About a year ago, I was feeling Foursquare fatigue. Why on earth was I checking in? The badges were harder to get, and I wasn’t going to ever “win” in some places. But now I win all the time, through tips and specials that have been added. Welcome to the new Foursquare. It’s not like […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: This Week On Google+: Suggested Users, API Delays & Measuring Google+ Influence! Over two months in, Google+ has continued to make many changes to the fledgling social site. Here is what’s […]
Pew has released some new survey findings showing that roughly 58 percent of smartphone owners use what Pew is calling “geosocial and location-based services.” There’s a mix of activities and applications grouped under these headings, including maps & directions and sites like Yelp and Foursquare among other things. Pew data reflect that 35 percent of […]
Today Bing added 400 shopping mall maps as part of a larger “venue maps” (indoor mapping) effort. A minor but useful addition to Bing Maps (especially if the initiative expands), users can now zoom in on any of the included malls and see the stores and related details for the various tenant retailers. This is […]
Foursquare announced today that they reached the mark of 10,000,000 members. The popular location based check-in app has been growing quickly in both features and members. The release of Foursquare 3.0, enhanced analytics and improved specials have helped to make the free service popular with more than those just checking in. Since inception two years ago over […]
This week Inside Facebook revealed that Facebook was planning on bringing a few new features to their Places product. Facebook Places launched almost a year ago, a product which has seen decent usage to date. The new features that are reportedly launching should make it much easier to market places, especially for those with small […]
Two mobile-location privacy bills have been simultaneously introduced in Congress. Both are intended to regulate when location on mobile devices can be accessed and provide penalties for failure to obtain proper consent or authorization. The first of the two bills is from Democratic Senators Al Franken and Richard Blumenthal and would require Google, Apple, app […]
At today’s Google Inside Search event in San Francisco, a number of new features were unveiled for both mobile and desktop search, which we’ll cover in detail across Search Engine Land. For mobile search, these changes are launching immediately for Android (version 2.2+) and iOS (version 4.0+) in 40 languages worldwide, including: Local icons on mobile […]
Ultimately Google will probably prevail in the lawsuit that Skyhook Wireless filed last year, but not without taking a few hits along the way. In that action Skyhook claims Google interfered with its relationships with two hardware manufacturers, Motorola and “Company X” (Samsung). Both OEMs were reportedly committed to using Skyhook’s location-positioning system vs Google’s […]
There’s growing interest in and visibility for the case of Skyhook v. Google. Part of the interest is in the public record and the revelation of some of Google’s internal communications. However, so far there are no “smoking guns.” Last week I wrote that Skyhook had survived a procedural motion to dismiss and/or for summary […]
Following the revelation last week that the iPhone stored user location data a consumer class action was filed. This kind of disclosure/revelation-class action cycle is now familiar. And because Google also collects location data it is now also the subject of a similar class action (Brown et al v. Google) seeking $50 million in damages. […]
In the past month, Google’s +1 has been the most hyped Social feature that Google has launched to date, as it has the potential to compete with Twitter and Facebook. A less noticed launch during this same time included social changes to Google’s Latitude product, which have also been launched to help Google compete with Foursquare. […]
There are a number of studies (e.g., Pew, Forrester) in the market that question how interested or engaged users are with “location based services.” Those studies tend to narrowly focus on Foursquare, Gowalla and mobile check-ins. They tend to miss the larger point about the importance of location on mobile devices. A new study from […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Testing Instant Previews On Ads (Here’s What It Looks Like) Google is testing a new feature that marries its Instant Previews with AdWords. The test gives searchers a chance to […]
Adding to its LBS portfolio, eBay has acquired Boston-based WHERE.com, which has a popular mobile app and operates a “hyper-local” mobile ad network. Last year eBay bought local product inventory finder Milo.com. The terms of the WHERE deal were not disclosed. Great Mix of Assets WHERE, which began as uLocate, will apparently be housed in […]
Groupon’s purchase of Pelago, the parent company of Whrrl, offers an interesting glimpse into what the local daily deals powerhouse might be up to next. With the acquisition, which was for an undisclosed amount, Groupon gets a team that’s been focused on consumer check-ins at local businesses and offering relevant suggestions — similar to the […]
Austin’s beloved Amy’s Ice Cream got a shout-out from Google’s Marissa Mayer at the SXSW Interactive conference today, as the new head of local shared her vision for a future enabled by the search company’s technologies. In the scenario Mayer described, she was at Amy’s — which she’d visited for the first time last night […]
Local business owners who have claimed a Facebook Places Page can now get reporting on how many people are checking-in to their business, and how many are redeeming deals they’ve offered through Facebook. The new reports, announced today, can help business owners refine the deals they’re offering and track foot traffic from Facebook users over […]
Google recently introduced check-ins for Google Latitude in an effort to reinvigorate the product, which had fallen behind other newer LBS competitors such as Foursquare. Today Google announced that those check-ins will bring offers from local businesses in Austin, Texas (for SXSW). I’m not going to SXSW, but it will be the battle of the […]
Consumers who’ve updated their Foursquare mobile apps are already using the many new features of Foursquare 3.0. Starting tomorrow (Friday, March 11), businesses that are marketing via Foursquare will also get access to a new suite of behind-the-scenes tools. Here’s a look at what Foursquare has in store for local businesses. Foursquare For Business: What’s […]
Today Foursquare announced “Foursquare 3.0,” an enhanced version of its mobile applications that adds new content, features and options for users. There are new recommendations (“explore”) that take into account your check-ins and those of your friends and network. There has also been “a major overhaul to the leaderboard.” Finally the company hopes to “redefine […]
Ask.com noticed some interesting behavior happening on its Q&A iPhone application. People were trying to have “conversations” in the comments area of the app, according to Ask’s Jason Rupp. Much of that chat activity was focused on particular locations. But Ask’s Q&A app wasn’t intended to support full-blown conversations. Cut to several months later and, […]
Search Engine Land’s SMX West search marketing conference in San Jose March 8-10 has Foursquare kicking off the first of a series of keynotes at our event.
