Hyper-Local Media Update:Emerging activity and evidence Dec 10 - Jan 11

A personal take on things of note in the past couple of months

Damian Radcliffe, 4th February 2011

Comments and feedback welcome: damian.radcliffe@ofcom.org.uk

damian.radcliffe@gmail.com @mrdamian76

ContentsThis is a quick update to the more substantive set of slides I uploaded in December.http://www.slideshare.net/mrdamian/intro-to-hyperlocal-full-12-inch-version - these (and their cut down versions) have already had 2,500 views, suggesting an appetite for a semi-regular round-up.

These slides are by no means intended to be comprehensive, but cover some of the key hyper-local Developments I’ve spotted in the last couple of months. Everything here is in the public domain, but these slides endeavour to bring examples and stories together; as well as possible include some things you may have missed.

I am not sure how often updates will be produced, probably only when a) I have time and b) I think there’s something worth sharing.

In this pack there’s material on Local TV in the UK, Community Radio as well as a Top Ten of News from both the UK and America. It builds on many of the themes in my earlier pack. All content is referenced so you can go and read original articles for yourself if you want.

As ever, I’m sharing this to get feedback and suggestions – so do send them! Any errors or mistakes are mine, and mine alone. Thanks for reading!

Local TV in the UK

A flurry of activity in the last two monthsIncluding:

• Jeremy Hunt at the Oxford Media Convention.

• Shott report published.

• Greg Dyke at York University.

• Press coverage for Richard Horwood and the Channel 6 idea.

• A conference at London’s City University.

Key points from OxfordText from: http://www.culture.gov.uk/news/news_stories/7725.aspx

• On 19th January, at the Oxford Media Convention, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt launched an action plan for Local TV, building on the Shott report published in December. The plan proposes broadcasting the channels on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and displaying them prominently on the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).

• New and existing media providers have been invited to register their interest by 1 March and come forward with suggestions on how a channel dedicated to local news and content could work best.

• The goal is to award licences by the end of 2012 and for local TV to be “up and running” soon after.

• “For consumers, what this will mean is a new channel dedicated to the provision of local news and content - one that will sit alongside other public service broadcasters, offering a new voice for local communities, with local perspectives that are directly relevant to them.”

• The Government will not be prescriptive about the number of areas around the country that will be involved and will wait to see what commercially viable proposals come forward. Read Jeremy Hunt's speech in full

Shott report published

Report published on DCMS website 14th December 2010. Key findings of the report include:

• In the long term, local TV will probably be delivered via Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) rather than ‘traditional’ broadcast. In the shorter term, a presence on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) will allow local TV to develop a sustainable market position.

• Ofcom should be asked to consider further the technical options for the delivery of local TV. • 10-12 conurbations should be chosen to host trial local TV services, providing at least two

hours of high-quality local content per day. • Local TV should be broadcast on a single DTT channel, which is prominently displayed on the

DTT Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), and where possible on satellite and cable EPGs. • Public Service Broadcasters could promote local TV services by, for example, on screen red-

button prompts or insertion of local programming into a national channel’s regional schedule.

• Local TV services should benefit from the shared resources and advertising capacity of a national broadcaster acting as a “backbone”.

Text from: http://www.dcms.gov.uk/news/news_stories/7658.aspx

Dyke outlines plan for 80 local TV stationsFormer BBC DG spoke at York University on 10th January 2011.

Promoted vision of network of up to 80 stations with running costs of 500k p.a.

Argued Shott's plan was "too cautious"; and that the “hinterland” of cities like York needed to be included in potential audience size. Dyke argued that Local TV:

• Can be made cheaper to run than Shott believes,• Could attract more local advertising than Shott believes, and that• Interest in local news and local features is greater in smaller cities and towns.

He also argued for a relaxation of media plurality rules, and that a new service could help hold local authorities to account.

