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8.3.2016 – Virtual Skinny FinTech: Move It or Lose It

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter 0 Comment

8.3.2016

Good to Know: We want to get your thoughts. Take our poll below! 

THE SKINNY

When You Can’t Beat ‘Em …

Join ‘em. Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Bank of America, and US Bank are all jumping on the instant cash bandwagon.

When You Don’t Really Have A Choice …

Their hands have been forced. In the U.S., moving money between bank accounts is slow AF. Mobile services like PayPal’s Venmo and Square Cash handled the issue…Customers love it … Now U.S. banks don’t want to get left behind. 

When Your Age is Showing …

Banks have tried to pull an Instagram by offering their very own money transfer apps. Think Chase QuickPay. But, it isn’t quite the same ‘copy and paste’ job Instagram just pulled on Snapchat (read more on that later this week in our Internet & Tech edition).  They want customers to believe that their apps are just as ‘hip and cool’ as the Venmos of the world with the help of star-power ads. But, some people aren’t buying it.

When You’re Not Leading From Behind…

The U.S. is playing ‘follow the leader’ with the rest of the world when it comes to faster payments. Note to self: The U.S. is doing the following. So, the Federal Reserve Board’s ‘Faster Payments Committee’ is telling banks to ‘pick up the pace’ on money transfers.

When You Need to Make A Move …

Meanwhile everyone and their moms in the financial ecosystem (including financial OGs like Mastercard and Visa) are in an arms race to build the “payments network of the future.” Mastercard snatched up a huge chunk of Vocalink, a UK biz with a mobile and internet payment network, and Visa’s strategically linked up with Paypal.

When You’re Just Happy to be Here …  

Since people are still using the cash money and writing checks, there’s lots of opportunity to get in on the instant payments action. It won’t be easy for banks to catch up with Venmo and other peer-to-peer apps that are hybrid payment and social platforms. But, at least U.S. banks are making moves.

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS?

Now that banks are stepping up their instant payments game, are you willing to give up your current money transfer app (i.e., Venmo, Square Cash, etc) and give your bank’s app a go?

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That …

The U.S. is still trying to get consumers to dip their credit cards rather than swipe them. Turns out chip and pin cards aka EMV cards aka cards that keep us waiting at checkout for life are way more secure and help cut back on fraud. That’s great and all, but we hear that making just two purchases daily for a year with an EMV card adds up. It’s literally 85 minutes of our lives that we’ll never get back just waiting to check out. No bueno! Even retailers want to avoid installing EMV card readers because long lines aren’t good for biz. Only 28% of all U.S. merchants require dips v. swipes. Shopping at places that take Apple, Android, or Samsung Pay may be a better, faster option. Meanwhile, some of us will continue to struggle with the process.

Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 10.32.34 AM

And The Winner Is…

We hope China’s been practicing it’s surprise face and pageant wave. The U.S. Department of Commerce just crowned Asia’s largest economy as the 2017 Fintech Leader. Expect China to lead the world in payment exports. 

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word …

Banks in Africa are are like that ex who took you for granted but now wants to make things right. Sure, they did the basics like setting up infrastructure but didn’t go the extra mile to take care of everyone’s needs. Banks on the continent dropped the ball on figuring out mobile money services and left potential bankers out of the loop. Now that fintech startups have stepped in to offer way better services that can help way more people, the banks are seeing the error of their ways. To right their wrongs, banks are teaming up with startups like MFS Africa and Nomanini to reach untraditional young consumers.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Hong-Kong based Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex told us its system had been compromised. Like thieves in the night, hackers allegedly made off with a cool US $65 million in real money. The exchange is looking into the breach. In the meantime, Bitcoin’s value dropped by 7.8 percent earlier this week.

China’s got a trust problem with its charity organizations. Alibaba’s CEO Jack Ma wants to use blockchain technology to make sure charities are using donations for the right purposes. Alibaba’s Ant Financial is leading the effort on this. Transparency FTW …

The charity world is pretty old school when it comes to donations. It’s all about those cash money donations. But, you can only give what you have. So, if people are short on dolla bills, charities are SOL. DipJar wants to change that up by allowing people to donate with credit or debit cards for “impulsive, on-the-spot giving.”

