During last month's MLM San Francisco conference, we tried do break the mold of conference formats in lots of ways. One thing we did differently was a song performed by longtime friend and Cox Digital Solutions exec Leif Welch. A…
What happened to the theory that Facebook Credits would become a universal virtual currency, competing against the likes of PayPal and others? Facebook very quietly closed the program down a few weeks ago, reverting to a more standard model that…
Indoor mapping and navigation service Aisle411 has announced a deal with national drugstore Walgreens to map the interiors of its 7907 locations. Those of you that attended our MLM SF conference may remember the demo given by Aisle411 CEO Nathan…
We never get tired of saying it: SMBs represent the biggest marketing segment and the greatest opportunity in the local arena. We’ve watched the Yellow Pages evolve quickly to reflect this reality; and everyone else joining in: Groupon, Google, Facebook…
Mobile local ad network Verve Wireless just launched a new program that lets its local publisher partners (i.e. newspaper apps) extend their reach through a broader network of national publishers. The idea is that they can get additional distribution by…
Today at IAB's Mobile Marketplace Conference in NYC, I had the chance to catch up with YP's David Kurtz about a new ad unit the company announced. Kurtz has been no stranger to our own conference stage and editorial, as…
In a move that is surprising a lot of people, Marissa Mayer, arguably the face of "local" at Google, will leave immediately to take the top job at online media company Yahoo. The appointment as Yahoo's new president & CEO,…
The website development firm vSplash is playing in a fertile field with its Buzzboard product, a tool that enables local media salespeople to use the quality of small business digital presence as a starting point for a sales conversation. The…
New Zealand's Yellow Pages Group had named current Managing Director Chris Armistead as its new CEO, replacing Scott Pomeroy, who held the job on an interim basis. Pomeroy, formerly CEO of Local Insight Media, will remain on the company's board…
As major players such as Google, Groupon, LevelUp and Square position themselves as next generation payment processors, the role of banks and other financial institutions in the emerging payment is a little unsettled. The financial institutions are potential giants here --…
As we round the corner on 2o12's half-way mark, the mobile local space continues to move rapidly. Following our January predictions (some of which have already come true), we took some time to now revisit the biggest trends driving mobile…
Two schools of thought have broken out about loyalty programs. The first is to build a collective currency for points or other loyalty incentives that can be used anywhere in the network. This is the approach taken by players such…
Amazon has reportedly purchased UpNext, the five-year-old, 3-D mapping and directory service that now provides "clickable building"-oriented maps for more than 50 cities, including 23 that are enhanced in depth. The service has experimented with a number of features, including…
MerchantCircle.com released findings today from a survey that revealed 50 percent of small-business owners follow political candidates or related organizations on Facebook. Fourteen percent of respondents follow these groups on Twitter. The survey comprised more than 6,000 U.S. small-business owners.…
Thanks to all who attended or contributed to our Mobile Local Media conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. It was by all measures a success. Google, Groupon, Pandora, PayPal, Yelp, Stewart Alsop ... you can't go wrong. We even had…
This week, Yodle announced the integration of mobile-optimized websites, mobile ad bidding and distribution to its product suite. The mobile solution has already rolled out to more than 30,000 existing SMB customers. New customers can also expect to receive the…
Legendary venture capitalist Stewart Alsop of Alsop Louie Partners sat down with BIA/Kelsey analyst Matt Booth here at MLM SF to offer a glimpse into the fertile mind of a leading tech investor. Interestingly enough, one of the first things…
"Mobile is a big part of our business," said Mihir Shah, Groupon's VP-Mobile, in an interview this afternoon with BIA/Kelsey analyst Peter Krasilovsky at the Mobile Local Media event in San Francisco. Shah said that 30 percent of Groupon's transactions…
Here in San Francisco at BIA/Kelsey's Mobile Local Media conference, a panel of three young companies offered a glimpse into the leading edge of mobile shopping and loyalty marketing. Moderator Peter Krasilovsky walked each panelist through an examination of his…
Mobile ads are taking off but mobile specific technology, such as LAT/Long and GPS, sometimes gets messed up when the data are transferred from publishers, said panelists participating at MLM San Francisco today. Lots of networks provide Wichita, Kansas, as…