Reply has acquired MerchantCircle for $60 million in cash and stock in a deal that makes a big bet on SMB, vertical and social marketing. The deal, which should be completed in Q3, brings MerchantCircle’s list of 1.6 million SMBs…
Businesses should post on their Facebook page three times a week. That’s the word from Emily White, Facebook’s director of local. In an interview with USA Today, White says: "The general rule is, you're in pretty good shape if you're…
SignPost, an eight person New York-based deals company that has received $1 million of seed funding from Google Ventures and others, is banking on “deal scouts” to originate time-sensitive deals with local merchants and services. The company has deals available…
Auctions have influenced a more dynamic shopping environment, but aren’t very important and have ended up as just a niche shopping format, argues James Surowiecki in the June Wired (article not posted). Even on eBay, they just make up 31…
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…
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…
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…
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?…
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…
Groupon has moved closer to CEO Andrew Mason’s vision of being a “city guide” via “GrouponLive,” a new events source featuring various Live Nation events. “The Live Email,” featuring last minute discounts, is being sent out to Ticketmaster’s regular opt-in…
Some cities have unique professional communities that make them a company town with its own media. Washington D.C., of course, is a government town, well served by Bonneville’s WFED-AM. Similarly Huntsville, Alabama, is a space town; Los Angeles is a…
Travel deals are hot. Social networks are hot. Group buying is hot. But when travelers go to a new city, they often don’t have the social networks and group buying to live the life…or at least the discounters life. Gtrot,…
New York Magazine is set to start sending out New York Deals, a weekly deals email that will consist of 15,000 opt-in recipients at launch. The deals email, which will be accompanied by a New York Deals website, takes its…
Finally, we have the long awaited merger of a directory with a retail solution. Today, prior to its earnings call, Local.com announced it would integrate product and store availability into its growing suite of women-oriented services by acquiring Krillion.com. The…
“The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood,” the new master-work from science writer James Gleick, examines the origins of communications and its impact and integration into fields as diverse as physics, electrical engineering, mathematics and even biology. It’s a…
Facebook today launched its Deals product as an "alpha" in five markets: San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Austin and Atlanta. The effort plays up Facebook's social connectivity, making it simple to "like" and share deals, and promote throughout the site.…
Pixelfish, armed with $3.5 million round of new capital raised since October, is evolving its model from a white-label provider of affordable SMB video to a destination site for SMB offers. Today, it announced that it has acquired Steve Espinosa’s…
Facebook Head of Groups Justin Shaffer told attendees at Where 2.0 that one of Facebook’s goals is to develop the largest database of “interesting” places. The collection of places has “really been the focus" of his division for the past…