While Alibaba’s trying to figure out this blockchain situation, IBM seems to be way ahead of them. The tech company is all set to kick off the first major implementation of the technology for its business. IBM’s figured out how to use the technology to settle financial disputes between partners and customers. #NBD

One last thing on the checkout process, Venmo’s no longer for just easily reimbursing your friends. It’s branching out into checkout services for retail apps. Buying things you probably don’t need just got easier…

Virtual Skinny: Doing the Absolute Most…

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in Internet & Tech, Newsletter 0 Comment

8.1.2016

Good to Know: Snapchat’s geofilters aka personalized filters could be the new hashtag. All the kids are doing it … 

snap

THE SKINNY

When You Need to Do the Absolute Most…

Alphabet’s Google, Facebook, and Twitter teamed up for a three-week, experimental collabo by using online videos to counter terrorist and extremist propaganda on their platforms. The social platforms are targeting teens and young adults that use words like “sharia” and “mujahideen” in their posts.

When You Need More Information…

Islamist radicals and far-right groups’ extremist propaganda and violent content on the InterWebs play a major role in terrorism. So, Internet companies are fighting back. They want to figure out what messages work to keep the youth from becoming full-blown radicals.

When You’re Not Trying to Hear It …

Young people are saying ‘no’ to government-sponsored messages. And ‘definitely maybe’ to videos shading jihadist groups, the Taliban, and white supremacist groups. The videos are courtesy of organizations like U.S. based Average Mohamed, Pakistan’s Harakat-ut-Taleem, and ExitUSA.

When You’re Not Sure It’s Working …

Are the videos working? Hard to tell. But, starting a discussion is always a positive first step. And for the most part, the videos are getting people chatting online about the videos.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

If They Ever Did That, I Think We’d Have a Cyber-Attack …

Remember that time someone hacked the U.S. Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) emails … Russia’s name came up as the potential culprit … Then, Donald Trump looked straight into a press camera and challenged Russians to find Hillary’s missing emails but later said ‘just kidding?‘ Of course you do, that was just last week. Well, security expert Bruce Schneier thinks things could get worse. Schneier says Russia could go after the nation’s voting machines come this November. He says the U.S. needs to get its cyber-defense game in order. And apparently, Internet voting is not the answer.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Looks like maps and driverless cars are on Uber’s 2016 vision board. The ride-hailing services just dropped a cool US $500 millie on a global mapping project so it can say “bye” to Google Maps. Oh and, Uber’s packing it in … at least in China. The company’s done competing with its Chinese rival Didi Chuxing and decided that both companies need to become one in a deal worth $35 billion. 

Speaking of the Googler, navigational app Waze just released a new bomb feature called Child Reminder to make sure people don’t forget their kids in the car. 

Interior design app Homee didn’t make the cut on Shark Tank, but Tinder co-founder Sean Rad happened to catch its episode. Rad decided to pony up hard cash for Homee. He’s its first investor. As they say, any publicity is good publicity … 

Fresh off of exposing Taylor Swift’s B.S., Kanye West has made it clear that he’s done with Apple’s B.S. too. Word on the street is Apple wants to buy music service Tidal owned by West’s bestie Jay-Z. West tweeted “Apple give Jay his check for Tidal now and stop trying to act like you Steve.” And by Apple, we think he means Tim Cook. #ShotsFired  

The Rio Olympics start this Friday. But if you’ve been paying attention, you know that many people (including athletes) will be skipping it on account of Brazil’s issues with Zika, its water supply, and general turmoil. Even if you won’t be in Brazil, Google’s is bringing the favela (aka slum) experience to you via Street View. 

One more thing about the Olympics … Those that are going have much to complain about including an ‘uninhabitable’ Olympic Village and maybe even worse no access to Pokemon Go. #Messy  

MAKING MOVES …

In the wake of the Verizon-Yahoo deal announcement, Verizon’s Marni Walden and AOL head Tim Armstrong got together at Yahoo’s Sunnyvale, CA HQ. The message to Yahoo employees was positive, but everyone’s well aware there’ll be issues joining both companies. A new company structure and potential unforeseen costs to name a couple. 

Founder of CODE2040  Laura Weidman Powers is headed to Washington. For six months, she’ll be taking on the role as senior policy adviser to U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith.  Diversity and inclusion in tech and entrepreneurship generally are at the top of her “to-do” list.  

Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is writing a second book tentatively called “Option B.” It’ll be about resilience. Sandberg has had to show quite a bit of it after the tragic and untimely passing of her husband last year. 

The Virtual Skinny FinTech Ed: Reverse, Reverse …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter

1.15.2016

Good to Know: The Virtual Skinny is out with a weekly newsletter on what’s going on in financial technology aka FinTech. Sign up here! And, please don’t forget to tell you friends about us. Happy Friday!

THE SKINNY

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Bitcoin, the virtual currency network, is going mainstream. And you know what they say: Mo’ money, mo problems.

What’s the Problem?

It really comes down to how many financial transactions the network can handle. Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto initially put a temporary limit on the number of transactions to protect computers on the system.  But, to compete in the big leagues along side companies like PayPal and Visa, the Bitcoin network would need to process more transactions. So, to increase the number of transactions on the network or not? That is the question.

Is It Really That Serious?

When the question came up last year, two camps quickly formed: One in favor of the increase and the other against it. Points of contention over technical capabilities and financial interests have added to the mounting tension between both groups. Some Bitcoin developers have even received death threats, ultimately leading them to bow out of the whole Bitcoin system all together.

GIVING THE PEOPLE WHAT WE THINK THEY WANT?

To settle the score, the group favoring the increase peeled off and created software allowing for more transactions called Bitcoin XT (XT). But shortly after XT’s release and endorsements of the software from the likes of CoinBase and others, a hacker released Bitkiller, a malicious software, to take down computers running XT. The hacker claims he was paid off to get rid of Bitkiller.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Since then, the Bitcoin community has gotten together twice to try to reach a better compromise but no answers yet. It’s pretty unclear where things are headed. Oh, the drams!

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 

Party’s Over … 

China’s not the place if you’re trying to get your Fintech company off the ground.  The government’s taking “corrective actions” that’ll force Fintech startups to either consolidate or simply fold. This is a 180 from the Chinese governments initial outlook.  At one time, It was all about Fintech startups so they could compete with Chinese e-commerce companies like Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. But, now China has changed its mind. Thanks to things like new regulations, unsustainable business models, and low return on investments (ROIs), these startups will struggle this year.  E-commerce companies aren’t safe either. But, you know who will be? The banks, of course. If things go as planned, banks in China should reclaim their power in no time.

When You’re All About It …

Wall Street is embracing Fintech companies with open arms. Fintech can mean a lot of things but basically covers services and apps that help make financial transactions happen. Banking vet and Silicon Valley Bank’s Head of EMEA & President of the UK branch Phil Cox thinks that Fintech “winners” will be companies that can offer solutions to major problems like improved customer service from banks. Seems like a no-brainer …

If Only We Knew What You Were Talking About …

Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, and the entire capital markets crew wants to know how they can make blockchain technology work for them.  So, what’s stopping them?  According to one study, the talent just isn’t there.  In other words, there just aren’t people that understand both blockchain technology and the ins and outs of capital markets. Also, there’s the other issue that blockchain technology may not pair nicely with existing IT infrastructure of capital market firms.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Messaging app Snapchat wants to do more than just make sure that your sketchy pics don’t last.  It wants to help manage your funds by getting into the robo-adivsor biz.

Moneybox, a U.K. startup coming to us soon, wants to make sure that you save and invest some of your coins. It just pulled in US $3 Mill to help make its dreams a reality.

CoinDesk, an online publication about all things Bitcoin, just got bought out by the Digital Currency Group, an industry leader.

Is PayPal drinking the Bitcoin kool-aid? Likely story. The company just brought on bitcoin entrepreneur Wences Casares to join its Board of Directors.

It’s a good time to be in the payments biz.  The 10-year-old payment startup Adyen is worth about US $2 billion, but no one’s heard of it. The startup wants to change that and is looking to cause a media frenzy by taking its financial situation public (even though it’s still a private company). Interesting…

The Virtual Skinny: Brace Yourself …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

12.16.2015

Good to Know: In 2015, you all cared a lot about Caitlyn Jenner and Lamar Odom. Don’t try to deny it. Google’s put you on blast. 

