigious, affluent Westchester County, just north of New York City, is on the verge of becoming a hyperlocal version of the Gunfight at OK Corral – squared. Within months, four major-media companies will be competing community by community for dominance in this prized media market…

Street Fight Daily: 12.12.11

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

AOL’s Patch Gets a Little Less Hyperlocal (Ad Age)…
The Gowalla-Facebook Deal Didn’t ‘Screw Over’ Gowalla’s Investors (Business Insider)…
How Can Local Businesses Structure More Effective Daily Deals? (TechCrunch)…

Opening Up the ‘Walled Garden’: Content APIs and the Location Layer

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For small-radius media, in which location plays a far greater role than niche or national media, walling off content will substantially impede industry growth. Ignoring LBS as a viable distribution channel is tantamount to leaving the industry’s most valuable asset grossly under-leveraged.

Street Fight Daily: 12.07.11

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

Google+ To Take On Foursquare With Upcoming ‘Check-in Offers’ Feature (TechCrunch)

Only 5% of Adults Use Location-Based Checkin Apps (Mashable)

Mobile Dining Apps LocalEats & BiteHunter Announce Partnership (TechCrunch)

Patch, Others Seek Holiday Cheer Updating Tried and True Guides, Deals

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Holidays are a sparkling time to test out the effectiveness of one’s local penetration. And it seems Patch is going all in. I asked Mark Josephson, SVP of revenue, to talk about what Patch is pitching for the holiday (among other obvious questions). Turns out the network of local sites has a Ye Olde Fashioned Gift Guide of its own…

Case Study: Park District Picks Patch and Sees 25% Growth

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At the Downers Grove Park District in Downers Grove, Illinois, (pop. 48,724) Brandi Beckley decides which channels to use to draw residents to events. She has relied heavily on hyperlocal sites like Patch, TribLocal, and MySuburbanLife because of the targeted audiences that these publications provide…