What we’re all looking for on Street View
Guest Post Google's Street View is back on iPhone, with the help of the Web, and here's what we're all using it for.
stories by Rakesh Agrawal
A turn-by-turn guide for Apple to improve its navigation app
Guest Post I put iOS 6's new turn-by-turn directions to the test over the weekend, often alongside Android's turn-by-turn directions.
A quick lesson on the value of marketing
Guest Post My dentist is finally online. But her service provider, Demandforce, isn't doing her any favors. Consider this excerpt from the email that I received.
Apple v. Google will define the fourth wave of online mapping
Guest Post With all of the grumbling these days about Apple's new maps in iOS, one would think Apple just made the biggest mistake in its history. Yes, Apple's maps aren't as good as Google's. But Google's maps weren't as good as the maps they replaced when Google switched away from its data providers a few years ago.
Square errs in its error messaging
Guest Post Square is one of too many companies that don't put enough effort into their messaging.
AmEx launches integration with Apple’s Passbook
Guest Post American Express is launching an integration with Apple's Passbook today. Before you get too excited, no you won't be able to pay with AmEx using Passbook, but you'll still have access to some cool features.
An open letter to Groupon’s Andrew Mason from his biggest critic
Guest Post After more than a year on the Groupon beat, I'm retiring. But I have one final question for Andrew Mason.
Why Gogo should raise the price on inflight WiFi
Guest Post To understand Gogo's economics challenge, you first have to know that there is limited bandwidth to each aircraft -- a peak 3.1 Mbps of bandwidth to share among 100+ passengers. (For comparison, I regularly get 15Mbps-25Mbps on my home broadband, just for me.)
NFC’s ongoing user interface problem: some readers don’t work
Guest Post I haven't had a lot of kind words for NFC, the mobile payments mechanism that some have touted as the Next Big Thing in payments. I've knocked it for being a kludgy experience that doesn't deliver any meaningful consumer value over swiping a credit card. But NFC has another big problem: Even when you think it might work, it doesn't.
Presidential bear hug reveals key problems with Yelp
Guest Post Since the owner of Big Apple Pizza in Fort Pierce, Fla., bear hugged President Obama over the weekend, he's seen his reviews spike. Today, he has more than 2,200 reviews. Last week, he had two.
Mobile payments that matter: parking meters
Guest Post I was having coffee with local guru Greg Sterling this afternoon at Another Cafe in San Francisco, and as we were chatting, Greg pulled out his iPhone and refilled his parking meter.
OpenTable’s hidden stash of restaurant reviews
Guest Post Restaurant reservations service OpenTable announced today that it has collected more than 15 million reviews since it started a little less than four years ago.
Groupon is threatening small merchants with lawsuits
August 20, 2012 12:05 PM
Rakesh Agrawal
Guest Post I've noticed an uptick in recent months from small businesses claiming that Groupon is threatening to sue them.
Sometimes there’s nothing positive to say (*cough* Groupon)
Guest Post To me, debating whether Groupon is a good company is the equivalent of debating where Obama was born. The overwhelming evidence is that Groupon is a bad company. And that's what I write.
Translating Groupon’s earnings call into plain English
Guest Post In Groupon's earnings call yesterday, the daily deals site tried to put a positive spin on a lot of negative developments.
The giant red flag that analysts and media missed in Groupon’s earnings
Guest Post Analysts missed the biggest red flag in Groupon's recent earnings call: The company is taking its loan sharking business global.
Mayer’s changes at Yahoo may be symbolic, but they matter
Guest Post Turning around a ship as big as Yahoo is going to take a long time, but new CEO Marissa Mayer is already off to a good start.
Virgin America shows how to sell value, not price
Guest Post This week, San Francisco-based Virgin America is celebrating its fifth anniversary. That's an anniversary that few startups hit and very few startup airlines hit.
FAQ on the Starbucks-Square deal
Guest Post For die hard Starbucks junkies, it seems the best bet in the short term is to pay with your Starbucks card or the Starbucks mobile app.
What the Starbucks Square deal really means
Guest Post By now, you've probably heard that Starbucks is going to be investing $25 million in Square, the San Francisco-based mobile payments company. As part of the deal, Starbucks will switch its credit and debit card processing to Square in the United States. But once you get past the headline, what does this really mean?
