> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nearmedia.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Axios Local, Amazon Indoor Maps, GEICO Not 'Near Me' - URL: https://www.nearmedia.co/axios-local-amazon-indoor-maps-geico-not-near-me/ - Published: 2022-08-08T18:02:57.000Z - Updated: 2022-08-08T19:32:09.000Z - Author: Greg Sterling - Tags: News ### Cox Buys Axios for Local News Axios, the digital news site delivering journalism via bulleted lists has [sold itself](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cox-enterprises-acquires-axios-media-inc-301601524.html?ref=nearmedia.co) to Cox Enterprises for $525 million. Axios' 2022 revenues are projected to be $100 million, from brand advertising, subscriptions and some B2B sales. Privately held Cox began as a local newspaper company. However, it sold the majority of its local media assets – radio, TV and newspapers – to private equity firm Apollo [in 2019](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cox-enterprises-announces-close-of-cox-media-group-sale-to-affiliates-of-apollo-global-management-300976507.html?ref=nearmedia.co). (Apollo also [owns Yahoo](https://www.nearmedia.co/yahol-amazon-herd/).) Cox still operates the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Otherwise, it owns a major cable provider/ISP and automotive websites (Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, others). An Axios [report](https://www.axios.com/2022/08/08/axios-agrees-to-sell-to-cox-enterprises-for-525-million?ref=nearmedia.co) suggests the deal was substantially about the Axios Local news initiative and Cox's desire to expand and strengthen "local watchdog journalism." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-08-at-8.12.18-AM.png) Source: Axios **Our take:** - Axios Local serves 22 US cities, with more planned. It has a membership/donation model, but says it won't put up a paywall. - Local "news deserts" [are growing](https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/06/29/news-deserts-newspapers-democracy/?ref=nearmedia.co) as newspapers disappear, which has [exacerbated political polarization](https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-12-04/local-newspapers-closing-pandemic-democracy?ref=nearmedia.co) in the US. - Local news in the digital era has struggled (e.g., Patch). The deal is welcome, but Axios Local is a merely skeletal version of local news. ### Amazon's iRobot Motive: Indoor Maps Late last week Amazon [announced](https://media.irobot.com/2022-08-05-Amazon-and-iRobot-sign-an-agreement-for-Amazon-to-acquire-iRobot?ref=nearmedia.co) it would buy iRobot, maker of the Roomba robot vacuum, for $1.7 billion. It joins a [huge list of Amazon acquisitions](https://gizmodo.com/every-company-that-amazon-has-acquired-in-20-years-1849142527?ref=nearmedia.co) over 20 years. Roomba has about 46% of the global market. Immediately, the discussion turned toward privacy. Indeed, Amazon is partly buying [indoor maps](https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-irobot-roomba-acquisition-data-privacy/?ref=nearmedia.co) of every Roomba household (iRobot also has an extensive patent portfolio). According to an [investor presentation](https://investor.irobot.com/static-files/7c75716c-d07f-44bc-8f55-48a3b0dbc9a8?ref=nearmedia.co), the installed base of in-home robots (mostly vacuums) is about 19 million, about 1.5% penetration (US). A 2017 Reuters [article](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-irobot-strategy-idUSKBN1A91A5?il=0&ref=nearmedia.co) shows iRobot was planning to share/sell its in-home data. The data could support personalized marketing based on square footage, furniture, flooring types, owner schedules and other information. Income levels, among other things, could be inferred. The global home decor market is now worth nearly $700 billion, according to estimates. