There are some occasions when you need to hire someone right away. At least that’s the hypothesis of Ginjex: The availability engine,” a new ad-supported U.K. directory that focuses on real-time hiring. Launched by Mark Riley, a former exec with…
Radio Ink's "Radio Tech Summit" runs through today at Microsoft's Executive Conference Center in Mountain View, California. Media UK's James Cridland was the kick-off keynoter and asserted that "radio is not dead...but it must compete on content not platform." Cridland,…
Last week, we reported on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors vote to pass an opt-in ordinance for print directories. The law would go into effect next year. This week, San Francisco businesses and publishers opposing opt-in will ask Mayor…
Groupon is moving past deal a day with a Quiznos deal on Wednesdays that will issue an eight "signature sandwich" punch card to users for $26 -- roughly half off the $51.92 maximum value. Maybe buyers will indulge in some…
Dealfind, a Toronto-based daily deal site, has raised $31 million as it strives for rapid growth to reach 100 markets in Canada and the U.S. The site, which has sold 806,199 vouchers since its launch in 2009, is currently operating…
2010 was a dismal year for the New Zealand branch of Deutsche Bank after exposure to the Yellow Pages Group restructuring. The KPMG Financial Institutions Performance Survey issued last week shows that Deutsche ranked at the bottom out of 10…
During BIA/Kelsey’s ILM East conference in March, a series of mobile sessions were held in which leaders of the mobile industry were interviewed on stage (see previous post on Foursquare GM Evan Cohen’s keynote). WillowTree Apps CEO Tobias Dengel was…
Sebastien Provencher introduced the EADP audience in Mallorca, Spain, to the concept of conversational commerce. Praized Media's latest product, Needium, mines local Tweets to uncover intent whether it is intentional or unintentional. Provencher offered the example of a series of…
The EADP conference in Mallorca was treated to the insights and good humor of Yellow Pages Group Canada's Matthieu Houle and the company's very funny ad campaign. Mobile, Houle said, gives directories the appeal local advertisers are looking for. His…
Brightroll, an online video network, released its third annual survey of agencies and their buying habits and attitudes. Brightroll reported that online video is included as a component in 27 percent of agency RFPs. Media buyers predict the largest overall spending…
MerchantCircle last week quietly added free Request for Quote services for its large base of 1.6 million local merchants, immediately sending out more than 180,000 quotes. The quotes are based on category and locale. Logistically, consumers who ask for quotes…
Earlier this week, we reported that the Yellow Pages industry suffered a setback as a Seattle District Court judge denied a request for an injunction against Seattle's opt-out ordinance. Yellow Pages publishers responded today by filing a notice of appeal.…
We've written a bunch about Shopkick and its strategy to monetize location-based services and check-ins -- an area where there's still lots of question marks. Its biggest claim to fame is automatic check-ins that make it more mainstream friendly. For…
Yelp expanded its international presence this week with the launch of Yelp Spain. Now the Spanish can read and share reviews about local businesses on a community site in their native language. Though available throughout Spain, Yelp will initially focus its community…
There were lots of announcements made this week at Google's I/O developer conference in San Francisco, but the thing that stood out most for me was the unveiling of the Chromebook. Running on Chrome OS, it represents a computing paradigm…
The opening session of the European Association of Directory Publishers (EADP) conference in Mallorca, Spain was designed to open people's minds about how mobile and social can and should be used to the advantage of directory companies. Jullien Billot of…
Things are very, very hot in the deals space right now. Amid all the opportunity, there are also many, many unsettled issues. How is deal a day going to evolve? How important are “instant deals”? How will mobile be applied?…
Unless you search via toolbar or live in a cave, you'll come across Google's home page pretty early in your day. But if you haven't seen it yet today, check it out. Google has taken one of its famed home…
Yesterday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the opt-in ordinance that the Yellow Pages industry had vigorously opposed. Immediately following the vote, the Local Search Association (formerly the Yellow Pages Association) called on San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee to veto the ordinance. The ordinance passed 10-1 but formal passage must wait until a routine “second reading” next week, which is likely to be a rubber stamp.
The ordinance is the first opt-in (where consumers must proactively choose to receive a print directory) measure to pass in the United States. While the industry sees opt-out (where consumers can choose not to receive a book) as a serious challenge, it has viewed opt-in as a lethal threat. Opt-in could decimate reach, increase costs and drive secondary operators out of business.
Proponents argue that in an era of declining usage, ubiquitous distribution is incredibly wasteful. if someone wants a book, no one is stopping him or her from requesting one under an opt-in plan.
The San Francisco ordinance is positioned as a “three-year pilot program” that will commence in 2012. The ordinance was proposed based on environmental concerns as well as concerns over the cost of disposing of unwanted phone books.
Whenever one writes about the future of newspapers and other news organizations, a voice in the back of his or her head says: “They’ve tried that already and it didn’t work.” Fifteen years into the digital revolution, that’s the dilemma…