"If we care about local journalism we have to find more ways of paying trained journalists’ wages and encouraging them to get out

there finding stories not just copying out the latest PR handout.”Source: http://bit.ly/epxz8Y

Selected Greg Dyke quotes"If local television is to come – and I think it will - there is a real danger that cities like York will miss out….. Instead local television will be concentrated in the dozen or so cities which are already well

served by regional television – the likes of Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle and London rather than those that aren’t well served like Sheffield, Coventry, Sunderland, Exeter and of course York.“

"It could be argued that regional news has never been as good as national news in terms of quality because much less money is spent on it, but this hasn’t impacted the ratings.

The same would apply to local versus regional.“

"You could argue that people are willing to accept reduced quality if the content is more local.”

"Cheap doesn’t mean worse, it means different.”

Source: http://bit.ly/epxz8Y

Richard Horwood & Channel 6The Telegraph reported that Richard Horwood, the former managing director of Trinity Mirror Television, had spoken to Nicholas Shott about creating a single multi-platform TV channel which would offer a mix of local and national programmes and adverts.

Local Stations can "opt out" of the national schedule in certain towns to broadcast local content. However, the article suggested that the spectrum to carry the channel will not cover certain parts of the country e.g. Bristol and a number of rural locations.

Mr Horwood told The Sunday Telegraph that his team of 12 had six months planning for the new channel, including talks with local news groups, who would provide content for the TV in return for a share of advertising revenues.

"We will have some sales teams selling into the local market, but they'll be working hand-in-glove with our local media partners. We're not looking to attack local media partners.”

"We've talked to media buyers and brands and they love this model because they can then get the balance, that they've never been able to do before, of national and local platforms.”

Source: http://bit.ly/9Jnp7N

Ex-Channel M boss says Local TV will workFormer MEN Media chief executive Mark Dodson told a City University conference on Local TV that Channel M generated revenue of £4.3m a year, created 16 hours a day of original TV and attracted some 300,000 viewers a week and 70,000 a day at its peak.

Key quotes: "We are going back almost to the dark ages of local TV...

I believe that the city TV model is the only model that's going to work quickly enough.”

"There's no currency in the advertising market for local TV, the Barb figures are not sensitive enough...There's no network for national advertising...

And the analogue signal that we inherited from government was not fit for purpose.”

"We had just got on Freeview at a time when the investment and patience had run out."

"Just because Channel M failed it doesn't mean city TV will fail. Within three years we will have a network of TV stations in Britain

starting with eight city-based networks that will help more rural stations down the line.“

Source: http://bit.ly/gA4lVk

And Channel M is set for a rebirthManchester-based regional TV station Channel M will relaunch next May, new controller John Furlong has revealed.

He said the broadcasting strategy for the channel, which was mothballed by Guardian Media Group after it failed to find a buyer, was yet to be concluded but it would involve original news broadcasting.

Furlong told the Local Television conference at City University (in November 2010):

“We are very positive and excited about the potential of Channel M. It’s a business and we need to make money

but we don’t expect to make extraordinary revenues from it.”

Source: http://bit.ly/91FVsO

But others are more scepticalQuoted in Press Gazette: http://bit.ly/gA4lVk

"You are not going to see massive amounts of investment in this space because it's not worth it. Local advertising is anaemic, the local press has been in decline for 20 years.

Advertising agencies want big bang for their buck, the last thing they are interested in is Local TV.”

"Subsidy is required and that subsidy might take different forms.“Claire Enders

"The idea of local TV is a complete disaster and anybody going into it is completely nuts.“

"You can't invest enough money to make it look good, but if it doesn't look any good people think it is amateurish and don't want to watch it."

Kelvin MacKenzie

DCMS Timetable for Local TVThe Local TV FAQ on the DCMS website includes a timetable and next steps:

• “The Local Media Action Plan was published on 19 January 2011 and sets out the process going forward.

• The deadline to submit Expressions of Interest to run the network channel is 01 March 2011.

• The deadline for responses to the consultation is 13 April 2011.

• A formal competition for the network channel is expected to run from June 2011 to summer 2012, when the first local TV stations will be licensed.

• We hope to see 10-20 local TV services licensed by 2015.”

Quoted from: http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/broadcasting/7722.aspx

Community Radio

Community Radio Annual Report Published

Key findings:• Around 11 million people in the UK can tune in. • A new community radio station has launched, on average, every 10 days. • 181 community stations are broadcasting and another 30 are planning to do so. 2 million hours of volunteering • All stations involve volunteers in various jobs, including as presenters. • The average station reports the involvement of around 75 volunteers over a year. • 40,000 volunteer hours are spent each week producing 15,000 hours of original content.

