Wrapp is enabling users to send donations through its social gifting service so users will be able to donate money in their friend’s name to different charities and non-profit organizations such as Kiva or the Red Cross. Read more »
LevelUp, a Boston-based loyalty and payment startup, is laying down the gauntlet to other payment competitors by doing away with processing fees forever in what it calls a bid to achieve “Interchange Zero.” It will only make money from selling offers and loyalty services. Read more »
SnipSnap, a new Philadephia start-up, is giving people a way to take a picture of a printed coupon with an iPhone app and display it at check-out. The app help consumer unlock a lot of the value in printed coupons that go to waste over time. Read more »
American Express is teaming with Zynga on a reward program that will link offline spending on its Serve pre-paid cards to in-game rewards in Farmville. It’s an ambitious attempt at boosting the reach of AmEx’s Serve product and tying real-world spending to online virtual rewards. Read more »
Foursquare is getting its revenue story in order and announced it has hired Steven Rosenblatt, the former director of advertising sales and strategy at Apple’s iAd. Rosenblatt will serve as Foursquare’s chief revenue officer and will lead the company’s new ad products coming out this summer. Read more »
Media issues like advertising and discovery along with commerce dominated the activity in social and real-time Web technologies during the first quarter. Google raised some hackles, Facebook responded to demands from traditional advertisers, and Yahoo got a new chief executive. Read more in the full report. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Springpad has long been compared to Internet note-taking sensation Evernote, but starting today Springpad will likely be compared to another darling of the startup world, Pinterest. On Wednesday Springpad evolved into its third iteration, transforming the information capture service into a social networking engine. Read more »
The most recent MacUpdate bundle boasts 11 titles for $49.99, including one of the best diagnostic tools money can buy for your Mac, a terrific email client for power users, and a classic RPG for Mac users with Skyrim envy, just in time for the holidays. Read more »
The more I see of American Express, the more I think it stands a chance to be a major player to watch in the local deals market. If AmEx can execute, it could show many of the deal companies how commerce, loyalty and offers are done. Read more »
Google has snapped up The Dealmap, an aggregator of nearby shopping deals, in an acquisition that furthers its Google Offers ambitions. The purchase, whose price was not disclosed, shows that Google is proceeding even without its unsuccessful $6 billion bid for Groupon last year. Read more »
So Google is launching Groupon-style discount program for small businesses known as Google Offers. But does Google have what it takes to build up that kind of service on its own? Probably not. Which is why the company should still think about buying a Groupon clone. Read more »
