Monthly Archives: July 2007

iPhone: Cool, Wishing it was More Local

July 24, 2007 – 7:11 pm

I had a great time playing with a friend’s iPhone this weekend. The thing is really nice – even more beautiful in person than in pictures, and sturdy beyond expectations. And fun, too.

But maybe I won’t buy one for a couple of years. It isn’t so much the 4 or 8 GB of storage (we’ve grown spoiled). Or the AT&T service. Or the Web surfing, which with a WiFi connection, is pretty fast (but with a footprint too small to enjoy doing much more than sports scores).

My biggest quibble is the hard wiring of the 16 feature buttons. Sure, you have text, calendar, photos, camera, map, weather, clock, calendar, notes and settings, phone, mail, the Safari Web browser, and iPod. But dedicating one of the precious buttons to “Stocks”? And another one to “YouTube”? In version 1.0, Apple isn’t letting you change them out.

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The NHL Adds Local IPTV Services

July 23, 2007 – 10:48 pm

The National Hockey League and its 30 teams, unable to score exposure on major media networks, is going local and on demand, with extensive game, team and community programming being launched next season. The service, produced by NeuLion, a technology integrator that works with a variety of local programming, was tested last season by The New York Rangers and The New York Islanders.

The rollout of an extensive interactive menu is sort of what was envisioned by many in the tech community when AOL exec Ted Leonsis purchased The Washington Capitals seven or eight years ago. But only now is the NHL really leveraging the technology at its disposal. The NHL’s efforts seem to parallel efforts last winter by Miller Beer to build local websites around local NFL teams.

The general feeling is that the NHL needs it more than other sports leagues. “Hockey doesn’t have the exposure,” says NeuLion Executive VP Chris Wagner, who co-founded the service with a number of former Computer Associates executives. “It isn’t like the NBA, or the NFL.”

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The Kelsey Group and Me

July 23, 2007 – 6:57 pm

In case you didn’t see the release, I will be working with The Kelsey Group on some cutting edge projects. The most obvious project is The Interactive Local Media conference in Los Angeles Nov. 28-30. Mark your calendars.
In my work for Kelsey, I’ll be a program director, focused on developing research and […]

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Local. Com Buys Premier Guide, Adds 350 Sites

July 19, 2007 – 2:51 pm

Local.com will get wide distribution among small newspapers via its $2 million acquisition of PremierGuide, which provides local search services to 350 sites, including the twin powers of CNHI and Gatehouse. It also gets into The Washington Post — and a bunch of geo- domain sites, TV stations and radio stations. The sites will be […]

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Localized Social Network for Girls Launches

July 16, 2007 – 8:09 pm

Jitter Fingers, a social network for teen and “tween” girls looking for a secure and focused environment (i.e. away from the predators that lurk in MySpace), has launched a local beta version in Los Angeles. It expects to eventually launch up to 300 localized versions.

Founder Allen Esrock, a longtime tech headhunter – and the father of two girls in the targeted demo — notes that girls “place their friendships above anything else. Within their private (and verified) Jitter Friends club, girlfriends can chat, share secrets, horoscopes and photos….leave messages for each other. “

Local is a major part of Jitter Fingers’ equation, with content such as local photo streams, events and reviews. On the site , it is presented as one section, next to entertainment, music, cell phone, fashion & lifestyle opportunities. “Our ability to push hot national content such as celebrities, movies, and fashion into the girls’ locally created marketplaces creates a female national/local advertising platform,” says Esrock. “It patterns itself on the male national/local model of professional sports.”

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Potts Does a ‘Final Word’ on Backfence

July 16, 2007 – 6:29 pm

Backfence co-founder Mark Potts has done a “final word” on Backfence. The post is a good catch-all, but contains no revelations. Don’t look for much second-guessing of the company’s strategy, either –although he clearly wishes he could have ridden the social networking boom that emerged after Backfence’s launch two years ago. He also thinks that local media companies have gained real appreciation about the opportunities in hyperlocal, and would now be helpful partners.

In his post, Potts contends there is “most certainly a robust hyperlocal advertising business,” based on Backfence’s sale of ads to 400 advertisers across all 13 community sites (plus an undisclosed number of cheaper Yellow Pages ads). But he doesn’t discuss average buys, upsells, renewal rates, or any kind of track record for return on investment. The number of ads sold actually seems underwhelming to me.

Although Backfence’s content wasn’t very interesting and likely didn’t inspire people to return on a regular basis, I do like what Potts says about the need to focus on “strong, well-defined communities.”

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Local Onliner Bookshelf: ‘The Ghost Map’

July 15, 2007 – 7:02 pm

If you are looking for a great read, pick up “The Ghost Map” from Outside.in co-founder Steven Johnson. The book. published in November, poignantly tells the story of how an amateur scientist and a clergyman use their knowledge of a local neighborhood in London to track down the root causes of a major Cholera […]

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