Roundup: Foursquare, Associated Content and tools for finding cool stuff nearby
Need something to read today? Here are a few quick hits to keep you up to speed on all things local. Foursquare Schmoresquare: MyTown Has Over 800,000 Users After 2 Months (Silicon Valley Insider) Top 10 Tools for Finding Cool Stuff Nearby (Lifehacker) Associated Content: ‘Local is a Differentiator’ (Local Onliner)
Press release 2.0: technology creates localized content
Pity the poor press release. Looked on as a lower form of wordsmithing than news writing by journalists around the globe for decades, it is now getting knocked down further on the content ladder by the blog, video and even status update and tweet. But look closer and you’ll discover a dirty little secret of [...]
Average Facebook sharing up 500% in six months
Growth continues like crazy on the Social Web, with Facebook showing an increase of sharing in the past six months to the tune of 500%. The now-400-million Facebook users each post an average of 12 items per week. This is an audience you simply have to empower to share your content. There’s no avoiding the [...]
And so it begins: I get “Buzz”ed
Because you can never participate in too many social networks… Google just hit me with Buzz, its social network that really sits on top of GMail in a fairly easy way. Setup was automatic and it immediately started me off by having me follow 30 people. Apart from the @gmail.com addresses, the choices seem to [...]
Lost Remoters available as guest lecturers, speakers
I video conferenced yesterday, via Skype, with a class of eager, smart young students at The Ohio Stte University. (Thanks to longtime LR Pal and now Professor Nick Geidner for the invite, too!) We held the 45 minute session via Skype and the poor students were subjected to my mug projected on a giant screen. [...]
The promise and possibilities of geolocation
Who is excited about geolocation? Turns out, it’s more than just us local media geeks and tech-heads. Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb posted an interesting roundup last week with poets, comedians, musicians and educators (plus a few tech-heads) offering their thoughts and hopes for the location-based services that are coming our way. Publishers should take note, [...]
Using social media to promote local sports
The Washington Capitals are fast becoming a lesson in how to harness the power of social media in your community. The Washington Post writes about the team’s efforts: “The Capitals have more than 95,000 fans on Facebook and more than 11,000 followers on Twitter. Players with accounts include defenseman Mike Green, who Twitters as GreenLife52 [...]
Comcast rebrands cable services as “Xfinity”
Comcast is getting too big to stand for just one brand. Comcast cable services is getting a new name. You can call the cable guys Xfinity. Via The Wall Street Journal: “Xfinity will be the new brand for our products, but it will be connected to Comcast’s company name,” Comcast spokeswoman Jenn Khoury said. “It’s [...]
Zvents claims big growth thanks to media partnerships
The events calendar site/platform Zvents says it has seen 35% growth, year-over-year, thanks in no small part to its partnerships with nearly 300 local media brands. According to Local Onliner, Zvents’ partnerships with 285 local media outlets is working out well: CEO Ethan Stock cites Quantcast data showing Zvents Media Network as the 250th most [...]
Most-watched SB ad was user-submitted
We now know the Super Bowl was the most-watched television program of all time. But viewership goes up and down during the program. So which ad was seen by the most people? It turns out it was the ad by the people. The Doritos “Snack Attack Samurai” ad was seen by 116 million people. It [...]
Foursquare partners with NYTimes, Zagat
Fresh off a deal with Bravo TV, the local app Foursquare has inked two new partnerships. Tied to the Winter Olympics, the New York Times will offer recommendations for visitors in the Vancouver area based on Times’ travel and entertainment coverage. People who check-in will win a NYT Olympic badge. And the Times said this [...]
Fisher CEO wins Borrell’s Innovator of the Year
Fisher President/CEO Colleen Brown won the “Innovator of the Year” award at this week’s Borrell’s Local Online Advertising Conference in New York. Brown was noted for overseeing the launch of more than 100 hyperlocal sites and surpassing 1,000 local clients. According to Broadcasting & Cable: “Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell said the effort is notable [...]
Local implications of Google Buzz
Google has just launched Buzz, a new feature that integrates with Gmail to allow you to share Twitter-like messages, photos and videos as well as hold conversations with your friends. In essence, Buzz is a social sharing layer that’s seamlessly integrated with email. You can learn more about the product on Google’s blog. What’s interesting [...]
Super Bowl becomes most-watched TV show ever
So much for the articles that said the numbers for the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H would never be topped. Sunday’s broadcast of the Super Bowl on CBS scored 106.6 million viewers, a new record for a TV audience. Writes the Huffington Post: Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its ongoing recovery [...]
Bay Area station mobile page views jump 300%
San Francisco/Oakland TV station KTVU has seen a 300% increase in page views on its mobile platform from a year ago. The San Francisco Peninsula Press Club correctly notes “the biggest headline doesn’t deal with TV viewership at all.” KTVU’s mobile effort saw 1.6 million page views in January. That’s three times what it scored [...]
Was Leno-Letterman-Oprah ad a big deal?
It didn’t really occur to me at the time that there’d be much ado about the Leno-Letterman-Oprah ad, but it seems to be getting some debate time. Seems pretty inside-baseball to me, but the debate keeps coming up – was this a smart move for NBC. As far as I’m concerned, funny is funny. But [...]
Google Maps making recommendations
Late last week, Mashable writer Samuel Axon observed that Google Maps is now making recommendations based on the places users are searching. This could potentially be useful if the restaurant you are meeting at has a special event and you can’t get in. Or you’re just ready to look for somewhere new in the neighborhood. [...]
Borrell Local Online Advertising Conference underway
Borrell Associates’ Local Online Advertising Conference started today in New York, and we’re already learning plenty. paidContent reports that Jeff Jarvis kicked things off with “an extensive report about the revenue possibilities presented to hyperlocal sites.” McClatchy VP Chris Hendricks spoke of his company’s hybrid strategy that attacks hyperlocal content from amateurs and pros. And [...]