Diversity• Diverse FM in Luton broadcasts in community languages such as Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Pahari, Polish, Arabic, Swahili and Patwa. • Several stations serve rural communities e.g. Tempo FM in Wetherby (West Yorks)

Source: http://bit.ly/9sXT5E

Ten other useful things from the UK

1. Open Data and Transparency

• Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the Daily Mail it was a ‘fundamental right’ of all citizens to be able to hold their government to account.

• He said hundreds more taxpayer-funded and charitable bodies should be subject to the transparency of the Freedom of Information Act, which currently applies only to most public authorities.

• They will include the organisations which are currently shielded from scrutiny such as the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), academy school trusts and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

• Others expected to be dragged into the FOI net are the Local Government Association, the Advertising Standards Authority, Network Rail and even utility companies.

Read more: http://bit.ly/igPjc8

See also: 20 FOI ideas to kick off 2011 from David Higgerson at: http://bit.ly/hTiYG6

2. Localism and Decentralisation

The Localism Bill was presented to Parliament on 13 December 2010. There was no debate on the Bill at that stage. The Second Reading debate is slated for 17 January 2011.

“This Bill will shift power from central government back into the hands of individuals, communities and councils. We are committed to this because over time central government has become too big, too

interfering, too controlling and too bureaucratic. This has undermined local democracy and individual responsibility, and stifled innovation and enterprise within public services.”

Key areas likely to excite/exercise the hyper-local community:

• allowing councils to choose to return to the committee system of governance and allowing for referendums for elected mayors in certain authorities

• introducing local accountability and a criminal offence of deliberate failure to declare a personal interest in a matter

• giving residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue and the power to veto excessive council tax increases

• providing new powers to help save local facilities and services threatened with closure, and giving voluntary and community groups the right to challenge local authorities over their services.

From Big Government to Big Society

CLG have produced a short 15 page guide to the bill: http://bit.ly/hnJBSY , summarised in the graphic below:

3. Councils 2.0

TweetyHall is an online aggregator for Councillors who tweet. It’s primary aim is to encourage “participation and open conversations, promoting better and more transparent communication between voters and elected representatives.”

Users can view tweets searchable by Political Party, or they can follow the live stream. You can also search for Councillors in your home area (you need to input the name of the area, not your postcode).

As they acknowledge: “Tweetyhall was inspired by http://tweetminster.co.uk which itself was influenced by tweetcongress.org.” It is run by FutureGov and supported by the Local Government Association Group. See: http://tweetyhall.co.uk/ - for more details.

New ways of connecting with communities

There’s lots of events at the moment looking at how local Government can embrace social media and online communities. One such event is taking place in London at the end of the month. This is from the Eventbrite sign up page, but gives a useful insight into thinking and resources.

“…[no] community leader simply can no longer afford to rely on offline activity alone – the debate will simply pass them by.”

The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) Source:

http://bit.ly/fE1Ezh

“Services like FixMyStreet, WhatDotheyKnow, OpenlyLocal, Neighbourhood Crime Maps and Where Does My Money Go? symbolise the emergence of a new political literacy.

These new tools and techniques are allowing citizens to connect, network and mobilise around issues and build the social capital to help bring about change themselves.”

LGIU has compiled a short selection of interesting and insightful resources that explore the tools available to councillors and practical examples of positive results of online Engagement; which you can find here: http://r.e2m1.net/282763/188673/

Five benefits for Local Government

1. Elected members can more accurately shape their political promises by listening online to what residents actually see as important. They can use these websites to get to better know the people who make up their wards/districts.

2. Councils can use them as a free research tool to find out how the public rate their services, what their concerns are and better determine where restricted budgets should be spent.

3. Councils can also increase the distribution of their traditional communications such as press releases by providing hyper-local websites with this information to publish.

