Conventional Wisdom
For a variety of reasons, I am unable to attend this year's YPA Annual Convention in Las Vegas. The Kelsey Group is very well represented at this conference, just as we were at the Association of Directory Publishers event a…
Monday News Bits
There is a lot happening in the local search and media worlds today. Here are some notables. Yahoo! has coughed up $680 million for the remaining stake in online media exchange Right Media. It previously owned 20 percent of the…
Local Search and the Simpsons
Check out this YouTube clip of Marge Simpson using Google Maps and a variety of other local online activities. It’s a good parody of online media for a Friday afternoon, which takes jabs at Google, online shopping and online gaming,…
Consumers Talk Back to Their Mobile Phones
The next wave of online mobile has taken a step forward with the introduction of voice recognition technology. In a recent Boston Globe article, several new voice applications for mobile Web search are discussed including Microsoft's recent acquisition of Tellme.…
Attack of the Mobile Search Apps
I only have time for a quick post, but it strikes me how so many local search plays are launching SMS-based search services. As noted earlier, NearbyNow has this; vFlyer launched a mobile search product today; Vehix.com plans to do…
IPTV Roundup
As we’ve expressed in past writing, the targeting abilities and architecture of IPTV could open up some interesting local advertising opportunities (also see TKG White Paper From Reach to Targeting: The Transformation of TV in the Internet Age). But it’s…
A Conversation With NearbyNow
Coming off NearbyNow's $5 million B round, I had the chance to talk to CEO Scott Dunlap today. Part of this announcement is an expressed goal to be in 103 U.S. cities by November (Dunlap stated this goal to me…
More 3-D Maps
PagesJaunes has launched its anticipated 3-D mapping engine in Paris. The Praized Blog has the scoop. Our past coverage of 3-D mapping is here, here and here.
Sneak Preview of IAC’s NYC Headquarters
The L.A. Times today provided a sneak preview of the Frank Gehry-designed, $150 million headquarters for Barry Diller's IAC along the West Side highway in NYC. I'll look forward to visiting. Here are pictures of the building from IAC’s site,…
The 10 Bloggiest Neighborhoods
Tired of using "San Francisco" as the metaphor for "all things Internet?" How about focusing on "bloggy neighborhoods"? Beth Lawton at NAA New Media Fed alerted the readership to a list of Top 10 bloggy neighborhoods compiled by Outside.in, the…
MapQuest Teams Up With OnStar
MapQuest today announced a partnership with GM's OnStar division that will allow online users to send maps and turn-by-turn spoken directions to their OnStar devices. This falls in line with the cross-platform personalization that we’re seeing a lot of in…
HP Buys Logoworks, Entree Into SMEs
HP is serious about working with small businesses and announced today that it is buying Logoworks, the disrupting producer of logos for small businesses. It will be a great acquisition for HP. When it launched in 2001, the premise behind…
TargetSpot: The Spot Runner of Radio
A new ad serving technology for Internet broadcasters launched this week with funding from Union Square Ventures, CBS Radio and Oddcast. Known as TargetSpot, the technology will allow advertisers to create buy and place their own advertising in online streaming…
Local.com Launches Free Listings
Local.com announced today that it will launch a basic version of its Local Promote service for small businesses. The full version of Local Promote ($39.95 per month) is a tool offered to businesses to establish a Web presence with a…
Yell Takes Hit With Annnouncement on U.S. Growth
The U.K.-based publisher Yell Group announced today that its U.S. operation, Yellow Book, is seeing a sharp decline in its organic growth rate, the accumulated result of too much competition in the U.S. market. The company is projecting a 3…
Media News Allegations Against Par Ridder
Why watch "American Idol" tonight? As an alternative, I recommend that you download the lawsuit filed by MediaNews Group against Par Ridder, the former publisher of St. Paul's Pioneer Press, and son of Tony Ridder, who bolted across the river…
AT&T’s Payne Featured in U.S. News Article
U.S. News & World Report features a short interview with AT&T Advertising & Publishing CEO Denny Payne in this week’s print edition (available online). Not much ground was broken in the interview, but Payne got across the usual major points…
WSJ: Newspaper Web Sites No Hail Mary
Inside the newspaper industry, the notion of the Web as a Hail Mary pass has never been fully embraced. But last week's earning reports from the major newspaper chains is a bracing cup of cold water. An article in today's…
IBM: Through 2010, Traditional Media Dominates
It is not especially surprising, but media shift is being accelerated by new devices, expanding media channels, user-generated content and aggregation. IBM Global Business Services tries to make sense of all of it in a new report: "Navigating the Media…
RHD a Takeover Target?
We came across this on BusinessWeek Friday. The article raises the possibility that R.H. Donnelley, enjoying a nice run up of its share price, may be the target of a takeover or leveraged buyout. These stories pop up every now…