Google Enhances Lens for Image Based Commerce, Yelp Goes Front of House SAAS for Restaurants, Amazon and Facebook stymied by new consumer attitudes toward privacy

Send us Fan MailGoogle Lens was first introduced at Google I/O in 2017 and it has become a showcase for Google’s image recognition. Now when paired with MUM, Google’s new language processing, Lens is being enhanced with commerce capability to provide more than just a simple “this is that” answer to uploaded images. One more benchmark as search becomes ever more visual. Yelp is making a strategic pivot from an ad seller to a SAAS company. This is a pivot that is critical for them but will they be trusted in a crowded SMB marketplace?Consumers and the presse, while not wanting to give up the comforts offered by Amazon or Facebook, seem to be increasingly skeptical of new  hardware from either firm. The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.Near Memo Ep 35Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/