The Local Onliner reports today…
I love to see examples of grassroots innovation in local online marketing. One of my favorites is an e-newsletter from Sprocket Entertainment, the producers of a local comedy night in my hometown of Carlsbad, CA.
Sprocket is a startup by two comedians which also produces shows in Spokane, WA. It gets everyone to sign up for the newsletter when they use PayPal to buy tickets to their once-a-month event at a renovated theater, which they consider an alternative night out for “people who aren’t into loud music and pickup bar scenes.”
So far, Carlsbad Inn, Overstock Spas, Spoon Grill & Bar, and Tamarack Beach Resort have all signed up. From the looks of things, Sprocket is doing about as well with local advertisers as more concerted efforts by Carlsbad.com, a chain of beach town city guides.
Some similarities with Front Porch Forum here. We’re testing the waters with local sponsors… a half-dozen have signed on during our testing phase, including…
Another 70 or so have joined our waiting list as we move beyond testing in the months ahead.
Local.com announced a deal with Expedia.com for local travel. Peter Krasilovsky reports…
Local.com is in a different “local” category. It aggregates a ton of local content and features, but it doesn’t necessarily vie with the local Yellow Pages or local search sites, for everyday local traffic.
I mean, it would if it could. It has added a lot of functionality. But mostly, with its easy-to-remember URL (which it paid $700k for), and helpful grab-bag of local features, the site gets its traffic from the type of occasional user who aren’t particularly adept at using Google, or too impatient to do so. It claims quite a few of those – 10 million every month.
$700,000 for a URL… I just wanted to type that once.
Yahoo‘s CEO is out, replaced by one of the founders. Other juggling around in progress. The Local Onliner and others are speculating what that might mean for Yahoo’s local efforts.
Congratulations to Seven Days‘ Cathy Resmer for the national award she just won for her work online. Details here.
A local attorney posted the following on his Old North End neighborhood forum today. Thanks Dennis!
Thanks to Front Porch Forum for this service and all the work that you do to keep the magnificent line of communications up and running so efficiently. It is amazing and the benefits for all are very real. Sometimes it is easy to take such things for granted so I feel it necessary to toss in this heartfelt thanks and appreciation which I am sure is shared by everyone who has benefited from this valuable community asset. Thank you again. -Dennis McMahon
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more