THE SKINNY

Here We Go Again … 

Last night, the U.S. Republican presidential candidates threw down in their fifth round of debates. Everything from terrorism and immigration to the Internet were on the table.

Um, What Now? 

Not one to disappoint, Donald Trump had some thoughts on fighting terrorist group ISIS. He says shutting down parts of the Internet and “penetrat[ing] the Internet [to[ find out exactly where ISIS is and everything about ISIS” is the way to go.

When Other People Have Stuff to Say … 

When it comes to the Internet, Trump’s fellow Republican candidate Senator Marco Rubio is the one to watch.  He recently put his name to a letter basically letting the U.S. Federal Communications Commission know that he doesn’t support its efforts to help local cities and towns set up their very own, publicly run Internet providers. In the past, he’s also said that he’s unimpressed with China’s online censorship.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 

Can We Live? 

China’s definitely got a bad rap when it comes to allowing people to do as they please online.  People are saying China’s launched an “all-out assault on Internet freedoms.” Speaking at the World Internet Conference this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping hit back and his message to the global community is pretty clear: Stay out of how we handle our biz.  He thinks countries should have the right to handle the Internet they way they see fit, and no one should have anything to say about it.   But, others aren’t buying it. There’s speculation that China is being shady and is on the low trying to extend its views on surveillance and online censorship across the globe.

When Someone Needs their mouth washed out with soap… 

Internet companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter are falling in line with Germany’s anti-hate speech rules. This year, Germany’s opened up its borders to about 1 million refugees.  It’s also seen an influx of a lot of hate talk online.  So now, Germany wants online platforms to help out in monitoring comments that go a little too far. These platforms already have policies against that type of thing, but they’ll do better in allowing users to easily flag hate speech.  In Germany, saying hateful things about someone’s race, ethnicity, religion, sex, or disability could get you five years in the slammer. Companies have 24 hours to make good on their promise.

It’s Officially Off-ish …

Internet companies had their eyes set on Europe yesterday.  The European Union’s (EU) been trying to figure out new EU-wide privacy laws and looks like they finally came to an agreement.  Things like upping fines on companies’ that violate the law and putting restrictions on how advertising companies’ can use people’s personal information is in. One thing that’s making people’s heads turn is what it says about kids 16 years or younger. The new law would ban these kids from using online services that collect data without parental consent. It’s bad news for the kids and online platforms. Meaning, there goes kids FB-ing, snapchatting, tweeting, instagramming w/o their parents giving the go ahead. And for companies, there goes potential users and ad $$$. #NoBueno

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Google’s serious about getting more people in India online.  It’s working on partnerships with India’s government and is also looking to the country as a place to test out new products. Getting people online means more dolla dolla bills for the company in terms of ad revenue.

Facebook isn’t one to stay in its lane.  The social network is now taking on recommendation sites like Yelp and Angie’s List with its new local-service site. It’s also easing up on its “real name” policy.

It’s the holiday season, which means holiday office parties.  Yahoo’s been going through some tough times (it plans to shut down its Dubai office), but that didn’t stop the company from throwing its employees an alleged $7 million party Great-Gatsby themed.  Employee morale can go a long way.

 

 

The Virtual Skinny: Run That Back!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

12.11.2015

Good to Know:  friendswholiketrump.com will tell you if your friends support or are at least interested in Donald J. Trump and what he has to say. 

THE SKINNY

Let’s Go Halfsies? 

After its board meeting last week, Yahoo has decided to keep its stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba. There’s also a chance it’ll put a “for sale” sign on its main Internet business (things like Yahoo Mail and its other websites).

But, Why? 

Well, Yahoo initially wanted to keep its core Internet business and sell of its Alibaba stake. But, turns out that idea comes with some major U.S. tax headaches. So, the company is switching things up. It has two options: (1) Make the sale or (2) Split off its Internet biz into a separate publicly traded company aka a “reverse spinoff.”  CEO Marissa Mayer and Chairman of her board Maynard Webb choose #2.  They say making a sale on something of low-value is generally not a good move. But, they’re still not completely ruling out that option.

Moving Forward … 

It’s business as usual for Yahoo. It just released an app to help you sift through online streaming content called the Yahoo Video Guide.  And in the midst of all her company drams, Mayer welcomed twin daughters just yesterday. Congrats!

