Facebook location sharing could impact local advertising

Don’t tell me you couldn’t see this one coming: Facebook will begin allowing location-based status updates as early as next month, according Nick Bilton’s report on the Bits Blog. The plan, apparently, is to unveil the feature at f8, the company’s annual developer’s conference.

While the move will initially be seen as Facebook’s attempt to compete with the growing activity on check-in based services like Foursquare, Loopt and Gowalla, the ultimate motive is more threatening to local media companies. Bilton writes that Facebook “wants to go head-to-head with Google in the fight for small-business advertising.” Facebook has made a steady push during the last year toward attracting small businesses and now  hosts more than 1.5 million local businesses from around the world (according to Facebook).

Will location sharing serve as Facebook’s trump card? It depends on whether its users and developers take advantage.

“It will be interesting to see if Facebook’s users are even interested in sharing this information,” Frederic Lardinois writes on ReadWriteWeb. “While services like Foursquare and Gowalla are slowly but surely gaining new users (in part thanks to offering incentives for checking in at various venues), Twitter, which introduced a geotagging API last year and just introduced some location features on its website today, hasn’t seen a very strong response from users and developers so far.”

MSN: ‘Local is a home run’

The new MSN home page, which has been in beta testing, is beginning to roll out today. One of the core new features is Local Edition, a section of the site that features local news, events, traffic, restaurants and more. “In just a few months, MSN Local Edition has grown to 5 million unique users while still in preview mode, with more than 40% of those users coming back every day,” explains the MSN team. “With the launch of the new MSN home page and local module, that audience is expected to grow exponentially.” Since the beta, they’ve added new features, including geolocated Tweets and local video from partners Hearst TV and NBC Local Media.

“Our internal research shows this is the number one consumer demand for more local content, specifically hyperlocal,” explains Cyrus Krohn, who heads up MSN’s local efforts. “And based upon what are competitors are doing in local, I presume they’re seeing exactly the same research, because everyone is investing in local. It’s going to be a fun couple of years ahead.”

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I work for msnbc.com, which along with our local news partners, powers the news section of Local Edition.)

Foursquare serves up your location history

If you go to Foursquare.com and click on the “history” tab, you can now see a timeline of all the places you’ve checked in as well as your friends who checked in along with you, stretching back to December. For me, I apparently have a penchant for coffee, pizza and Microsoft buildings (I work at msnbc.com on the Redmond campus), and my wife checked in with me about a quarter of the time. (Hmm, you could imagine some relationship analysis springing out of this new feature. But I digress.)

Foursquare says it plans to make this data available in the API, but still only in the context of friends, to preserve the inevitable privacy concerns. By the way, Foursquare plans to roll out a new app version at SXSW, where I’m sure we’ll see lots of activity on the location-awareness and local content front.

Plus: Restaurant says business jumps 110% after throwing Swarm Badge party

Did the iPad’s Oscar performance dazzle or disappoint?

The Internet was buzzing last night, and into this morning, over the iPad commercial that aired during the Oscars. In some circles, primarily those dominated by tech enthusiasts, the 30-second iPad reveal overshadowed the silver screen’s crowning event.

The iPad commercial shared the flare of its iPhone and iPod predecessors. The spot’s pop-rock soundtrack supported its quick visual transitions. It captured the device’s multiple uses. In the span of 30-seconds, the iPad functioned as an e-book reader, a movie viewing device, an interactive photo album,  a digital calendar, and a web browser.

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ABC restored to NYC Cablevision subscribers

A deal has been reached, and ABC is back on in New York City for Cablevision subscribers. As a result, New Yorkers only missed the first 13 minutes of the Oscars (I can inform them they didn’t miss much). Earlier on Sunday, ABC pulled its New York affiliate, WABC-TV from Cablevision in a fight over retransmission fees. Cablevision had been refusing to pay ABC for carriage, saying it was already paying ABC parent company $200 million for other Disney channels, such as ESPN. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. But differing accounts have Cablevision paying anywhere from 27 to 65 cents per customer per month. (Disney had asked for $1.) Writes today’s LA Times:

“Rebecca Campbell, general manager of Disney’s WABC-TV in New York, said in a statement that the agreement “recognizes the fair value” for carriage of the station on Cablevision’s systems, although “deal points” had yet to be finalized.

“Cablevision executive Charles Schueler said the deal was “fair to our customers” and “in line with our other programming agreements.”

So who’s the winner? You’d have to give this one to Disney, whose gambit left viewers in the cold but earned the company some big added revenue.

