I ‘Like’ My iPad: Some Observations
The Apple iPad was finally delivered or sold to 300,000 people this weekend. Hardly any of us had even touched it before. After a couple of days playing with my new 32 GB, Wi-Fi only model -- about $700 with…
Clickable Integrates Facebook Ads, Analytics With Search Platform
Clickable has announced that it will add support for Facebook advertising that allows its Pro users to directly compare social and search results. The effort follows initiatives by rival “search resellers” like ReachLocal, Yodle and Orange Soda to broaden their…
EBay Rebrands Kijiji as eBay Classifieds (in U.S.)
More than a year after it became apparent that it would do so, eBay has finally killed the Kijiji brand in the U.S., and rebranded its efforts as "eBay Classifieds." The rebranding, which does not affect more established Kijiji-branded sites…
The Berry Co. Picks Yodle for Web Sites, SEO/SEM
The Berry Co., the SMB sales giant with 260,000 SMB clients, has partnered with Yodle for Web site creation and search engine marketing and optimization. The deal gives Yodle access to Berry’s 42-state reach and 885 print publications. Yodle, which…
Top Takeaways From Marketplaces 2010
BIA/Kelsey’s Marketplaces 2010 conference has just ended after two-and-a-half days of fantastic presentations from 49 speakers; top-level research from our BIA/Kelsey team; and really great evening events from MojoPages and Acxiom/Moon Valley (we’re talking fire eaters and San Diego Bay…
Marketplaces 2010: Content Creators See Enhanced Ad Value
Content creators that seek to optimize millions of pieces of content for contextual vertical advertising were on full display at Marketplaces 2010 today in San Diego. Luke Beatty, founder and president of Associated Content, noted that his company was “the…
Perry Evans' New Thing: Groupon-Like Closely, Inc.
Perry Evans, a founder of Local Matters and MapQuest, has launched Closely, Inc., a new group-based promotions company, joining the 100 or more companies that hope to follow in the footsteps of Groupon, and perhaps improve on the deal-a-day experience.…
Perry Evans’ New Thing: Groupon-Like Closely, Inc.
Perry Evans, a founder of Local Matters and MapQuest, has launched Closely, Inc., a new group-based promotions company, joining the 100 or more companies that hope to follow in the footsteps of Groupon, and perhaps improve on the deal-a-day experience.…
MojoPages Adds 'Mojo Awards' Game
MojoPages started as a Yelp-like directory of local businesses. For the past year and a half, the San Diego-based company has focused on building a distribution network of 1,400 sites, mostly consisting of radio, TV and newspaper sites. Its revenues…
MojoPages Adds ‘Mojo Awards’ Game
MojoPages started as a Yelp-like directory of local businesses. For the past year and a half, the San Diego-based company has focused on building a distribution network of 1,400 sites, mostly consisting of radio, TV and newspaper sites. Its revenues…
Avvo Gets $10 Million in New Round
Avvo, the free legal ratings and review site that has taken on the giant legal publishers that have long dominated the business, announced that it has raised $10 million in Series C funding. The new round adds to $13 million…
AOL Sets Up $10 Million Venture Fund for Local Start-Ups
PaidContent reports that AOL Ventures is creating a $10 million venture capital fund for local start-ups. The fund expects to support the “increasing number of startups” in the market. AOL Ventures had previously announced that it is spending $50 million…
AppointmentCity Aims for Local Medical Specialties
Online scheduling appears to be one of the break-out features in the marketplaces space this year. Nineteen percent of respondents to BIA/Kelsey’s most recent User View say they made a non-restaurant online appointment in the past six months. Major appointment…
Group-Based ‘Deals of the Day’ Sites: 55 and Counting
Groupon has a roaring head start in the deals of the day category for groups, with more than a million users. We'll hear all about Groupon from CEO Andrew Mason at next week's Marketplaces conference in San Diego, where he…
Group-Based 'Deals of the Day' Sites: 55 and Counting
Groupon has a roaring head start in the deals of the day category for groups, with more than a million users. We'll hear all about Groupon from CEO Andrew Mason at next week's Marketplaces conference in San Diego, where he…
CBS Local Launches Auto Portal With High Gear Media
CBS Local has launched an auto shopping guide on the Web site of WCCO-TV Minneapolis, using vertical content and services from High Gear Media, a Palo Alto, California-based auto specialist publisher launched two years ago by Daily Shopper founder Hesky…
Goby.com: Search Engine Focuses on Local Events + Travel
Events are a vertical that cuts across many segments: travel, retail, sports, entertainment, education, dining, culture and others. Major players include specialists such as Zvents, Eventful, Americantowns.com and Center’d. City sites such as Citysearch and Yelp are active in the…
LivingSocial Raises $30 Million, Goes Head-to-Head With Groupon
The “Flash e-commerce” space got hotter today, as Washington, D.C.-based LivingSocial announced a new $30 million round led by U.S. Venture Partners. Grotech Ventures and Revolution (Steve Case’s company) are also participating. The funding will be used to launch deal-a-day…
MerchantCircle Index: Mixed Awareness Levels for Local Players
MerchantCircle’s Merchant Index tracks merchant confidence in the economy (low). But it also yields some unexpected “real world” insight into merchant awareness and use of their local online marketing options. The Index is based on 11,000+ e-mail respondents, so there…
Bay Area News Project Envisions $12 Million Revenues
Local news cooperatives are now in development in San Diego, Chicago, Hawaii and San Francisco. The latter, known as The Bay Area News Project, is building up with a $5 million investment from philanthropist Warren Hellman, who apparently thought it…