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED? 

We’re Here For You …

That’s what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is telling the Muslim community. Zuckerberg is committed to protecting their rights.  In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, CA, things got downright nasty. Earlier this week, U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump thought it’d be a great idea to suggest banning Muslims from entering the U.S. Pretty much everyone disagreed. Zuckerberg says even though people are turning against them, Muslims are always welcome on his social platform. 

Will The Real Slim Shady Please stand up? 

We all want to know who is responsible for bringing us the virtual currency bitcoin. To date, people credit Satoshi Nakamoto, but no one really knows whether Nakamoto is a person or a group of people hiding behind the name. Recently, publications Wired and Gizmodo think they’ve figured it all out. Based on a ton of evidence, these publications are pretty convinced that Craig Steven Wright either invented bitcoin or we’ve all been royally punked. Coincidentally, Australian federal police officers busted into Wright’s home and office. Authorities say reasons for the raid are tax-related and have nothing to do with bitcoin. Now, people are wondering if id-ing bitcoin’s creator even matters. Some say “who gives” because no single person owns the bitcoin network. But, others disagree. They want someone to step up and help sort out some of the network’s bugs.

It’s All About the Benjamins, Baby… 

Twitter needs to make more money. It’s targeting people who read tweets without actually logging onto its platform. Coming to a desktop near you, Twitter will be playing around with a feature that shows ads to these non-active users. This means about a half a billion more people each month. Since we’re talking numbers, that averages out to an additional US $2.50/user. With Jack Dorsey leading the company, lots of changes are underway. Add changing up the timeline to show tweets based on relevance rather than timestamps to the list. Twitter’s just trying to make sure you get the content you want to see.

Is The Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

The Chinese government says “half full” when talking about it web censorship.  China’s government says bringing more “order” leads to increased online freedom.  And, by order, it means doing things like shutting out Western Internet platforms like Facebook and Gmail. Oh, did we mention detaining bloggers for “spreading rumors online” and “picking quarrels?” China wants people to back off. It says if things were so bad, then its online economy wouldn’t be growing so quickly. Also, it doesn’t appreciate people bashing its ways then trying to make money off of its people.

When Things Aren’t Looking Good … 

In the U.S., drivers for ride-hailing app Uber want employee benefits and are fighting to upgrade from just contractors for the company to legit company employees.  Ohio and Florida state legislators have denied their wishes.  Both states just passed laws classifying Uber drivers as contractors.  It’s unclear what these laws say exactly, but these moves could potentially ease Uber’s pain if it loses a class action lawsuit drivers brought against it in California.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’ 

Walmart wants in on the mobile payment game along side Apple and Google. The mega-retailer introduced Walmart Pay, its new mobile payment system. The word is Walmart still plans to work with other retailers like Target and BestBuy on CurrentC, the collective’s answer to Apple Pay.

Speaking of Apple, all you iPhone 6 and 6s users will love this … The smartphone manufacturer’s developed a battery case called the Smart Battery Case.  It’ll let you run your mouth for 25 hours.

Streaming service Netflix raked in more Golden Globe nominations than old-school TV broadcasters (8 nominations to be exact).

Turkey’s government is telling Twitter to pay up TL 50,000 (US $51,000) for not taking down alleged “terrorist propaganda.” At least it’s a fine this time, Turkey’s been known to shut down Twitter within its borders all together.

When you think you’re doing a good thing but not really… Tech company IBM quickly ended its #HackAHairDryer campaign initially intended to encourage female coders and engineers. The “hair dryer” angle didn’t go well … Women engineers fired off tweets letting IBM know that they are capable of much more.

Crowdfunding site GoFundMe just landed its new Vice President of Policy & Communications, Dan Pfeiffer. He was formerly the White House’s Communications Director.

Who hasn’t this guy gone after?  U.S. Presidential hopeful Donald Trump piped up about e-commerce company Amazon’s alleged “tax shelter.” Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos now wants to #sendDonaldtospace.

Yahoo can’t keep its people. It wasn’t so hard for Ad Product Chief Prashant Fuloria to say goodbye to the com-pah-nee. He’s getting back into startups.