4. Show that they are not scared of public criticism by taking part in open, online conversations.

5. Look to hyper-local websites for ideas on how to improve their own websites. Hyper-local websites are popular as their content is interactive rather than static and discussion is encouraged rather than directed to a minefield of contact us sections or FAQ’s pages only to find out a generic response to their individual community issues.

From: “Why local government should be hyper about hyper-local websites”Source: http://bit.ly/i2Ggkk

Case Study: Camden Council

Last summer, Liz Azyan wrote a detailed online article about how the London Borough ofCamden will be working in partnership with Talk About Local to engage with the local community through hyper-local websites. (Apologies Liz, I’ve only just come across it.)

The article also includes a number of pieces to camera from TAL’s William Perrin looking at topics such as:

• Why are local conversations important for local councils?• Why local councils shouldn't be the one to setup local community websites• Good Examples of Local Community Websites

Source: http://bit.ly/dmOmtm

“We are working with Talk About Local to help us build capacity within our communities that will encourage people to go online. Once communities have got their websites up and running we will give them widgets to put on their websites that can give them direct access to the Council services they want rather than expecting them to come to our website and track down the services that are most relevant to them.’” Alasdair Mangham, Head of Information Systems at LB of Camden.

4. Council Reporting

Sarah Hartley’s article from March 2010 looks at tweeting from meetings after Tameside Council accredited journalists to report from meetings, meaning that local bloggers, members of the public and even Tameside’s own councillors can’t tweet from them as they are not members of the press as defined in law by the Local Government Act of 1972

Source: http://bit.ly/buMe5S

An updated post also pulling together many of these themes was published in December: “Localism? Tell that to bloggers wanting local information - If localism is to be more than a buzzword, government had better rethink its disdain for community-focused bloggers.”

The London SE1 site has been successful in getting its local council to change its policy on audio recordings of meetings so that journalists and members of the public be allowed to

make audio recordings of full council meetings.” Source: http://bit.ly/gGdWmO

But, Openly Local’s Chris Taggart was ejected from a meeting at Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for filming a council meeting. See the clip here: http://bit.ly/i6Ss1F (One minute in, filming is asked to cease. “Data protection” is cited as the reason for it not being allowed.)

Council Reporting – part two

In “Online journalists left out in the cold by local government.” Paul Bradshaw looks at The experiences of Hedy Korbee a journalist with 29 years’ experience in broadcasting who has found it challenging to engage with Birmingham City Council on the budget cuts.

Key issues which emerge:1) Hyper-local practitioners are often the only media at these meetings.

2) Council leadership typically place heavy emphasis on established local media, especially newspapers at the expense of online media.

3) Trust and relationships: “The issue of trust you raise I think is telling, and indicates how judgements are made based on the platform (web) rather than the journalist.” (Paul Bradshaw in response to an early comment to his piece.)

4) Issues of capacity for Councils.

5) Being a member of the Union might help. In the comments section, Louise Bolotin talks about her experience with Manchester City Council on the Inside the M60 blog.

5. Other local reporting issues

Other material and examples worth noting (some a bit old now):

Green Councillor Jason Kitcat successfully appealed a local authority decision to suspend him from Brighton & Hove City Council, after he uploaded clips of council meetings onto YouTube (taken from the council’s own public livestream). Kitcat’s tribunal notes can be found here. A report in local paper, the Argus, can be found here. Source:

http://bit.ly/dQW2XH

Ventnor Blog’s Simon Perry was refused access to Newport coroner’s court as either a member of the press or a member of the public, when he’s an NUJ member with a long track record in Council reporting on the Island. (Feb 2010) Source: http://bit.ly/cKL5c6

William Perrin has approached the MOJ to talk to the Governor at Pentonville Prison for his King’s Cross Environment blog. To his repeated disappointment, they’ve said no.

'Unfortunately we are not able to assist on this occasion...We work with UK print and broadcast media with a sufficiently high enough distribution for coverage to be accessed by a wide audience, and we

target our communications effectively to reach different audiences in the community.' Lydia Austen, MOJ Press Office Quoted at: http://bit.ly/iem0xj

6. Online Crime Maps

• Detailed maps providing a monthly snapshot of crime and antisocial behaviour on every street across England and Wales were published for the first time (1/2/11). This offers a potentially rich data source for the hyper-local community, although it has attracted a lot of comment and criticism.

