Archive for January, 2011

From the 23rd to the 25th of January, not only the grandees of the market showed up to the DLD (Digital Life Design) conference, sponsored by Burda publishing. Start-ups as well as investors also paid a visit in order to discuss their future plans and visions. The owners of the internet services are optimistic and agree: offline is out, online is becoming more and more mobile, and the social interactions will influence every aspect.

Three days filled to the rim with dissertations, discussions, and interviews. A lot was said, but we would like to provide a small summary of what we believe to be the most important points about the development of internet services, location based services (LBS), as well as social media: Read the rest of this entry »

The deal portal Groupon will be launching soon in India, Israel, and South Afrika. The company acquired the leading online coupon portals in the countries: SoSasta, Grouper, and Twangoo. Groupon announced the launch, each under its own brand, to be within the next few months. There is also speculation about a Chinese expansion and a step into the stock exchange. Read the rest of this entry »

On the new social online network Stadtundleute.com, users do not only have the possibility to exchange information about common interests or experiences on site. The community platform specializes in real meetings (face-to-face) of people in the vicinity and their common experiences Read the rest of this entry »

It’s pretty apparent that Google wants to boost its own rating portal: with the new iPhone app Google Places, the company’s rating service Hotpot is automatically integrated. Only a day before, the search engine giant set up its map service Google Maps to be integrated with Hotpot for its desktop users.
Those that download the app from the app store for the iPhone will be able to locate restaurants, cafés, hotels, tourist attractions, and other locations within the vicinity. And since we all trust our friends better than some random person online, the ratings and recommendations of Google’s rating community Hotpot are all features with the results. The only requirement to use this function is to be registered. For those that regularly discover new places to be, reviews can be posted on-the-go using their mobile. The app has been available in English for quite some time, but according to the Google-Blog, other languages will be available soon, as well as some new features. Read the rest of this entry »

According to the current study from telegate AG “Small Business and Advertisment”, small businesses in Germany have a lot of catching up to do in the world of digital marketing. Even though the internet is the top resource for consumers to search for companies and services in their local vicinity, regional, small businesses still implement ads in traditional print media. Read the rest of this entry »

Our expectations for the new year: in 2011, the previous development in the local search realm will be continued and expanded upon. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about search engines, city portals, online directories, or social networks: the importance of location-based services will not only continue to grow, but it will become more personalized and custom for its users. Read the rest of this entry »

In this country, information and directive media sources continue to become more and more popularity: 95 percent of all Germans use them in print form, online, or mobile. The strongest in the market next to the classic books are the online and mobile possibilities. This was ascertained by the Verband Deutscher Auskunfts- und Verzeichnismedien (Eng. Organization of German Informative and Directive Medias) by the marketing research institute Ipsos in a commissioned study. Read the rest of this entry »

Following the release of Das Örtliche’s mobile apps for the iOS and Android operating systems, the app is now available for phones with Windows Phone 7. Now users with the current Windows mobiles can search for private and commercial contact information. Read the rest of this entry »