The Virtual Skinny: Go Time …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

11.23.2015

Good to Know: ‘Tis the season for giving. Turn to Charity Navigator or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance to avoid being scammed by an online charity this holiday season. 

THE SKINNY

Re-Thinking Your Approach … 

U.S. company Shotspotter wants to use its technology to help cities around the globe better respond to terrorist attacks like the ones we’ve seen in Paris, Beirut, Mali, Mumbai, Kenya, etc.

What Does It Do? 

The technology, which is currently deployed in 90 cities around the world, relies on Internet-enabled microphones to hone in on specific areas where there’s gunfire or explosions. In a matter of 30-45 seconds, authorities are alerted of a potential attack. The company wants to expand beyond 90 cities so its teamed up with General Electric.  Both companies think that incorporating the technology into street lamps is the best way to go for full coverage of entire cities. Understandable … GE’s been on its “smart cities” mission for a while and already has “smart” streetlights.

Why Not Cover the Entire Globe? 

David Bray, an executive in residence at Harvard University, wants to see a Shotspotter-style system created worldwide. Bray thinks including Shotspotter-type microphones in devices like cellphones would do the trick. But, for that idea to work, governments need to partner with private companies like Google.  The Internet company declined to comment. We’re thinking this raises all sorts of red flags for people’s privacy. Also, it probably isn’t a good look for government surveillance, which isn’t a fan favorite for Internet and tech companies.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 

When You Make Light of a Pretty Serious Situation …

Brussels is on a high terrorist alert and issued a city-wide lockdown over the weekend. After the Paris terrorist attacks, authorities are still on the hunt for suspects in Belgium. Yesterday evening, Belgian police asked citizens to step away from the Twitter-verse to avoid tipping off suspects about their armed operations. Belgian citizens didn’t exactly follow orders. They turned fear into humor by kicking off a tweet-storm about their pet cats with the hashtag #BrusselsLockDown. On a serious note, Belgian police carried out 22 raids and ultimately arrested 16 people.  Police are still unsure of suspected gunman Salah Abdeslam’s whereabouts.

Decisions, Decisions … 

Austrian student Max Schrems will keep going after Facebook (FB).  Schrems is partly responsible for the European Court of Justice recently throwing out the US-EU Safe Harbor, a longstanding data transfer agreement between the U.S. and European Union. Schrems has got major problems with FB’s privacy policy.  An Austrian court has already let him file a personal suit against FB because of it. But now, he’s looking to team up with 25,000+ people for a class action against the social media company.  He just needs the go ahead from the court. Meanwhile, FB says it’s done nothing wrong.

When Someone’s Got Your Back … 

Ever tried watching a video on YouTube but can’t? You’ve probably seen some variation of the following: “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by [insert media company, network, artist, etc. here].” Under U.S. copyright law (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act specifically), sometimes a video take-down (like what you see on YouTube) is legit; but other times, it’s not. The law isn’t exactly intuitive, and regular folks, who aren’t well-versed in the law, can be intimidated by the process.  They often choose not to fight back against take down requests by rightsholders such as music labels, media companies, networks, etc. Google is sick and tired of YouTube content creators being unfairly targeted under the law so it wants to help out.  The company wants a select few to fight back and is prepared to financially support their legal woes up to US $1 million.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’ 

Does our pact mean nothing to you? Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer asked her execs to take a pledge to stand by the struggling company for three to five years.  It may not be working. Rob Barrett, Yahoo’s head of media strategy and operations, turned in his walking papers, making him the latest employee to dip out on the company.

What do you do when your daily deals company is on a financial decline? Pen a blog post comparing your company to a drug, of course. Andrew Mason, Co-founder and former CEO of Groupon, says “Groupon is powerful like morphine is powerful … If you use it too much, you’ll overdose and die. But take it in moderation and it can do wonders.” Interesting …

Google backed out of China five years ago after refusing to keep up with the country’s self-censorship policies. But, a lot can change in five years. China’s a pretty big market for Internet companies, and Google wants back in.  The company plans to launch a country-specific version of Google Play in China.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is placing big bets on Nest – one of its acquisitions worth $3.2 billion.  With devices and products such as “smart” thermometers and smoke detectors, Nest is the company’s way into the smart home market.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan will soon welcome their first child, a daughter.  The Zuck is taking two months of paid paternity leave. We care because gender norms is a hot topic in the tech industry.