• The BBC noted: “Visitors to the website, which cost £300,000 to develop, will be able to find out which crimes have taken place on or near their street within the last month and which officers are responsible for their area.”

Source: http://bbc.in/fB5ZKm

7. STV Local continues to expand

• Launched mid launched ten more sites at the end of November 2010.

• STV Local has now launched 16 community sites in five local authority areas, covering nearly 25% of the Scottish population.

• Aims to see its network of local sites rolled out across the whole of Scotland over the next 18 months (Initially launched September 2010.)

Source: http://bit.ly/dR7jwG

• STV has also announced plans for a pilot service featuring separate editions of STV News at Six - one for east and another for west central Scotland.

• This means viewers in the east will see a 30-minute dedicated news programme, produced and presented from Edinburgh.

Source: http://bit.ly/gzOww6

8. As does Northcliffe

The localpeople network expanding with launch of 14 new sites to add to those shown:

• Ashbourne• Belper• Brigg• Cleethorpes• Dursley• Gainsborough• Market Harborough• Melton Mowbray• Mickleover• Oadby• Oakham• Stonehouse• Stroud• Wigston

Source: http://bit.ly/hPur9c Map: http://bit.ly/hPur9c

9. Media Street

Journalism.co.uk has reported that “UK online magazine startup Media Street has made it through to the next round of the Knight News Challenge, where it hopes to secure a $90,000 investment (£58,000).”

Source: http://bit.ly/gfAgvt

“The first version of the King’s Road website was released in the summer of 2010 and focussed on mapping local businesses. Since then we have added local favourites, reader specials, shopping reviews and Yelp reviews for businesses.”

Source: http://bit.ly/eqPfz8

The group currently runs two other sites: Notting Hill Gate and Fulham Road

Writing on his blog, co-founder Jonathan Lloyd, commented:

“The US gets a lot of attention in the local media space and for start ups. Although the UK local media landscape is different to the US, we both face the same challenge in finding new business models which fund local, online news.”

“We’re not pinning our hopes on the KNC but if anything does come of,Media Street’s application I hope it encourages other UK news start ups to have a go.”

Source: http://bit.ly/hVAeCk

10. New UK research published

• The Networked Neighbourhoods team published their highly acclaimed Online Networked Neighbourhoods Study last month.

• It explored the ways in which people communicate online using local citizen-run websites, the impact of that communication, and the implications for local service providers. It focused on three well-established sites around London: Brockley Central, East Dulwich Forum and Haringey Online.

• The research shows that they serve to enhance the sense of belonging, democratic influence, neighbourliness and involvement in their area. Participants claim more positive attitudes towards public agencies where representatives of those agencies are engaging online.

Source: http://bit.ly/fPRIOp

• Read some commentator views here: http://bit.ly/edPNEx

• And the Guardian’s: “Community websites at the heart of a 'new culture of localism‘ ”: http://bit.ly/hWHkQn

Ten useful things from across the Pond

1. Vocus Report: State of the Media 2011

“Twelve months ago, the media appeared to be in freefall. Mass layoffs, bankruptcies and a general sense of demise blighted the media landscape.

Much of our industry was on its knees…” “Then, something changed. In 2010, the layoffs and closures began to slow down.

The industry began to stabilize.”Source: http://bit.ly/h6k9Uu

Key findings from this Annual Review of US Media include:

• Approximately 151 newspapers folded in 2010; about half the number in 2009• 724 online newspapers that launched this past year; all but 36 were Patch.com sites• Magazine launches often have a local and regional focus; “hyperlocal” grows in popularity• More than 60 television stations added the 4:30 a.m. newscast• Terrestrial radio use is down 15% over the last five years• Nearly 2,000 radio stations now broadcast in HD• There are more than 1,000 new local FM HD2/HD3 radio stations

Source: http://bit.ly/4DImp3

2. Pew: The social side of the Internet

A new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project has found that:

1. 75% of all American adults are active in some kind of voluntary group or organization and internet users are more likely than others to be active:

2. 80% of internet users participate in groups, compared with 56% of non-internet users.

