Online/Interactive

A number of people wrote in to tell us that Google's entry in the local coupon space is validation of the segment and will help drive coupon traffic. But it doesn't mean that Google unilaterally wins the game. Premier Guide…

Google announced today that it has partnered with coupon distributor Valpak to provide electronic coupons that are served with business listings in Google Local. At launch today, this will include 20,000 coupons from Valpak's existing advertisers. We've long advocated the…

We are all watching YouTube. Long term, we know it isn't a business because of the copyright issue. But the site's success demonstrates real demand for aggregated on-demand video — including local video. I like what columnist Terry Heaton says…

From the Friday Brain Candy Department, here are two entertaining videos on the long tail.This one from Chris Anderson's Long Tail Blog: an aesthetically pleasing (though admittedly promotional) video on the long tail and Anderson's book (which I plan to…

The always insightful Mark Glaser has an interesting column on "old think" vs. "new think" in the media.for example:Oldthink: Thinking professional editors are the only ones who can decide what the important stories are each day.Newthink: Realizing we have the…

Yelp, a social network/Yellow Pages hybrid, has launched a mobile version for the Palm Treo as part of a broader marketing relationship between the two companies. Terms are not being disclosed, but cash and tech support have likely been provided…

Now that the dust has settled, it is time to begin assessing the local impact of Fox Interactive's alliance with Google. The three-year, nine-month deal gives Google a place on MySpace's upcoming toolbar, and the right to place ads on…

It scares me too, but typical communications grads aren't necessarily news junkies, according to a newly released annual survey of new communications grads by The University of Georgia. Even though grads aren't especially big consumers of news in any medium,…

Verizon SuperPages and YellowPages.com have signed with UrbanMapping.com to license technology that will enable them to show listings by neighborhood name. The IYPs currently only show geo-information by city name or ZIP code.Sorting directory info by neighborhood names sometimes makes…

Google today announced that it will pay $900 million to be the exclusive paid search provider of MySpace. Yahoo! previously provided its search platform to run ads throughout the MySpace network. Fox Interactive Media will integrate Google paid search throughout…

Seattle-based Marchex today announced the launch of MyZip.com, which will implement the company's existing 75,000-plus ZIP code Web sites. Marchex will position MyZip.com as a destination for local directional content and information and as the umbrella brand around its individual…

Yesterday, AdMission Corp. announced that Hearst Newspapers has chosen it to provide its suite self-serve ad placement products in the publisher's print and online products. This includes AdMission's Classifieds, Spotlight Ads, Directories and Marketplace solutions. In our recent newspaper report,…

As we wrote about here, some local advertisers have begun to use social networks (MySpace mostly) to push promotional messages. The Lost Remote blog picked up a story yesterday that revisited the topic.

McClatchy's acceptance this week of a reduced share in investments held by Tribune/Knight Ridder/Gannett (TKG) marks the end of a noted newspaper partnership among heavyweights. Under the deal, Tribune and Knight Ridder exercised their rights to buy out Knight Ridder's…

IAC/InterActiveCorp's development of Ask is priority No. 1, and a key part of that development is the integration of Citysearch's listings and content, according to IAC execs speaking Aug. 1 on the company's quarterly earnings call. "There is no question…

Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that Washingtonpost.com will provide links to stories that relate to its own. This goes beyond columnists linking to various articles around the Web when they apply to a topic and represents an…

Merchants that take out enhanced listings on Yahoo! tend to improve their impressions and clicks by 2X, and increase their all-important ranking on the page, said Yahoo! Local GM Paul Levine, in a Small Business Commando Tele-Seminar that also featured…

UrbanBaby Cofounder John Maloney wrote in to comment on my "Local Baby Site" post yesterday. I had complained that I was "confounded" by CNET's acquisition of UrbanBaby.com, since CNET is basically a real good tech site that's heavily skewed toward…

Monster's deal to partner with the new owners of Philadelphia Media Holdings "would work with other newspapers," but probably makes more sense with papers in smaller markets, Monster CEO Andrew McKelvey told Reuters. McKelvey also said the Philadelphia deal was…

Four million babies are born in the U.S. every year. Hence the interest of two e-commerce portals in local baby sites. Just last week, UrbanBaby.com, an e-mail-oriented baby-care tip sheet, was sold to CNET, and LilaGuides, a print-oriented local baby…