Today at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, deCarta announced a set of free developer tools intended to challenge Google Maps and Places. I received a briefing last week and was impressed by the suite of products and tools, which include the following: White Label Maps Application White Label Local Search Engine Maps APIs […]
It’s all starting to come together. Yesterday Google announced that it was adding check-ins (and loyalty categories) to Latitude. It also announced the global expansion of HotPot, its recommendations tool. Google Places apps for both iPhone and Android allow people to rate and review businesses (HotPot’s objective). And on Places Pages, in Android, you can […]
Keynote Q&A: Geoff Donaker, Chief Operating Officer, Yelp Presentations from SMX East, October 2010 Geoff Donaker talks about the incredible exposure Yelp can offer to local businesses, handling online reputation management issues, the future of location based services and much more. [flv:https://searchengineland.com/video_assets/east10/smx-east-2010-geoff-donaker-keynote.flv 364 204] Moderator: Chris Sherman, Executive Editor, Search Engine Land Speaker: Geoff Donaker, […]
Foursquare is going after local businesses and major brands with an improved and expanded content section that explains how they can take advantage of Foursquare’s platform. (Announced via Twitter about an hour ago.) The company’s business outreach has been somewhat scattershot in the past, but the new Foursquare for Business makes a much more compelling […]
Last year, I created my first annual Social Media New Year’s Resolutions and am following it up, 2011 style! This list is meant to be a list of goals to accompany your social media plan – not serve as a standalone social media blueprint. Remember that there is no end-all-be-all social strategy for all companies, […]
MediaBistro interviewed Marissa Mayer about her new role at Google and several related issues. Mayer says she’s “no longer working on search.” She’s now got responsibility for a collection of things associated with Google Maps and local products and some of the company’s mobile products. Mayer again mentions development of “contextual discovery” as one of […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: What Every Search Marketer Needs To Know About Web Security All too often web site security is somebody else’s problem. It shouldn’t be. If you work on websites, you should know […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Vows To Look At Deceptive Cloaking Techniques Google’s Matt Cutts tweeted that Google will be looking more at Cloaking in the first quarter of 2011. Cloaking, as defined by Google, […]
Bing has released a new version of their iPhone app. This is a version 2.0 update and includes a huge array of new features. You can download the app by clicking here. Those features include: Quickly find the perfect restaurant based on your price range, cuisine, atmosphere, or location. Easily find great movies by name, […]
TechCrunch has live blog coverage of the interview by Michael Arrington and Google’s Marissa Mayer at the LeWeb ’10 in Paris, France. Mayer talked about Google’s next big thing, she coined it “contextual discover.” Contextual discovery, Mayer explained, encompasses “local Search, Maps, Earth, Latitude, and all the local products.” By “taking a users location as […]
Shopping.com parent eBay has reportedly acquired local product inventory site Milo.com for $75 million in cash. Milo was aspiring to become the “Google of local product data.” The acquisition is a bit of a surprise to me but problably came out of discussions about a strategic investment. I believe Milo and Shopping.com were in discussions […]
Most businesses tend to focus on the big channels when it comes to local SEO efforts. While it makes sense to optimize your Google Place Page and pay attention to your presence on other big local search services (e.g. Bing Local, CityGrid, DexKnows, Insider pages, Local.com, Merchant circle, Superpages, Yahoo Local, Yellow book, Yelp, YP.com, […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: StumbleUpon Becomes Android App Discovery Tool StumbleUpon, which these days calls itself a “discovery engine,” has integrated app discovery into its Android application’s repertoire. It takes into account a range of […]
The Pew Internet Project published findings from a recent survey about usage of “location-based services” (LBS). According to the Pew data, 7 percent of mobile Internet users are on location-based services and 4 percent of all internet-using adults “use a service such as Foursquare or Gowalla that allows them to share their location with friends […]
The world of location-based services changed dramatically today. And the changes that Facebook announced place the company firmly in the center of that very dynamic universe and ecosystem. Toward the end of becoming a “platform” for mobile, Facebook made several significant announcements aimed at developers. There were also announcements aimed at consumers and marketers, “Deals” […]
One area in which Google services for Android and the iPhone appear to be diverging is Maps. I’m an Android EVO owner and still have iPhone envy except in the Maps department. The combination and integration of Google Maps, Places Pages, Street View and Navigation (with the phone and contacts) has created a kind of […]
Having caused PR and legal headaches around the globe for Google the company has decided to permanently discontinue its Street-View-based WiFi data collection. Multiple countries have asserted that Google’s Street View practices violated privacy laws for the collection of personal information from unsecured WiFi networks. Google is being fined in Spain and in Canada the […]