3. And social media users are even more likely to be active: 82% of social network users and 85% of Twitter users are voluntary group participants.

Source: http://bit.ly/gU6wNM

Internet users were more likely than non users to highlight benefits of the internet including:communicating with members, recruiting to new ones, drawing attention to issues, connecting with other groups, impacting on society, organising activities and raising money.

“Use of the internet in general, and social media in particular, has become the lubricant for chatter and outreach for all kinds of groups…” Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project

But not everyone is seeing the benefit

“It is important to note that 25% of American adults are not active in any of the groups we addressed.”

“They often report they are time-stressed or have health or other issues that limit their ability to be involved.

And about a fifth of them say that lack of access to the internet is a hindrance.

Even in its absence, the internet seems to be a factor in the reality of how groups perform in the digital age.”

Aaron Smith, senior research specialist at Pew Internet and co-author of the report.

Source: http://bit.ly/g9mHOP

3. Patch may cost c.$120m p.a.

In December, Patch had just over three million unique visitors, 80 times that of a year earlier, according to comScore.

Source: http://nyti.ms/eP7pku

The hyper-local initiative is cited in a New Yorker interview with AOL CEO Tim Armstrong. The full interview is only available to subscribers, but you can read a summary here.

Writing on MediaJobsDaily, Rachel Kaufman comments: “Patch, which has 750-plus locations across the country and has provided jobs to countless numbers of journalists, is too much like a “digital Yellow Pages” and not enough like, well, journalism.”

Source: http://bit.ly/gdanCk

Meanwhile, Paid Content estimated the cost of Patch at $30m per quarter.Source: http://bit.ly/g4IA9a

4. NBC News explores hyper-local

“ "We would like to see the local NBC stations brought back to the position ofstrength they were in a decade ago, and a big part of that will be local news.”

Comcast's COO, Stephen Burke, soon to become CEO of NBC UniversalSource: http://usat.ly/hcyXG2

USA Today writes: "The most promising opportunity seems to be hyperlocal news: Comcast could feed stories produced by its local stations to channels or websites that would be distributed through Comcast's cable and broadband services."

Comcast vowed to improve NBC's news operation as part of its effort to win support for the deal at the Justice Department and FCC. Commitments include:

1) Not cutting the amount of time for local newscasts for the next three years.2) Adding 1,000 hours a year of original, local news and information programming on NBC Channels. Its

Spanish-language Telemundo stations will add 1,000 hours of local news.3) Within 12 months, at least five of Comcast's NBC stations will forge partnerships with

outside organisations that produce neighbourhood-level, hyper-local, news.

5. Groupon

1. Groupon has partnered with location-based ad sales house and platform JiWire to offer hyper-local deals on a national scale in the US, before extending to the UK.

(Source: http://bit.ly/eIdzIw NB: subscription required to read full article)

2. The FT reports that Groupon has completed a $950m financing deal with investments from a number of firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Greylock Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, as the company - which has 50m subscribers – plans to expand.

Source: http://bit.ly/fx2l2c

3. The Story of Groupon & its Daily Deals – short article from Read Write Web, which uses the phrase ‘social shopping’ – a new term for me!

4. David Ambrose of Scoop St. provides a useful commentary on this phenomena in his article: “2010 Was The Year Of Group Buying And Local Commerce.”

Source: http://read.bi/e0UAFf

As an aside, it’s doing ok in the UK too…“The hype around Groupon is extraordinary.

Excitable tech analysts call it "the world's fastest-growing company", and it has already amassed 35 million users in more than 300 markets.

In Britain it is reported to have nearly 2.5 million users, and the site is the 49th most visited in the UK, according to Alexa, the internet statistics company.

That puts it only just behind Lloyds TSB and ahead of Directgov, the UK government website.”

Patrick Collinson, the GuardianSource: http://bit.ly/ijcWjm

Meanwhile, competitors such as LivingSocial are also expanding. The daily deal site announced in January that it will open in nine U.S. markets following an $175m investment from Amazon. LivingSocial now reaches 170 markets in 10 countries, with 16 million subscribers worldwide.

