FTC Officially Bans Fake Reviews
The FTC has announced its final rule that bans fake reviews and testimonials. We break down the results and provide an official statement from the reviews king: Yelp.
Mike Boland
August 15, 2024
Mike Boland
Mike Boland, senior analyst with Localogy, was one of Silicon Valley’s first tech reporters of the internet age as a staff reporter for Forbes magazine starting in 2000. His comments have appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
TikTok vs. Instagram Reels: Tiger Pistol’s Face-Off Reveals Clear Winner
As social media evolves and the landscape shifts, questions continue to swirl about what platforms and features perform best. Tiger Pistol ran an experiment to settle the discussion.
Mike Boland
August 14, 2024
Automattic Doubles Down on AI Writing Assistants
WordPress.com owner Automattic has launched a new writing assistant. Known as Write Brief with AI, the AI assistant function is meant to automate the tedious process of editing and improving website copy for individuals and SMBs.
Mike Boland
August 13, 2024
Chat GPT Mobile App Hits Revenue Milestone
OpenAI’s latest bar it has set involves its mobile app usage. Specifically, the ChatGPT app derived $28 million in net revenue on iOS and Android in July, according to Appfigures.
Mike Boland
August 12, 2024
Yelp Reports Strong Q2, Driven By Home Services
In Yelp’s Q2 earnings, it reached record net revenue and strong net profit at the high end of its outlook range. Growth was fueled primarily by its core advertising revenue stream, with particular strength in home services.
Mike Boland
August 9, 2024
Placer.ai Raises $75 Million to Elevate Location Intelligence
Location Intelligence leader Placer.AI announced this week that it raised $75 million. This gives the company a $1.5 billion post-money valuation, up from the $1 billion valuation assigned in its series C round in 2022.
Mike Boland
August 9, 2024
X Takes the Next Step Towards Super-App Status
App researchers have found experimental code for a “Payments” button in the X navigation bar. What does this mean for our ongoing speculation that X is building a super app?
Mike Boland
August 7, 2024
Publicis Propels the Influencer Economy with Influential Acquisition
Publicis Groupe has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire influencer marketing company Influential. Publicis will drop $500 million on the deal, which signals confidence in the influencer economy.
Mike Boland
August 6, 2024
SOCi Reaches $100 Million ARR Milestone
SOCi, the CoMarketing Cloud for multi-location businesses, announced a notable milestone in its evolution as a business: $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). This
Mike Boland
August 5, 2024
Google Maps Animates Paris
Just in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Google has brought its signature geospatial animations to the city. We examine drivers & dynamics.
Mike Boland
August 2, 2024
Do SMBs Really Want Human-Like Chat Agents?
At SIGGRAPH 2024, Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang imagined together a day when every small business would have a virtual assistant in the form of embodied avatars that support customers. We shoot holes in the idea.
Mike Boland
August 1, 2024
The State of SMB: How Are SMBs Using (and Buying) SaaS?
Localogy analysts participated in a live presentation and panel last week hosted by website platform Duda. We have the biggest takeaways and on-demand video for Localogy Insider readers.
Mike Boland
July 31, 2024
Chatmeter Elevates Customer Surveys
Chatmeter announced today that it’s releasing version 2.0 of its Surveys product. One of the features nested within its Pulse AI: Signals platform, Surveys lets multilocation businesses gather customer insights.
Mike Boland
July 30, 2024
Siri Gets a Stay of Execution
Apple Intelligence will uplevel Siri, answering our question of whether Siri gets killed or gets a brain transplant. How exactly will Siri improve? We go down the list.
Mike Boland
July 26, 2024
Apple Maps Comes to a Browser Near You
Starting in public beta, users can access Apple Maps for the first time via their web browser, including directions, curated city guides, and other app favorites like Look Around.
Mike Boland
July 25, 2024
Adobe’s Gen AI Balancing Act
Adobe’s new features in Photoshop and Illustrator to help users generate textures and images on the fly. We examine the details and go deeper into Adobe’s gen AI strategy.
Mike Boland
July 24, 2024
Yelp Emphasizes MULO Brands in its Summer Ad Release
Yelp is often known as a company that works with small businesses in their local presence and promotion. But local businesses also include multi-location (MULO) brands. As part of its annual summer feature release, Yelp is specifically accommodating this segment of the local ecosystem.
Mike Boland
July 23, 2024
Prime Day Sets New Records
This week saw “Black Friday in July.” That’s right, it was Prime Day… which is actually two days. The Amazon-invented holiday broke records this year and we have all the data and takeaways.
Mike Boland
July 19, 2024
Is Microsoft Designer a Canva Killer?
Microsoft Designer launches this week as a web and mobile app to fullfill a variety of Canva-like no-code design functions. And it’s built with modern AI-first design principles, rather than catching up to add AI to an existing suite.
Mike Boland
July 17, 2024
Tiger Pistol Partners with AdBud to Elevate Social Marketing
Tiger Pistol announced today that it’s partnering AdBud. The collaboration creates a new feature in AdBud’s platform called Automatic SoMe ads, which lets users – mostly agencies and brands – manage and optimize Facebook and Instagram campaigns.
Mike Boland
July 16, 2024