Saturday, October 31, 2015

Software : Google's new app wants to know Who's Down

Software : Google's new app wants to know Who's Down

Google's new app wants to know Who's Down

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Google's new app wants to know Who's Down

Once you've got a suite of apps covering email, office apps, maps, an intelligent assistant, photos, notes, calendars, messaging, social networking and just about everything else, there aren't many new directions to explore.

Google still has new ideas for software though - hence its Who's Down app, which just showed up on the App Store and Google Play. As you could probably guess from the name, it lets you see which of your friends are free to hang out right now.

After you've ascertained 'who's down' you can start chatting inside the app and make plans to do something. Your 'available' status is good for three hours so think coffee in town rather than a camping weekend.

Call me maybe?

Google isn't letting the wider public at large install the app - at least not yet. You have to be a college student in the US to get involved and even then there's a waiting list to join. There's been no official announcement from Mountain View about the app either.

This is obviously a small-scale roll-out then - although the same college student restrictions didn't do Facebook any harm, helping to build up hype for the fledgling social network before it became available to anyone.

We don't know whether we'll ever get chance to play around with Who's Down and find out how good our friends are at avoiding us - but it's interesting to see Google playing around with new ideas for spin-off apps outside of its established tools.

Amazon Local closure will force small businesses to rethink daily deals

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Amazon Local closure will force small businesses to rethink daily deals

Small business owners looking to entice new customers through deals and discounts will soon have one less option to market themselves. Amazon announced that it will shutter its Amazon Local service starting December 18.

The move is unsurprising given that Amazon Local competitors have not fared well. Groupon announced it would lay off 1,100 employees last month and LivingSocial announced this month that it is trimming its workforce by 20% as it moves away from deals.

"From October 30, 2015 until December 18, 2015, you can continue to purchase deals at Amazon Local as usual," Amazon announced on its website. "All purchased vouchers will not be affected by this change and remain valid according to their terms."

What this means for small businesses

As deal hosting companies like Amazon Local, LivingSocial and Groupon change their business models, small businesses will also have to evolve the way they market to consumers.

LivingSocial, for example, is changing its focus to delivering experiences to customers.

"We've learned a great deal from the daily deals business and will look for ways to apply these lessons in the future as we continue to innovate on behalf of our customers and merchants," an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Amazon's new direction with local commerce seems to be around partnering with local merchants rather than highlighting individual businesses. For example, Amazon Home Services allows customers to choose and hire a local repairman that's part of the Amazon network, and Amazon is working with local restaurants for food delivery through Amazon Prime Now.

Amazon is also working on expanding the availability of its same-day Amazon Prime delivery service, which means the company will be competing more directly against local merchants. If you're a business that sells goods on Amazon, the e-commerce giant still offers platform-wide deals through its Deal of the Day and Gold Box Deals.

There are still opportunities for small businesses to promote, but new business models from Amazon and LivingSocial may be less centered on discounts, and more about quality service, like a local pizzeria offering fast delivery through the Amazon Prime Now network.
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