IB CEO David Lebow: The Lost Remote Interview

David Lebow

ABC pulls signal from Cablevision in NYC

Just hours before the Oscars are set to begin, ABC has pulled its affiliate, WABC, off Cablevision in New York City. ABC parent company Disney and Cablevision are in a dispute over how much money Cablevision should pay. Three million New Yorkers are affected by the move. Disney wants Cablevision to pay $1 per month for each subscriber, according to an analyst. Both sides are blaming the other. Rebecca Campbell, President and General Manager of WABC issued a statement in which she said:

“Cablevision has once again betrayed its subscribers by losing ABC7, the most popular station in the tri-state area. This follows two years of negotiations, during which we worked diligently, up to the final moments, to reach an agreement. Cablevision pocketed almost $8 billion last year, and now customers aren’t getting what they pay for — again.”

Over on its website, Cablevision says it “… has asked ABC to continue delivering WABC-7 while we negotiate, but instead ABC is holding Cablevision customers hostage by pulling its programming.”

All of this leaves customers in the dark on the eve of one of the highest-rated programs of the year. WABC is still available over-the-air for free, so look to see if there’s a rush on antennas and converter boxes today.

UPDATE: WABC-TV makes new offer to Cablevision

Notes: Iraq election, NYC bloggers, UK Hyperlocal

Noted, while wondering why I wake up earlier on Sundays than any other day of the week…

Notes: Microsoft Tab, ShatnerSpace, YT Captions

Noted, after watching “Alice in Wonderland” and giving it a C…

Lessons to learn: how the iPad will impact local media

With news that Apple’s iPad will go on sale in less than a month, it’s time to get serious about sizing up the opportunity this new device presents to local media companies. There are more questions than answers at this point, with regard to the device’s overall impact, not just what it might do to local media. But there has been no shortage of optimism surrounding the potential this new form factor presents, especially for publishers. Brian Burke, director of mobile devices for Smashing Ideas, recently observed that the iPad will deliver a richer experience than web or mobile currently can, because of the video and interactivity. The lesson here: Print publishers need to look beyond the larger layout and hold-in-your-hands quality that reminds some of a magazine.

“These industries should take full advantage of this,” Burke wrote in a guest post on Techflash. “They’ve invested in their websites, but if those are falling flat (and for many they are), bring people back to the familiarity of having their publications in their hands with interactivity that serves a purpose.”

Advertising, of course, is the area where publishers would really like to see the iPad excel. Apple Insider reported that Apple is hiring a “Senior Interactive Web Developer” in Boston to develop a front-end Web user interface for the “development of compelling, interactive digital advertising experiences.” The lesson here: don’t make the mistake of forcing your already bloated web design, with its abundance of under-performing banner ads cluttering the layout, onto this new 9.7-inch screen. Take the opportunity to rethink how you display (and price and sell) local display ads online. Take a less is more approach and offer exclusivity  to your early adopter customers, trumpeting the prestige factor of appearing on this new buzzworthy device. (more…)

Location-based games for foodies and photogs

The Location-Based Frenzy

The buzz around location-based gaming is electric. New applications and companies are popping up daily to get in on the craze. Dennis Crowley, one of the founders of Foursquare, often notes in interviews that “…check-in functionality is going to become a commodity.”

Crowley’s statement isn’t meant to deter people from entering the location-based space. As one of the sector’s pioneers, he sees the enormous growth potential of the technology. He, however, realizes that such optimism must be tempered against a continued focus on location-based applications that deliver utility, value, and entertainment. You need to give people a compelling reason to “check-in.”

It’s in this mold that location-based games designed for specific market sectors are emerging. While current LBS market leaders Foursquare, Gowalla, and MyTown stretch across various aspects of users’ lives, targeted applications have the opportunity to catch hold, and spread like wildfire, across tightly defined social groups.

Location-Based Games for Foodies and Photogs

As a card carrying member of the league of foodies, I can attest to the passion that people can have for food. When my foodie brethren and I experience a great meal, we are compelled to share details of it with others. It comes as no surprise that mobile developers would look to activate this vibrant group. Even in the shadow of  services like Foursquare and Yelp, which have strong ties to dining check-ins and restaurant reviews (Foursquare has a content partnership with Zagat),  new location-based mobile applications are being developed around the food and restaurant industries.

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Notes: ProPublica, CNC, WaPo’s $1.99 app

Who’s tops on Twitter in local TV?

We all know that local TV loves its Twitter. Since there’s no easy way to search for the answer, we’ll just throw it out in the form of a question: Which local TV sites and anchor/reporters have the most followers on Twitter? For example, Jenni Hogan, a traffic anchor at KIRO-TV, has 15,500 followers.

Sure, it’s a bit of a popularity contest, and follower counts aren’t everything, but we thought it would be interesting to provide a “top ten” list of local TV on Twitter. Tip us with some ideas in comments below or drop us a note on Twitter. When the list is ready, we’ll send it out on Twitter, of course, so make sure you’re following @lostremote. (Shameless!)

