The Near Memo
Exploring the big stories for the week at the intersection of local business & marketing across the spectrum of search, social and commerce. With Greg Sterling, Mike Blumenthal & David Mihm.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 31 minutes
- Episodes
- 227
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Yelp’s Positive Q2 Reports, When do SMBs Hire Key Roles & How to Create Content When AI Writes Well
Yelp, in a turnaround from a disastrous 2020, even managed to surpass 2019 number by about 15% by targeting enterprise customers and seeing more self-serve success and success outside o…
FB profits on way to metaverse, Apple & SnapChat up their SMB Maps play & Privacy seems less likely
Due largely to ad price increases, Facebook’s profits soared as the economy picked up. But wait, Mark Zuckerberg notes that in 5 years they will be known as the metaverse company rather…
Google makes reviewing easy by adding attributes to restaurant reviews, Fake reviews are costly to SMBS but Google seems incapable of squashing them, Square’s new bank is a threat to traditional SMB banking relationships
Google makes reviewing easy by adding attributes to restaurant reviews, Fake reviews are costly to SMBS but Google seems incapable of squashing them, Square’s new bank is a threat to tr…
Biden encourages all departments to go all in on increasing competition, Will Craiglist decline create opportunity for NextDoor?, Will public notification of facial recognition deter shoppers?
An unusually assertive Biden who noted that this 40-year “experiment” has failed. “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism,” he proclaimed at the signing of the executive order.…
Google Play store antitrust suit futile?, Good Local content makes the difference, Yext
Given the powerful standing of the leading apps, it is unlikely that, even if the app stores are more regulated, whether there will be a more competitive environment. And any anti-trust…
FB Bulletin = newsletter + social, Shopify creates Ad Network, Supreme Court Ruling re-opens scraping question
Facebook’s new Bulletin product integrates tightly into Facebook groups, their newsfeed and comments. It is well a designed and a thoughtful newsletter implementation that could bring s…
FLoC is flailing, Privacy Success of DuckDuckGo, Businesses need employee vaccination policies
Why has Google, so shortly after announcing FLoC, already pulling back?Google’s delay of FLoC is signaling both the confusion and fear in the market and lack of acceptance amongst the l…
The local arc from inventory to ordering to monopoly and consolidation
The local arc from inventory to ordering to monopoly and consolidation
Google makes it easier to upload products & services and give Pointy away for free...Google Local announced this w…
Apple killed email? Google’s crazy Local business names; In person conferences are wonderful & weird
Whenever Apple announces a new consumer focused privacy update, the pundits become Chicken Little. E-mail has long provided the best ROI of any marketing channel and while metrics might…
Fake Review Solutions, Google’s Grand Vision for Search, How a Local Bookstore Fought Amazon & Won
The Washington Post details the travails of a couple seeking treatment and the problems that befell them after they picked a provider based on what turned out to be fake reviews. The ar…
Confession of a Local Guide, Google’s push for privacy, SMB Platforms for marketing & ops automation
Mike discusses his journey down the gamified rabbithole of the wildly successful Google Local Guides program, how the program promotes quantity over quality and why every business needs…
Are Yelp’s problems self-inflicted?; Google I/O AI & Local Shopping; Google going into Retail, really?
Hospitality Case Study of Reviews: What Happened to Yelp?
Looking at 20 years of reviews for a popular Santa Fe resort, we examine how Yelp faired against the likes of TripAdvisor, Faceb…
Shopify makes the case for local ecommerce, Why do consumers desire to buy local but still buy at Amazon?; How did Google win the review wars vs Yelp?
Part 1 Shopify makes the case for local ecommerce
A report with a soup-to-nuts discussion of shopping and commerce trends, including online vs. offline, social commerce, retail experien…
Apple Tracking Opt-in Only 4%, Shopify focuses on helping SMB be better, Facebooks Neighborhood, a NextDoor clone, is likely to be like Nextdoor but worse
Apple Tracking Opt-in at 4% in US, lower than anticipated, Shopify focuses on helping SMB be better and retain customer relationships, Facebooks Neighborhood, a NextDoor clone, is likel…
Is Apple being paternalistic to not allow advertisers to provide ATT incentives? Can Yelp make their way with transactions? Amazon, amazing profits, amazing (& ruthless) efficiencies
Is Apple being paternalistic or ethical in not allowing advertisiers to provide incentives for Apple users to opt into advertising tracking? Should privacy be commoditized?
Can Yelp make…
Zagat reviews, but shorter & more visual, rise from the Google ashes; The FTC ability to levy fines as a deterrent is knee capped by SCOTUS; Apple privacy changes AND review capability coming this week.
Episode 12:
Zagat reviews, but shorter and graphic appealing, rise from the Google ashes; The FTC ability to levy fines as a deterrent is knee capped by SCOTUS; Apple privacy changes AN…
Episode 11: FB Survey: increased SMB e-commerce & struggles, What will consumers do when the economy opens? SubStack creates program to develop local news
FB SMB Survey showed 22% of SMBS adopted e-commerce over the past year, women led businesses were more agile in the adoption of digital technology, but impact of the pandemic hurt minor…
Episode 10: SWYFT Opens New Avenues for SMBs to compete with Prime, Is the FTC getting serious about review enforcement, So long Yahoo Answers, will anyone get this product category right?
The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.
With Swyft provi…
Episode 9: Website Builder SquareSpace acquires restaurant backend restaurant system Tock; Google My Business shoots themselves in the Messaging foot; GroundTruth stays true to the SMB and acquires display advertising platform, Addy
Website Builder SquareSpace acquires restaurant backend system Tock; will other website builders need to acquire more backend functionality? Will Web 3.0 be about business services? - M…
Episode 8: Google fights with Rand Fishkin over “zero-click” searches. Can a rating only review ever be defamatory? Will Yahoo’s brand rise from the ashes as a Verizon subscription service? Written by Near Media Filed under Conversations
Episode 8: Googl…