Source: http://bit.ly/eE09kV

6. TryItLocal.com

• Todd Earwood is using TryItLocal.com to turn a Groupon-like effort into hyper-local revenue generators for chambers of commerce and their members.

http://wwwlhttp://www11845http://wwwlhttp://www11845

7. Foursquare

• Foursquare has passed the 5m user milestone, growing tenfold in the past nine months. CEO Dennis Crowley effectively confirmed that Facebook attempted to acquire the start-up, and revealed an unnamed company had tabled a $140m bid.

Source: http://usat.ly/dLf795

Despite their own claims (see left) a Pew Research Centre report showed

the small and apparently static user numbers for location-based services, like Foursquare and Gowalla, in the US. However, researchers note this doesn’t

mean they won’t grow rapidly in the future. They point out that Twitter went

from obscurity to the mainstream in a matter of months.

Source: http://bit.ly/9Y09Xz

Infographic: http://foursquare.com/2010infographic

8: Facebook Places & Sponsored Sites

• Facebook mobile users can now get instant discount vouchers when they check in to itsPlaces programme via their smartphones. Businesses will use a self-service interface to publish their offers, and Facebook will not take a cut from the deals. The service will be rolled out internationally in the coming months.

“There is obviously a lot of change in the mobile space and also a revolution happening in the social space. What we have seen is you can rethink any product and rethink it to be social.

Mobile is a big area of expansion and a huge new space.” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

• Facebook unveiled details (25th Jan) about a new advertising initiative called “Sponsored Stories”. This initiative allows advertisers to find mentions of their brands--either through Places check-ins, recommendations in a news feed, likes, or actions in a Facebook application--and repurpose them as advertisements on the site.

• CNET wrote: “Facebook said that if a person currently checks in at a respective company's store or "likes" a brand page, the action often gets lost amid all the other content a user's friends may see. Sponsored Stories solves that problem for advertisers by plucking valuable content from user news feeds and making it more readily noticeable to others.”

Sources: http://bit.ly/bxQeRO, http://bbc.in/atJ5sT and http://bit.ly/efSpZ2

9: Porkappolis

Jason Falls over at Social Media Explorer reports that the Cincinnati Enquirer is quietly a new location-based service application called Porkappolis (iTunes link)– a hyper-local, location-based service focused on Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky.

“Cincinnati was once the slaughterhouse capital of the U.S. and has been known as “Porkopolis” and the Pig City for years. Cincinnati.com cleverly named the application after the moniker. What’s even more cool is that coupons, deals and helpful tips in the app are found under the heading of “Bacon.” Awesomeness.!”

“But the addition of a hyper-local, custom, location-based application to a traditional media effort (the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati.com are Gannett properties) is more than interesting. It shows a traditional media outlet again thinking beyond the boundaries of the print edition and even of their website.

The opportunities to monetize a locally-relevant LBS are profound. It’s a chance for local advertisers to serve relevant messages to a hip and trendy audience in an emerging platform, but one that is custom to their community.”

Source: http://bit.ly/hZoWj2

http://wwwlhttp://www11845http://wwwlhttp://www11845

10. Other Location Based Nuggets

• The Sunday Times reported that Yell’s Trusted Places social network, which consists of users’ tips of the best places to visit locally, was recently bolstered by 6,700 write-ups from its own members of staff. An internal competition encouraged workers to post their own restaurant and bar reviews on the site.

• Mashable has produced a useful guide: HOW TO: Run Location-Based Google Ads

• Shazam, the music-recognition service, now has 20m users a month.

“Now you can go and look at concert tickets, based on location. You can tag a piece of music in a bar or restaurant and buy it immediately or share it on Facebook.

That replicates the experience of hearing music in a car in the morning, buying at lunchtime and talking to friends in the pub in the evening.”

CEO Andrew Fisher

Source: http://bit.ly/g0ij4G

What have I missed? Is this useful?

I can’t cover everything, but…. Feedback, suggestions and omissions welcome.

Like the Murphy’s, I’m not bitter.

Contact me: damian.radcliffe@gmail.com (home)

damian.radcliffe@ofcom.org.uk (work) Twitter: @mrdamian76