No, we’re not forgetting Facebook — that’s coming up next.

Huffington Post may reconsider local expansion

The Huffington Post first launched a local vertical in Chicago in August 2008, and since then it’s expanded slowly into New York, Los Angeles and Denver. Always billed an experiment, Arianna Huffington says she’s not sure where local will go next, reports All Things D. “This year [we] have prioritized launching other sections, which has been a great decision,” she said, adding that HuffPo may launch more local sites, or partner with other sites instead. We’ll keep you updated…

Thousands more cities added to Facebook Ads

Facebook’s local advertising tool has rolled out thousands more cities that advertisers can target, in the U.S. and across the globe. Facebook didn’t provide a list, but I found Issaquah, Bothell and dozens of other surprisingly smaller cities near Seattle.

When I created a fake ad for Issaquah, a town of 24,057 people, and targeted it to women ages 18+, Facebook said it would reach:

This level of targeting is extremely powerful for small businesses, and Facebook is making a lot of smart moves in the last few months as it continues its march into the local advertising world. No wonder Facebook was just valued as a $11.5 billion company.

Last month: Facebook partners with PayPal for self-serve local ads
Also: Small businesses flocking to Facebook over past few months

The ‘Glue’ that holds together more social networking

There’s another social networking site out there now. That may be a ho-hum way to begin an essay, but stay with me for a moment because the new site does many things well. “Glue” works because it takes a new approach to sharing – that is, the sharing of things you like, in large lists. While there are “plugins” that can do this on Facebook, Glue masters the concept as its main feature.

Think of Glue as Facebook-meets Foursquare-meets Amazon Recommendations. You start by telling the site different things you like – movies, TV shows, books, music, etc. It then generates recommendations based upon those choices. So far, no biggie. But your friends can see and share those choices, and that’s where things get interesting. I’m more likely to take the recommendation of a friend than I am of some website’s “bot.” You can subscribe to other people’s Glue, so you can see what a particular friend likes or recommends.

There’s a small but significant incentive at work here as well. You can earn badges based upon your activity. If you recommend 50 TV shows, you get a badge. This may seem, well, a little childish, but Foursquare has shown that we like to get these instant-gratification rewards. Glue also posts who has visited the most, making for a little competition.

The other thing Glue does well is it gives each person an easy-to-remember page URL to share. You can see what I like and dislike simply by going to getglue.com/steviesaf and poking around. You may think I’m nuts on some of my choices, but I dare say you’ll get to know me better than you would by looking at my Facebook profile.

Which brings me to one last point, and that is that Glue works wonderfully with Facebook and Twitter. You can log in to Glue via Facebook Connect or Twitter, and you can post your activities there. In this way, Glue becomes a social network that rides on the rails already laid down by Facebook and Twitter. Smart.

Give glue a shot and see if it sticks.

(This article was originally written for RTDNA.org)

UPDATE: A day after I wrote this, the Community/Marketing Analyst for Glue wrote me asking my thoughts on the experience. That’s good social marketing. Kudos.

RTDNA to FCC: Success comes from reinvention

Barbara Cochran

“To continue to provide high quality news for their communities at a time when revenues are falling, station newsrooms are restructuring and retooling to work more efficiently. By taking advantage of digital technology, newsrooms are increasing their editorial capacity. Hearst Broadcasting is calling its journalists APJ’s, for all platform journalists. Digital tools are democratizing the newsroom. Everyone in the newsroom can have a beat.”

You can watch today’s events live on Reboot, the FCC’s website that focuses on how to transform itself.

Raycom to add neighborhood sites

Add Raycom to the growing list of companies partnering with DataSphere on neighborhood blog sites. In a press release, the company announced it will launch local sites in 35 towns and cities, using DataSphere’s LocalNet service. DataSphere is hot right now, having raised almost $11 million in funding recently.

Raycom, which owns 46 television stations, says it will roll out its first local sites next month. Press release, after the jump.

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Heaton: ‘Kicking butt with Continuous News’

Terry Heaton

“(WLEX) hit 9,000,000 page views for 2010 at the end of February, already over one-third of the site’s total in all of 2009. The growth has been absolutely explosive over the past two months as users have caught on to the model. The bounce rate is under 50%, unique visitors total 726,000 for the year — the vast majority from the DMA — and the most fascinating statistic of all is that those users spend an average of almost 6 minutes on each visit…. Continuous News is sold by daypart, with advertisers paying a premium for ads during three traffic peaks throughout the day, roughly 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.”

The style is blog-format, yet it goes beyond what people think of when they hear “blog.” It is built for the way people consume news, especially during the day. It gives people a reason to keep returning to the site. And although I am especially biased on this topic, the numbers make it clear that Terry’s concept works.

Notes: Facebook ads, NBC to stay broadcast, WiFiPads