There were some really good posts on NFC, mobile payments and local that I ran across this week.
These are must-reads for many of the folks who follow me on Twitter:
- The iPhone 5 Doesn’t Have NFC — So What? A PayPal exec takes a look at why NFC isn’t important and the difference between a mobile wallet and a digital wallet.
- Google Redefines Disruption: The “Less Than Free” Business Model A 2009 post from VC Bill Gurley on why Google switched from Navteq and Tele Atlas to generating its own maps. Apple faces a similar bind in relying on archrival Google for maps in iOS. With each search, it provided valuable data to Google. Although iOS maps aren’t great now, I expect that Apple will keep improving them.
- Groupon launches credit card payment business That part isn’t much news (I wrote about it in May), but Reuters’ Alistair Barr provides a solid overview of the overall state of payments business.
And in case you missed the news: I’m getting out of the writing about Groupon business. It’s been more than a year and it’s time to move on to other things. A note to my friends in the media: I’m still happy to help you with your Groupon stories, I just won’t be writing my own. Let me know if you need analysis or introductions to sources.