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-08-at-10.28.09-AM.png) Source: iRobot investor presentation **Our take:** - It's easy to see how iRobot fits into Amazon's larger smart home and robotics strategies. From a product/data perspective it's a smart buy. - The in-home data provided by iRobot could allow Amazon to become even more dominant in e-commerce in certain categories. - The FTC may seek to block the acquisition. We should see more alarm in Washington over competitive implications/privacy in the coming weeks. ### No More 'GEICO Near Me' Last week GEICO insurance company [closed](https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article263946861.html?ref=nearmedia.co) all of its 38 physical offices in California. There will be no more in-person services or sales, although it says it will still write policies in the state, but they will have to be purchased online. GEICO will also not sell new policies in California over the phone. Roughly 100 employees in California were reportedly laid off. Assuming these moves aren't a prelude to exiting the state entirely, it represents an interesting experiment. GEICO will no longer show up for "near me" searches and presumably not rank for queries using insurance keywords + postal codes or city names. GEICO will probably now need to spend more on paid search. High-intent auto-insurance keywords range from $20 to $30 per click, according to Semrush. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-08-at-8.37.27-AM.png) **Our take:** - GEICO [spent \~$2 billion](https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/geico-progressive-break-trend-slash-advertising-expenditures-in-2021-69764365?ref=nearmedia.co) on ads in 2021\. Undoubtedly the company did a careful analysis before doing this. Its online presence will likely suffer. - It's unclear whether GEICO's brand will be harmed. If revenues don't suffer, others might follow its lead. - The absence of humans will deter some. But GEICO might succeed using paid search and driving branded queries with other channels. ## Recent Analysis - **Near Memo episode 76:** [Shopify invests in email. Will we see the end of location intelligence? E-commerce not eating retail, it is retail](https://www.nearmedia.co/ep-76/). ## Short Takes - ****Yelp** reviewers [calling out](https://www.yelp.com/search?find%5Fdesc=%22shrinkflation%22&l%5Ferr=true&ref=nearmedia.co) restaurants for "shrinkflation" portions. - Auto surveillance: ****Tesla** [capturing](https://spectrum.ieee.org/tesla-autopilot-data-scope?ref=nearmedia.co) massive amount of data from its cars. - ****TikTok** and Ticketmaster [partner](https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/376387/tiktok-teams-with-ticketmaster-to-deliver-in-app-t.html?ref=nearmedia.co) for in-app event-ticket buying. - Onscreen.ai [builds](https://streetfightmag.com/2022/08/08/onescreen-ai-launches-the-yellow-pages-of-the-ooh-industry%ef%bf%bc/?ref=nearmedia.co) a [directory](https://discover.onescreen.ai/?ref=nearmedia.co): "yellow pages for the ****OOH industry**." - ASO: [Keyword spamming](https://daringfireball.net/2022/08/dropbox%5Fcloud%5Fphoto%5Fstorage?ref=nearmedia.co) in app names in the ****iOS App Store**. - In reversal, ****DuckDuckGo** to [start blocking](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/microsoft-trackers-run-afoul-of-duckduckgo-get-added-to-blocklist/?ref=nearmedia.co) Microsoft trackers. - The return of ****iGoogle**? Google [tests homepage widgets](https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/google-search-desktop-widgets-test?ref=nearmedia.co). - ****Local SEO** efforts that help [one location vs. multiple locations](https://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2022/07/27/local-seo-steps-that-help-1-location-vs-multiple-locations-at-once/?ref=nearmedia.co) at once. - New ****Google** [image preview pane](https://searchengineland.com/google-launches-new-image-preview-interface-in-web-search-387004?ref=nearmedia.co) in web search results. - New ****markup support** [for pros and cons](https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-structured-data-support-for-pros-and-cons-on-product-markup-386978?ref=nearmedia.co) on product review pages. - ****Waze** has [problems with CarPlay](https://9to5google.com/2022/08/05/waze-carplay-android-auto-lag/?ref=nearmedia.co) and Android Auto. - The silly and [pretentious history](https://www.creativebloq.com/news/pepsi-logo-design?ref=nearmedia.co) of the ****Pepsi** logo redesign. - Visual [history](https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/our-history/?ref=nearmedia.co) of 26 years of ****Google** and search (1996 - 2022). - NY artist using ****DALL-E 2** to [do urban planning](https://thenextweb.com/news/can-ai-design-better-streets-for-pedestrians-dalle-2?ref=nearmedia.co). Listen to our [latest podcast](https://www.nearmedia.co/memo/). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2021/02/near_memo_banner.png)](https://nearmedia.co/memo?ref=nearmedia.co) How can we make this better? Email [us](mailto:gsterling@nearmedia.co) with suggestions and recommendations.