Getting down to the final wire.... we think the Local '07 program in Santa Clara next Tuesday and Wednesday is looking really good. Piper Jaffray's Safa Rashtchy is the latest big add. Safa will be talking about PJ's new report,…
A new compact between Monster and Adicio, a classified vendor that previously insisted on newspapers' "independence" from Internet verticals, seems likely to evolve the world of classifieds even faster. The deal was unexpected Monster has recently grabbed the key…
Pegasus News, the social network site based in Dallas, made a deal with Fox4 TV for a mutual content swap that would fill Pegasus' news hole, leverage its features (weather, etc.) and increase awareness about it in the community. At…
AOL launched a beta version of its new local search product today. Though MapQuest has served as the de facto centerpiece of its local search functionality, AOL has trailed behind its search and portal competitors in having a dedicated local…
Microsoft announced today that it has agreed to acquire Tellme, a Mountain View, California-based voice search provider. Yesterday, Microsoft and Tellme briefed The Kelsey Group about the pending acquisition. Neither side would disclose the size of the deal, but we…
While I'm spreading rumors about online giants today, I might as well be fair and include others in the fun. The San Jose Mercury News has more on the rumored Google phone. Just as Microsoft would gain ground in mobile…
Rumors are swirling about a potential Microsoft acquisition of Tellme Networks. The latest is a Wall Street Journal article (sub. req'd) that reports a possible sale price of US$800 million (here is coverage from TechCrunch if you don't have a…
Eric Grilly, president of MediaNews Group Interactive and a major driver of the Yahoo! consortium for HotJobs, has left his position to take a new job as head of Philly.com, the Web site for The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia…
Greg Sterling wrote an interesting column in the YPA's Local Search Guide, and on his own blog, about the growing importance of video in local search. He gives lots of good examples of local video ad programs either launched or…
Google has added a new set of features to its Local Business Center. This is the place you can go to enter information about your business that is then indexed in Google Local. Any business with a physical address, in…
Our annual forecast was released today. The headline of the news release is "Global Ad Revenues for Print and Internet Yellow Pages and Local Search to Reach $38.9 Billion in 2011." The subhead is "Kelsey Group analysts expect continued growth…
The Kelsey Group's Global Print Yellow Pages, Internet Yellow Pages and Local Search Forecast is out today. The forecast has a five year outlook, comparing 2006 figures with 2011 projections. At a high level, here are some of the key…
With the onslaught of online, fragmentation and new advertiser models, newspapers and other local media could have it tough. But perhaps no one has it tougher than the free shopper publications that are distributed at grocery stores, vending boxes, libraries…
Most newspaper Web sites have been focused on driving new audiences, but McClatchy sees a gold mine in its existing print circulation. How many local media outlets have 40 percent penetration in this age of fragmentation? Speaking at the Inland…
Earlier in the week, I had the chance to catch up with Vehix.com CEO Derek Mattsson, who had some interesting things to say related to Monday's post about Starbucks taking mobile local search into its own hands. Vehix is interested…
Simeon Simeonov has a good post on the mysterious and long rumored Google phone, complete with screen shots. No confirmation about whether this is true or not, but Simeon's blog is a good read.
In a move to help provide online sales and support in each U.S. time zone, Idearc Media's Superpages.com opened a new national sales office in Alpharetta, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. According to the release: "We provide a wide-range of services…
New management has taken over at 1-800-SAN-DIEGO, and they're determined to increase awareness in San Diego, boost sales channels, add a text messaging component and expand to other markets, possibly including Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland. 1-800-SAN-DIEGO…
When you have access to $3 million of VC money, you are going to eventually want to spend some of it. That's what Smalltown, an IYP site with social aspects via reviews, calendars and (now) top 10 lists, is doing.…
Late on Friday I saw CNET blogger Caroline McCarthy's report on Starbucks' new SMS-based mobile local search app. Like Google SMS and Yahoo! Mobile, any text-enabled mobile device can send a search query to a five-digit number that returns locations…
