Nov. 6 has been highly anticipated within gadget geek circles over the past few weeks, as the date of the public release of Motorola's Droid. It is made by Motorola, runs on Verizon's network, and is the first to be…
Village Voice Media, the large media company that includes 14 alternative weeklies, is rebranding its national network, which represents 50 alt weekly titles, as the name shifts from Ruxton Media to Voice Media Group. As part of the rebranding, it…
A flurry of business lead services have cropped up, each a variation on the model that has been successfully developed by ServiceMagic and others. They basically provide a directory, information, leads and marketing services. One of the new crop of…
Microsoft's MSN has been a good hodgepodge that gets 100 million users a month. But it hasn’t had a serious redo for 10 years. So the question posed to a new team brought in to redo the site was: How…
Self-serve ad solutions aren’t a major part of the ad universe today. A recent BIA/Kelsey survey found few companies selling more than 10 percent of their SMB advertising via online. But self-serve meets the needs of certain online-oriented categories. And…
Apple announced its latest app milestone today; crossing the six-digit mark. The previous milestone was 85,000 during the Q4 earnings announcement last month. It's clear that app development is accelerating: I just wonder how press-worthy these milestones will continue to…
ComScore has released data that show smartphones in the U.S. now total 33.8 million units -- a 63 percent year-over-year increase. But the highlight of the report was that touchscreen devices outpace even this with 159 percent year-over-year growth to…
Fresh off its monthly SMART report, mobile ad network Millennial Media released a report today that reveals advertiser sentiments towards mobile marketing. Based on a survey of ad agencies; CPG, Retail, Entertainment, Travel and Restaurant categories are expected to be…
The global directory publisher Yell Group has succeeded in its effort to convince lenders to go along with a plan to raise 500 million pounds through a rights issue and restructure its 3.8 billion pound debt load. Debt restructuring has…
One way to get into SMB accounts is to take over their appointment calenders. This is an approach that has been embraced by a growing horde of start-ups …. at least 10 by some counts. Silicon-Valley-based BookFresh, formerly known as…
In what may be the first of many media deals, AutoTrader has taken over Adicio Motors slot on SignonSanDiego, the newly revised online site for The San Diego Union-Tribune. AutoTrader, a Cox Enterprises property and the leading third-party auto site,…
Here is a recap of posts from last week, in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full. ShopCity Partners With Chambers of Commerce, Local Governments The potential of working with chambers of commerce to sell online…
The potential of working with chambers of commerce to sell online marketing accounts to local businesses is an alluring one. They potentially can provide the highest quality, best context leads for SMBs. Initial efforts to partner with chambers, however, haven’t…
I recently had a chance to talk with Marco Zappacosta, founder and CEO of Thumbtack, a newly launched online resource for trusted local businesses. Thumbtack facilitates an online marketplace for local services by offering consumers one place to easily find,…
One size doesn’t fit all in local search. And there is no reason to throw out traditional media such as Yellow Pages just to become dependent on Google. In fact, every medium still has its purpose, and should be analyzed…
Allbritton Communications will merge its two Washington, D.C.-area TV station sites -- WJLA.com and News8.net -- and build a new 50-person local D.C. site behind former Washingtonpost.com editor Jim Brady, who developed the concept. The site will be run adjacent…
The Swedish directory publisher Eniro has passed a key financial milestone, according to its third-quarter and year-to-date earnings report, released this week. Through nine months of 2009, online revenues surpassed offline (print revenues), making Eniro a majority online directory business…
At OMMA Mobile, a panel is batting around the top issues and opportunities of using the mobile device as a branding medium. Specifically a good portion of the conversation is focusing on building mobile apps as brand engagement plays. For…
I'm at MediaPost's OMMA mobile show today, speaking and liveblogging some of the morning sessions (forgive typos). Right now, keynoter John Zehr, SVP and GM of ESPN Mobile, is outlining the mobile opportunity as it applies to a sports media…
The cable TV giant Comcast has begun offering a Yellow Pages-branded local search experience via its cable television network. Through the remote, Comcast subscribers can access local business listings through the television remote, and SMBs can have their information listed…