The Virtual Skinny: Open Up!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

10.13.2015

Good to Know: “Make sure it’s something that you love so much that even if you were fired you would do it over and over and over again because you’ll build it differently” – billionaire and Theranos founder’s Elizabeth Holmes’ advice on starting a new venture.

THE SKINNY

Gotta Spend Money to Make Money … 

After months of ‘on the low’ meetings, computer company Dell said it’s buying EMC, computer data storage company, for a cool $67 billion.  Sort of a big deal.

IS it Worth it?

This is the largest tech buyout … ever (even beating out that time Facebook shocked everyone and bought messaging app WhatsApp for about $22B). Dell is willing to drop major cash and take on some insane debt to get its business back on track.  In case you haven’t noticed, many of us aren’t buying up personal computers (PCs) like we used to and sales have been declining for quite a while (14 quarters to be exact).  Big risk, big reward?

‘Cuz You Know They’ve Got Bad Blood… 

After the announcement, Hewlett-Packard (HP) piped up and said it intends to take full advantage of this time since Dell and EMC will be too preoccupied with this deal to innovate on anything. Previously rumored to be in merger talks with EMC, HP has its own issues. The company laid off thousands of employees and recently announced it’s splitting into two companies (one consumer facing and the other B2B).   Michael Dell must’ve gotten wind about what HP had to say and hit back on the issue of potentially downsizing. He says there are no plans for layoffs and added “…other companies are better at reducing headcounts than we are.” Oh, the shade of it all!

Wrap It Up … 

The deal will take effect within the next year. Michael Dell will remain the top guy for the merged companies, but EMC’s CEO Joseph Tucci is out.  He was planning to retire anyway and wanted this deal to be his legacy. Tucci will likely walk away with about $27 million . We’ll take it!

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business …

Speaking of layoffs, it’ll be a tough holiday season for about 336 Twitter employees (8% of its workforce).  The company is letting them go in efforts to reduce costs as it focuses on bringing in new users.  Twitter has had trouble attracting new people to its service, mainly because they say the platform is overwhelming and hard to use. Advertisers aren’t happy with Twitter’s services either (which is a huge problem since advertising is Twitter’s main revenue source).  Newly re-minted CEO Jack Dorsey definitely has his work cut out for him. But, he’s up for the challenge and sees this as an opportunity to narrow the company’s focus and create more efficiency.

Making The World A Better Place … 

One tech startup at a time.  These days, some tech startups aren’t trying to be the next billion dollar business but are simply trying to do some good in this sometimes cold, cold world.  Wall Street Journal’s got the story and is highlighting non-profit tech orgs like Stellar.org, a nonprofit trying to help out the 2 billion unbanked people around the globe. Even reputable startup accelerator YC Combinator just opened a new research lab known as YC Research to tackle more long-term projects with a focus on social good. Organizations focusing on social impact more than profits are on the rise, and accelerators, like Google.org and BlackRock Inc.’s Fast Forward, are ready to back them.

Express Yourself …

Or not, in China and Turkey’s case.  Over the weekend, Apple had to pull its new Apple News service from China to stay clear of the Chinese government telling them what they can and cannot release over the app. And shortly after the devastating suicide bombs in Ankara, Turkey, Turkish citizens tried to turn to social networks like Twitter, but the government wasn’t having any of it.  It was later reported that Turkey’s government put out a media ban, limited people’s access to e-mail, and shut down access to Facebook and Twitter all together. This isn’t the first type the government has done this. Looks like free speech is hard to come by some times …

The Streets Are Talkin’

Stanford University says computer science is now very popular among its female students (about 218 women are enrolled in the major).  That’s what we like to hear!

Facebook continues with its plans to take over the world.  It’s latest move? Testing out the e-commerce waters.  The company is coming out with a “Shop” section and is also trying to figure out how to make it easier for you to make seamless purchases via ads.

Do you want to know what diseases you’re susceptible to? Or, how you’ll react to certain medications? Ancestry.com wants to tell you with its DNA kit. But first, it needs the go ahead from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

And in other head tilting news, PepsiCo wants to help market smartphones in China.