The New York Times juxtaposes conflicting views on the outlook for media spending and the recovery of the ad industry in “The Outlook is Murky for Media Advertising." On one side of the debate are analysts like UBS' Matthieu Coppet,…
Yellowbook announced today it has acquired the Louisiana and Texas directories of ypOne, not long after ypOne sold its Canadian properties to Canpages. This deal is yet another suggestion that many U.S. independent publishers are struggling in the current tough…
Quality guarantees are the name of the game in 2009. On the consumer side, ServiceMagic and Idearc Yellow Pages have guaranteed the quality of work for their advertisers. Now, on the advertiser side, Cobalt’s Dealix is guaranteeing the quality of…
Google and Spot Mixer announced today that they will extend their partnership to include in-stream video ads. This follows the January partnership that brought SpotMixer's DIY video production suite into Google's TV Ads product. The main difference is that today's…
Angie’s List, which now has 750,000 premium paying members, says it will begin verifying the credentials of local service companies. Those found to be out of compliance will have an opportunity to comply or face an outing from Angie’s List.…
TV stations can only grow their Internet businesses by leveraging their local credentials and focusing on vertical categories such as automotive and health. That’s the word from Internet Broadcasting's president and CEO, David Lebow, the former AOL Media Networks exec…
LivingSocial, the Facebook breakout that includes Virtual Bookshelf and eight other verticals (music, movies, video games, television shows, restaurants, beer, slopes, iPhone apps), has gone local, hiring a sales rep in both New York and Washington, D.C., to sell special…
The opportunities for “citizen journalism” and “consumer nation” are there. Social and hyperlocal media sites like Yelp and Angie’s List have done more than OK. But mobile on-the-go apps are more than likely going to kick the roof off. Citysearch…
Tip sheets on local bargains seem like an obvious local media play. I even sketched one out at dinner with friends last winter. Bargain Babe LA is better than anything I was thinking of. Launched in July by former LA…
On a generally slow Friday during a generally slow late August news week, a few mobile items are worth looking at: -- The iPhone has finally been announced to hit the Chinese market, after months of speculation. Apple has signed…
According to a new report from the multi-platform Australian directory, information and publishing giant Sensis, more than 95 percent of SMBs in Australia are connected to the Internet, and 57 percent have a business Web site. By the way, this…
Online video is increasingly being segmented into vertical themes, creating on-demand networks for specific subjects. The latest network to launch is Thelaw.tv, a legal site that, according to reporting in TV NewsCheck, uses former broadcast talent to product legal advice…
The idea of national retailers using the Web to add a local presence is always a good one, at least up on the white board. But up to now, such stores really haven’t had much to say at the local…
Sirius XM Radio has announced a new iPhone dock that will allow users to listen to satellite radio in their cars -- a feature that isn't native to the device. The dock plugs in to a car's cigarette adapter and…
Folllowing up on the previous post about mobile apps that are more actionable, "branded apps" could be moving in this direction. For those unfamiliar, these are spun out by national brands seeking impressions through an iPhone app. They are often…
About nine months ago, we heard whispers of a new iPhone app from taqueria chain Chipotle, which was one of the first of its kind: allowing users to place orders from the phone. It was quickly shut down for unexplained…
Wow -- $245 is nothing to sneeze at. This past Saturday morning I was greeted with one of those -- ugh -- moments: The car wouldn’t start. So I fished out my AAA card and a couple of hours later…
MSNBC.com's purchase of EveryBlock, the hyperlocal data gatherer, is seen internally as an important piece of the puzzle in building out local content and services. It is likely to herald in a revived focus on local by MSNBC.com, which remains…
Auto repairs are a $150 billion part of the U.S. economy, but leads and advertising for auto repair shops remain relatively underdeveloped -- even though fewer than 30 percent of U.S. drivers can claim a trusted mechanic. Seeking to change…
I recently spent some time at the offices of HomePages, a DeKalb, Illinois-based independent publisher that has been quietly and steadily growing by producing very simple print Yellow Pages directories amid all the talk of market consolidation and the shift…
