Hyperlocal startups in a crowded marketplace are testing new ways to stand out, and they discussed their strategies at the Street Fight Summit in New York City this week. Here are some lessons learned.

New initiatives from Open Road Integrated Media and Wattpad hope to draw teen readers in with webisodes, music videos, “triggered events” and other digital goodies. The strategy for Open Road’s project: Everything is new. The strategy for Wattpad’s project: We’re taking something old and making it new and free.

Facebook has had a lot of scrutiny over how it uses information about you to market to you—something that has only been heightened the introduction of “frictionless” sharing launched at this year’s f8 developer conference. Well, get ready for more. Carolyn Everson, Facebook’s global VP of marketing solutions, said at…

Pew, in its latest, ongoing research into news consumption and news creation, took a pit stop in the world of mobile today, and found that while handheld devices like smartphones and tablets are not the primary source for news, they have become a significant “supplemental source” after other channels like…

The NYTimes.com (NYSE: NYT) is rolling out a “new features” site beta620 to the public in a bid to solicit more involvement on the site’s features from its most devoted users and ultimately, outside developers.

Klout score is not yet an easily recognizable metric compared to, say, one’s number of Twitter followers or Facebook friends. But the company, which aims to measure users’ online influence (and which recently attracted attention for giving away Spotify accounts), wants that score to be more meaningful than either. Klout…

I will warn you on this one. I have tried to be a location-based services user but I lose interest real quickly. My erratic check-ins at restaurants or sporting events are more a result of me saying “I guess I could check in” or my wife checking in thus making…

Mika Salmi described the new backers of PressPlane, the parent company of new mobile app Zapd, as a “who’s who” of Seattle in a note to me and he wasn’t joking. Madrona Capital and Real Networks founder Rob Glaser led the Seattle-based startup’s $3.5 million second round for a total…

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has launched yet another project geared at making its search engine a more social beast. The awkwardly titled Google+ went live as an invitation-only “field test” Tuesday with the goal of allowing users to share information within self-determined groups of connections called “circles,” and is aimed squarely…

A look at some of the big stories in mobile today: more details spill about Google’s not-so-secret mobile wallet launch today; worrying stats about malware for Android in China; O2 tops mobile broadband survey in the UK; ex-Nokia (NYSE: NOK) executives’ $60 million VC fund.

For over the past year, Comcast/NBC (NSDQ: CMCSA) Universal’s iVillage has been overhauling its sites and expanding its international presence. Now it is moving more forcefully into mobile with the launch of its app network. As part of its push into mobile, the company has named former Barnes & Noble…

UberMedia, which has accumulated a portfolio of Twitter clients in recent months and is in the process of acquiring TweetDeck, has raised $17.5 million in a new round of funding led by Accel Partners. Existing backers Index Ventures and Steve Case’s Revolution Ventures also participated in the funding.

One year after making its debut at Mobile World Congress, the Mobile Applications Community—the group formed to encourage operator-led app stores—has finally come up with a commercial product and a list of handset makers who will work to make it happen. Is the market ready and willing for another app…

UberMedia, which is behind Twitter clients like Echofon and Twidroyd, has purchased Digg-like news site Mixx. On Mixx, users post interesting stories, photos, or videos and vote and comment on those that others submit; it also lets publishers set up “channels” that aggregate social chatter related to a specific topic…

Fashism, the online and mobile service that lets users post pictures of themselves to get feedback from other users, has raised $1 million in a first round of funding, with investors including Ashton Kutcher’s A-Grade Investments.

—Opera Mini on T-Mobile: T-Mobile USA will be making Opera Software’s Mini browser available for download on eight feature phones. The browser compresses web pages to make surfing the web faster on lower-end devices. [Release] —4INFO launches ad platform: 4INFO, which is best known for ad campaigns via SMS, has…

The funding of mobile social companies continues with Aurora Feint, creator of the mobile social gaming network OpenFeint, picking up cash from Intel (NSDQ: INTC) Capital to close out a recent $8 million round. The Burlingame, Calif.-based company is benefiting from the cross section mobile, social and gaming heating up,…

StudyBlue, a site designed to help college and high school students prepare for their classes, has raised $3.65 million in a new funding round. On StudyBlue, students can upload their class notes and make flash cards. They can then access the material online or via their mobile phones.  The startup…

San Jose, Calif.-based PlayPhone was one of the early entrants to the cellphone industry, riding high on selling ringtones and other mobile content. The company has raised $50 million in venture capital and helped big brand names, like Walmart, Disney (NYSE: DIS) and NBC (NYSE: GE), manage online portals selling…