AOL Local has teamed with Oodle to launch AOL Classifieds in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, AOL is launching a U.K. classified site at the end of the week. Oodle aggregates listings from more than 250 partner sites (including…
ESPN, which is 80 percent owned by Disney and 20 percent owned by Hearst, has been a leader in verticalizing its brand and content, with dozens of properties covering everything from the core network to ESPN Desportes to the retail stores.…
TripAdvisor was one of those rare Web 2.0 breakthroughs where the power of the crowd created a viral energy all its own (and enough traffic to sell advertising). Now Stephen Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor, along with Dan Saul,…
Zagat, which publishes consumer reviews and guides for restaurants, nightlife, hotels and attractions, has licensed out its name and reviewer system to WellPoint. The health-care insurer will publish Zagat-branded health reviews for its WellPoint and Anthem Blue Cross customers, reports…
Today's Wall Street Journal has an article titled, "Hotels Say, We're Businesses, Too." The article points out that "under the rules of the Government's Troubled Asset Relief Program companies are required to adopt policies on spending, private jets, events and…
Yesterday, Trulia announced it was replacing Classified Ventures’ HomeFinder.com as the real estate search provider on WashingtonPost.com. Today, the paper seems to have reaffirmed its ties to CV via a new deal with CV’s HomeGain. The deal with HomeGain provides paid…
The Washington Post is switching its local real estate search from Classified Ventures’ HomeFinder.com to Trulia. The switch takes place in April, and is being announced just after CV's introduction of the HomeFinder brand, which replaces the HomeScape brand. The…
Multiple Listing Services are generally seen as technologically backward sites restricted to Realtors. But this may change, if a new consumer-facing model takes off. Specifically, Local Matters, the social media vendor launched by MapQuest founder Perry Evans, has teamed with…
Angie Hicks, the cofounder and namesake of Angie’s List, said she thinks of her company as a direct marketing machine. Speaking at ClickZ’s Online Marketing Summit in San Diego this morning, Hicks noted: “We’re direct marketers at heart. If it…
The old maxim says that when new cars are down, used cars are up. And when house sales are down, apartments are up. We’ve heard from some publishers that they are seeing more apartment advertising. But prices have been hurt by…
OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation service, has filed an S1 with the SEC to raise $40 million. The company, founded in 1998 by former Citysearch President Thomas Layton, was launched as Easyseats.com. It currently has contracts with 10,000 restaurants in all 50…
(The View From the 46th Floor) The bad market for real estate has put a crimp in a lot of real estate marketing (except perhaps for foreclosure sites like Zetabids). The New York Times, on Sunday, found that many real…
IAC’s ServiceMagic, a leader in delivering leads to services, has purchased Bethesda,MD- based Market Hardware, which provides websites and search engine optimization for 2,500 SMBs. Market Hardware, which has 30 people, targets “high online spend verticals” that closely mirror ServiceMagic’s…
The iPhone app store now has 15,000 apps available. So what’s No. 8 (among the free utilities)? RepairPal, an auto site that uses the GPS capabilities of the iPhone to deliver repair auto estimates, a comprehensive repair shop directory and…
Our Marketplaces 2009 conference in L.A. is just around the corner (March 16-18). Some great additions have just been announced: Active Network CEO Dave Alberga (our fourth keynote); Yahoo Local leader Atif Rafiq; and all the ins and outs of…
AOL continues its evolution into a multi-pronged media company with the launch of MediaGlow, a new vertical division made up of 70 branded and non-branded niche sites, such as When.com, AOL Autos and TMZ.com. The company expects to have more than…
We’ve just announced the lineup for our Marketplaces 2009 conference, which is March 16-18 at the historic (and excellent) Century Plaza in L.A. We hope you find it as compelling as we do. It is probably a “must attend” event by any…
We’re out with our predictions for 2009. But what’s the final word for 2008? Truly, it was a very stimulating and thoughtful year for our local media and commerce industry. But speaking for myself, it’s hard to say whether it…
The U.K. online Yellow Pages directory Yell.com has announced a partnership with IdealHomeShow.co.uk, giving the home improvement and garden trade show Web site access to Yell.com’s local business listings in related headings. This agreement is a first for Yell.com, according…
Increasingly, we’re seeing pressure on newspaper publishers to forgo seven-day delivery. The idea is they’d refocus on the development of profitable niche sites and the Thursday, Friday and Sunday editions packed with retail advertising. Under this concept, the other days…