Here's the most recent @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Google Reviews Slip, New TikTok Local Feed, Ads Not AIOs Are Killing Your Traffic, Social Media 'Addiction' on Trial www.nearmedia.co/google-slips/

Join @mikeblumenthal.bsky.social @davidmihm.bsky.social and me next Tuesday (Feb 24) for a webinar on our latest behavioral research: Winning in 2026: Reviews, AI, and the New Rules of Search. go.gatherup.com/winning-in-2...

Bad actors in the US gov't are trying to get info on critics from Google and Google is complying in some cases. Take my poll on how you might react if you were being targeted: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

The latest @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter, Super Bowl edition. Local Pack Ads, Google Ka-Ching!, Claude Super Bowl Ads, AI Ankle-Biters www.nearmedia.co/local-pack-a...

Broken Siri and lack of AI capabilities don’t seem to have hurt Apple results: quarterly sales up 16% on ‘staggering’ iPhone demand www.reuters.com/business/app...

The latest @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Local AI Visibility Study, AIO-->AI Mode, Daily Queries Decline, CEOs Squandered Tech Trust

Tim Cook’s delayed and bland response to events in Minnesota is not going to satisfy his critics. He’s going to need to accelerate his retirement.

This is the future and the United States is, dangerously, putting its head in the sand. US auto makers will wake up five years from now finding their market share disappearing. insideevs.com/news/785541/...

Yahoo launches new AI "answer engine" Scout, which offers a nice blend of AI and traditional search features. www.nearmedia.co/scout-yahoos...

Tesla sales continue to decline in California and Europe, its biggest markets. Yet the Tesla board clings to Elon Musk as though it has no choice. He’s not an asset he’s a liability.

Increasing reliance on Musk’s propagandapedia might cause me to switch my usage from ChatGPT to Gemini. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Tim Cook's obsequious cozying up to Trump -- really true of the lot of them (maybe Nadella is the exception) -- has tainted his legacy and the Apple brand.

@nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Agentic Shopping, GBP Agents, Gemini Share Surge, Siri-Google Deal www.nearmedia.co/agentic-shop...

Gemini Nano Banana is faster than ChatGPT, but ChatGPT produces consistently better images.

From @nearmedia.bsky.social … a look back at local in 2025. www.nearmedia.co/looking-back...

Because of Elon Musk's toxic politics, many people are rooting for Tesla to fail. But Tesla was and still is an important company. I would rather see it sold or Musk ousted. However Musk may try to merge Tesla with xAI for even greater control. www.theinformation.com/articles/pre...

I would encourage everyone so inclined to donate to ProPublica. They do old school investigative journalism at a time when many news organizations are turning into social media. www.propublica.org

Here’s a bitter but amusing article about Elon Musk‘s failed/false promises mashable.com/article/elon...

A movie that’s not explicitly an Xmas movie but is a better Xmas movie than almost all of them.

For those who are curious, here’s a link to the 60 Minutes segment that was pulled in the US but aired in Canada last night. www.thereset.news/p/breaking-h...

From @nearmedia.bsky.social: ChatGPT local results with Knowledge Panels. www.nearmedia.co/chatgpt-loca...

One of the reasons for Gemini's recent popularity vs. ChatGPT is Nano Banana and the fact that Gemini was much faster at images than ChatGPT. That has changed dramatically with the release of upgraded image creation. openai.com/index/new-ch...

Haven't written a Google review in a while. Wrote one tonight and got their reward-points screen, which I won't be manipulated by and laugh in the face of ...

Saw this is my credit card bill today, which is Amazon Prime fee plus tax. It’s incredible that it has become so expensive over the years.

Google is apparently bringing more visual local results to Gemini (per @rustybrick.com and a Twitter post now deleted). However, Gemini is way too slow to take usage from Google proper or AI Mode.

The latest @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Got Moats?, Google AI Training Probe, Agencies Are 'OK,' SMBs Are Social www.nearmedia.co/got-moats-go...

When I see sponsored content I almost always bounce without reading it.

Terrific podcast discussion with Jes Scholtz about the future of search, SEO and AI. Lots of strategic and very tactical advice via @nearmedia.bsky.social www.nearmedia.co/ep-234-p-1-g...

Google keeps making me sign in again and again. So annoying.

All data captured by Meta AI chats will now be used for ad targeting. No opt-out in the US. Yet more confirmation the company is a bad actor. techcrunch.com/2025/10/01/m...

The latest @nearmediaco newsletter: ChatGPT 'Code Red', Dynamic SERP, Local AI Visibility, AI Shopping on the Rise www.nearmedia.co/chatgpt-code...

It's pretty clear that most of these recent RTO orders are layoffs in disguise (e.g., Amazon). Same with the latest Instagram 5-days a week RTO policy. sfist.com/2025/12/01/i...

Watching Stranger Things season 5, first four episodes. Enjoying it but there is a ton of stuff that doesn’t make any sense.

ChatGPT shopping research is going to be widely used and pretty compelling to consumers. Google will seek to match it. openai.com/index/chatgp...

One clear advantage Gemini/Nano Banana has over ChatGPT image creation is speed.

Enough with the pronouns! The Internet and social media in particular have destroyed headline writing

ChatGPT piloting collaboration/group chat. Could be quite useful and very differentiated from Gemini (until they copy the feature). openai.com/index/group-...

The backlash against this AI wearable bodes ill for OpenAI's hardware plans. www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/t...

Turns out people can no longer tell AI generated music from that created by humans. www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-gene...

The latest @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Local Search Ranking Factors, Google AI Local Inventory Calls, Social Does Double Duty, Yelp's Numbers. www.nearmedia.co/lsrf-local-i...

Review gating alive and well. Request to review followed general text inquiry into my level of satisfaction during my hotel stay.

Join @nearmedia.bsky.social with @davidmihm.bsky.social, @gsterling.bsky.social as we pick Darren Shaw of @whitespark.ca 's brain about the ins and the outs of the 2026 Local Search Ranking Survey. www.nearmedia.co/ep-231-local...

Our most recent @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: G-Maps AI Makeover, Google Unbowed, Hidden Decision Engines, CTRs Down Again www.nearmedia.co/g-maps-ai-ma...

The new Google "sponsored results" layout is designed to confuse users and generate more clicks. It's working www.seroundtable.com/googles-ad-l...

Is trust in AI starting to slip? In Dialog's initial consumer survey last year: ✨ 61% said that they believed AI results were trustworthy ✨ 31% said they trusted them "sometimes" ✨ 7% don't trust AI results But our newest survey shows a big shift. Read more: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...?

Local Search/SEO doesn't get enough respect. I was on two calls this week where people referred to it as a "niche." It's not. Read more 👇 www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Looking forward to this SMX session with @gsterling.bsky.social on "Coffee Talk: What's new in local search" - always have fun doing a live talk with Greg and Local Search is so much fun searchengineland.com/smx/next/age...

The latest @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Apple Map Ads, LSA's 'Economic Rents,' Yelp's Uphill Battle, it's AI for B2B buyers. www.nearmedia.co/apple-map-ad...

Google has first $100B quarter. www.cnbc.com/2025/10/29/a...

Would you pay $10 per month for Google Home Premium (Gemini)? Me: no.