A few people complained that I went silent and told me they count on me for their e-commerce wars news consumption. So here is some of the interesting stuff we’ve seen this week.
- Ikea is buying TaskRabbit.
TaskRabbit is an online marketplace that matches freelance labor with local demand, allowing consumers to find immediate help with tasks ( one of the most popular tasks is assembly of IKEA furniture). According to sources:
“The purchase of TaskRabbit was fueled by Ikea’s need to further bolster its digital customer service capabilities to better compete with rivals likes Amazon, which has stepped up its home goods and installation offerings”.
https://www.recode.net/2017/9/28/16377528/ikea-acquisition-taskrabbit-shopping-home-contract-labor
2. Google has pulled YouTube from Echo Show device
Amazon said on Tuesday its Echo Show devices could no longer play videos from YouTube because the site’s parent, Google, stopped supporting the service. EchoShow is similar to the regular, Alexa Powered Echo device, but with a video screen (released in June).
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/26/16371292/google-youtube-amazon-echo-show
In a statement, Amazon said:
“As of this afternoon, Google has chosen to no longer make YouTube available on Echo Show, without explanation and without notification to customers. There is no technical reason for that decision, which is disappointing and hurts both of our customers.”
Then yesterday multiple sources reported that — surprise — Google is going to launch its own “Echo Show” killer: It is building a tabletop smart screen for video calling and more that will compete with Amazon’s Echo Show.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/28/google-homescreen/
These are truly big boys league games we’re watching here, stay tuned for more in the Game of Voice. (see my previous post about the space).
3. Amazon started its Football experiment — adding Thursday Night Football to its video offering.
Amazon reportedly paid $50m for the rights. According to some media outlets the first attempt was a failure, according to others it was a success…
Emmmm…
That’s all for today, please add interesting/cool stuff I missed.
See you in the next episodes.