Yellow Pages Group New Zealand has acquired a majority stake in grownups.co.nz, a Web site targeting the over 50s crowd, as reported on Stuff.co.nz. Voted as New Zealand’s best lifestyle Web site in 2008, this acquisition may well prove…
The New York Times writes about jewelry outfit Cartier and its recent social networking activity. This is nothing new for large advertisers and has become a new form of branding that follows consumer activity -- especially among some demographics…
Michael Rogers, The New York Times Co.’s futurist-in-residence, told Inman Real Estate Connect attendees last week that over the next few years, “mobile [will be] the most important piece of the interactive space.” Largely driving the adaption of mobile will…
Microsoft announced today that it will integrate Live Search with the Facebook network. This will include search advertising served with results (via adCenter). This grows out of the existing relationship that included Microsoft's $240 million investment in Facebook and its placement…
Social features have been a core element of many of the local search applications in the iPhone's AppStore, such as WHERE, Whrrl and Loopt (WHERE is in the top 20 downloaded free apps so far). Each of these not only…
A few Google users have come forward with screenshots of Google's "bucket testing" of a social search feature. Like Digg, StumbleUpon and other social search engines, it allows users to actively rate or vote on search results using small icons that…
The folks at Common Craft have put together another video with their signature elementary style. This one explains the underlying benefits of social media marketing for SMBs in an abstract but informative way (see previous post on their social bookmarking video).…
Local search platform provider Local Matters has just acquired a Facebook application-in-progress from online real estate player Point2. The app will be called Neighborhoods for Facebook and will allow Facebook users to network with others in their area and find…
Canadian IYP Yellowpages.ca announced a Facebook application that lets users of the social network tap into local listings and share recommendations with friends. This includes (according to release): Find, rate and review businesses Build lists of their favorite restaurants and…
Since the social networking phenomenon began, I have been an advocate of the Yellow Pages developing a platform for niche social networks. Directories cover such a broad array of content that can be related to highly conversational topics, such as…
Internet legend Marc Andreessen waxed positive about social networking and VC opportunities for the next five years during a packed luncheon at the Think Tomorrow -- Today conference. Without spending too much time talking about his own social networking venture, Ning,…
There is a tendency for speakers at a large conference to want to sell (they would say "educate") the audience about their companies' products and services. I know I'm guilty of it. Nevertheless, it is refreshing when a person making a presentation…
If Facebook is really the next marketing platform, the guys at Loladex will have guessed right. The new rating and review company, formed by two alumni of AOL Search and Yellow Pages, had initially been incubated as a destination site…
Local/social search product Loladex launched this morning, currently built exclusively around a Facebook application. The application will specifically seek to tap into the trust inherent in a group of Facebook contacts, as a source of information on, and interaction around,…
The balance between merchants and brands is being shifted by the increasingly common use of enhanced “product locators,” which adds store locations, maps -- and frequently promotions such as coupons -- to the mix, says Lauren Freedman, president of The…
In an unexpected move, AOL has acquired social network Bebo for $850 million. A move into social networking is interesting for AOL given that portals have traditionally dropped the ball when it comes to social networks (albeit, mostly homegrown ones).…
Yelp! has announced that it got $15 million in a fourth round of funding led by DAG and existing investors. The company also sent some growth metrics: October '07 -- 5M Unique Visitors December '07 -- 6M UVs January '08…
I liked the 2003-2007 concept of a “local info hub.” The idea was to think beyond the original business boundaries of newspapers (and Yellow Pages). Now that concept has been fancifully enlarged to a “local info and connection utility." The…
MySpace has taken yet another step to follow some of the strategies proved successful by its newly legitimized (and recognized) source of competition, Facebook. The company has announced it will open up its network to outside developers to build a…
After writing about the cautious progress of publishers adopting Web 2.0 tools and approaches, I came across the introduction of a "wiki" approach to directories recently launched in the U.K. called Brownbook. Officially launched this week, Brownbook describes itself as…
