Google Blog: Now it’s easier to show what your business offers on Google. “Last year, we added ways for you to change basic business information, message your customers and see detailed insights. And now, as we head into International Small Business Week, we have even more ways for you to update your Business Profile — all directly from Search and Maps.”
MIT Technology Review: Anti-vaxxers are weaponizing Yelp to punish bars that require vaccine proof. “Spamming review portals with negative ratings is not a new phenomenon. Throughout the pandemic, the tactic has also been deployed to attack bars and restaurants that enforced mask-wearing for safety. As pandemic restrictions have lifted, businesses like Mother’s Ruin have sought to ensure that safety by requiring proof of vaccination using state-sponsored apps like New York’s Excelsior Pass, vaccine passports, or simply flashing vaccine cards at the door — practices that have instigated a second surge of spam reviews.”
Grand Rapids Business Journal: The Right Place unveils online database of diverse business owners. “The filterable directory is a database of more than 1,200 minority-, women-, veteran- and LGBTQ+-owned businesses in 13 West Michigan counties, which includes Kent, Barry, Montcalm, Ionia, Ottawa, Allegan, Newaygo, Mecosta, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Lake and Osceola counties.”
Engadget: Google makes it easier to find businesses with gender-neutral restrooms. “With Pride Month underway, Google is adding a small but handy feature in Maps and Search to help transgender, nonbinary and gender non-conforming individuals. Local listings can now include a mention of whether a business has gender-neutral restrooms.”
News & Star: Fusion Trampoline Park in Carlisle contacts Nick Clegg over Facebook issue. “Andy Ince, one of the owners of Fusion Trampoline Park in Carlisle, was devastated when the park’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were shut down over a dispute with another company. Between them, the two pages had 20,000 followers…. ‘In desperation I decided to write air mail letters marked “private and confidential” to Sir Nick Clegg – head of Global Affairs at Facebook in California – and also to Mark Zuckerberg.’”
CNA Lifestyle: Instagram account shows love – and online exposure – to elderly hawkers. “According to the Instagram account, there will be three posts on three different hawkers each day ‘to help elderly hawkers to get more business during these tough times’. And these hawker highlights are crowd-sourced from the public.” This is in Singapore.
WTVD: Instagram scammers copycat popular accounts to access followers, money during giveaways. “As you are scrolling through your social media feed, you need to watch out for scammers impersonating popular businesses and influencers social media pages to try and get access to their followers and even their money. It happened to a popular triangle food and travel blogger, and when her account got shut down, she turned to out Troubleshooter Diane Wilson for help.”
Australian Aviation: Google Drones To Fly Coffee To Offices In Queensland. “Google’s drone delivery service, Wing, will soon be delivering coffee to offices in Logan, Queensland. The development is possible because the business will soon extend its service beyond residential homes to include commercial business locations in a dozen suburbs – up from just three currently. Wing first launched in Canberra last year and currently allows for the delivery of packages that weigh less than 1.5 kilograms from a variety of retailers who sell household goods.”
Yelp: Yelp makes it easy to support LGBTQ-owned businesses, and find “Open to All” places to celebrate Pride. “To celebrate Pride Month, Yelp is making it easier than ever for consumers to support businesses that align with their values, and find safe and welcoming places to enjoy Pride celebrations all month long. Starting today, Yelp is introducing an LGBTQ-owned business attribute that will allow business owners to self identify as LGBTQ-owned. In addition, restaurant, food and nightlife businesses that identify as LGBTQ-owned or Open to All will be highlighted on Yelp with rainbow-colored map pins for the entire month of June to help people find places to celebrate Pride Month.”
CBC: Black market in Google reviews means you can’t believe everything you read. “When Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire and owner of the English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club, appeared to have posted a Google review complaining that a Manitoba moving company lost three of his watches, Chris Pereira knew something was wrong. The oligarch had never been a customer at Riverbend Moving and Storage, a small business that offers residential and commercial moving services in Winnipeg. The review was fake, and fit a pattern that Pereira, the company’s vice president of sales, had been observing for months — a slew of made-up complaints targeting the company’s online reputation.”
BBC: Canadian ‘sign war’ captivates the internet. “For the past week, the Canadian town of Listowel has been embroiled in a war of words via business signs that has captivated local residents and people around the world. It started as a battle between two businesses in the Ontario town – Speedy Glass and Dairy Queen (DQ) – and has since spread to the entire town and even further afield. Locals have been joining in, creating fun mottos for their business’ sign.”
New Zealand Herald: Instagram deletes accounts of Kiwi small business owners without a reason. “Hannah Koumakis is one of hundreds of New Zealanders using Instagram to grow her small business, which sells handmade and vintage womenswear. Her account had several thousand followers and she recently quit her day job to focus on the store, which ran exclusively from her Instagram account. But a few weeks ago, the account vanished without explanation.”
The Verge: Yelp is making it easier for users to search for Asian-owned businesses. “Yelp is rolling out a new tool that will allow businesses the option to identify themselves as Asian-owned, chief diversity officer Miriam Warren announced today. The new optional attribute will make it easier for Yelp users to find and support Asian-owned businesses easily.”
The Daily Beast: Meet the Fake Lawyer Who Goes to War for Anti-Mask Restaurants. “Rick Martin presented a formidable résumé. ‘Lawyer Rick Martin “The Judge Slayer,”‘ a biography on his website read. Billing himself as the head of the ‘Constitutional Law Group,’ (CLG), Martin advertised his legal services for businesses that defied anti-COVID-19 measures. ‘“I have put three District Judges, two District Attorneys, and countless law enforcement officers behind prison walls,’ he wrote. ‘We the People need to come together and take back our country from these unlawful criminals.’ But it was Martin and one of his clients who went to jail this month.”
ProPublica: How a Federal Agency Excluded Thousands of Viable Businesses From Pandemic Relief. “Like every other storefront in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, the Coffee House — a cavernous student hangout slinging espresso and decadent pastries since 1987 — saw its revenue dry up almost overnight last spring when the coronavirus pandemic made dining indoors a deadly risk. Unlike most, however, the business wouldn’t have access to the massive loan fund that Congress made available for small enterprises in late March.”
