Virtual Skinny: Election Day is Here!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on November 8, 2016 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter 0 Comment

11.8.2016

Good to Know: Election Day is in full swing! If you were thinking of pulling a Justin Timberlake by taking a ballot selfie while in the voting booth, it may or may not be legal. It’s a state-by-state issue so check it out first with this tool. Save your “I Voted” sticker for free stuff. And, find out how to follow election results here.

THE SKINNY

When You Keep It Old School …

Don’t count on online voting becoming a thing soon (pun intended, we slay us!).

When You’re Wondering Why Not …

In a nutshell: It’s too risky. And, don’t try the ‘well if we can bank and shop online, we should be able to vote online too’ argument. The argument fails for 2 reasons: (1) Online banking is heavy on user identity, and voting is kind of a private, anonymous thing. (2) Billions of dollars go down the drain in the form of online shopping scams every year.

When You’re trying to avoid election drama

All types of governments (looking at you Washington D.C. and Estonia) have given electronic voting a go, and they were both hackity, hacked, hacked. For the record: Non-swing states like Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Missouri and North Dakota allow limited votes via an online portal for military folks and people living abroad. But, it likely won’t go any further than that.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Hey, Listen Up …

The FBI’s got a message for private companies. Cyber attacks aren’t going anywhere, and ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) devices are the target. The U.S.’s top watchdog uncovered a network of IoT devices called Mirai that’s wreaked havoc on an Internet service provider. The code for the Mirai botnet is public, which means that anyone who’s remotely savvy can use it to hack consumer devices and reprogram them. No word on who’s behind Mirai.

When You Take A Timeout …

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office is feeling itself this week. Why? Well, the office managed to get Facebook and WhatsApp to hold off on sharing UK WhatsAPP users’ data between each other in the name of displaying ads. The office put in a FB request but not the kind we’re used to. It wants FB to do a better job in explaining to users what exactly is going on with their data on WhatsApp. But, it warned that it won’t hesitate to take action against FB if the company decides to use people’s data without first getting consent. #WarningShots

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Urban Outfitters tried it! The retailer tweeted out an ‘Election Day’ guide to its millions of followers. The guide advised its millennial clientele to take both their voter registrations cards and IDs to the polls. One word: WRONG! Fact: You never need your voter registration ID, and only some states require ID. Shady boots or nah?

Payback is a b#@!$ Snapchat just returned the favor to Instagram. Snapchat’s taking the best from ‘Instagram Stories’: The rewind button. The feature will be available on the latest version of Snap. The company’s also throwing augmented lenses into the update too.

Speaking of “biting” from others… Watch out LinkedIn! Facebook’s now testing out letting page admins have the ability to create job postings and receive job apps from potential employees.

Alphabet, formerly known as Google, lowkey invested in Snapchat. But, the company’s pulling the plug on its partnership with Starbucks on drones aka ‘Project Wing.’

Online radio streaming service Pandora’s got plans to ‘“reflect the evolving makeup of our local workforce.” To do that, the company promises to up it’s employees of color by 10 percent. That would be 45% of total employees being people of color by 2020.

Samsung doesn’t think it’s too late to say sorry for its faulty Galaxy Note 7.

It may not be done after all. Rumor has it that Twitter’s considering selling Vine. The microblogging site’s not saying a word so we’ll see…

Amazon posted a job description hinting that it’s making housekeeping a perk of being a Prime Member.

FUN FACT

The dude who voiced AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail” is switching teams. Elwood Edwards is now an Uber driver in Cleveland, Ohio.

Virtual Skinny: Get Out the Vote!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on November 4, 2016 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter 0 Comment

11.4.2016

Good to Know: Time to vote for the next U.S. president. FYI, voting by text is not a thing so don’t believe the ads you’re seeing online.

THE SKINNY

When The End Is Near …

Take that whichever you want to … But come next Tuesday, the U.S. presidential election will be over. And, Facebook may leave its mark.

When You’re Not Understanding …

Take a look at Hong Kong’s last election. Facebook helped get young people and liberal voters out to the polls, which led to the conservative candidate crying loser tears. Analysts says this could mean something for what’s going on State-side.

When You Need Information, Quick…

Facebook’s ‘Election 2016’ hub gives people easy access to “voting guides, registration info, news video, and other Election Day planning tools.”

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

There’s Always A Way …

Not being picked up by a taxi on account of how you look is common knowledge many have experienced. When ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft stepped onto the scene, they thought they were doing their part to decrease blatant bias. Not so fast. Turns out Uber and Lyft drivers are simply deciding whether to pick someone up or not based on riders’ names. Black men are having a particularly hard time getting rides (at least based on a study by MIT, Stanford, and University of Washington of what goes down in Seattle and Boston). Women aren’t immune either.

That’s What We Call Dodging A Bullet …

Gregory Selden, an African-American AirBnB user, filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the company. Selden said an AirBnB host wouldn’t rent to him because… Well … he’s black. A federal judge put the kibosh on the suit on account of AirBnB’s policies that users agree to when they sign onto the platform. The judge says this situation’s gotta be handled privately and out of the court.

Where Is Everyone?

Struggling Internet vet Yahoo announced plans to sell to Verizon. Soon after, the company saw its women employees leaving in droves. Not a great time since the tech industry is focused on diversity and inclusion issues. No confirmed reason for the exodus, but Yahoo’s Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion says they simply got better offers elsewhere.

NUMBERS DON’T LIE …

Only 18% of women are earning undergrad degrees in computer science, physics, and engineering. A new psychology study blames masculine geek culture. The fix on closing the gender? Less focus on Star Trek and video games and more focus on things women can relate to. And no, that does not mean making everything about the color pink and fashion.

For the first time ever, looks like people are accessing the Web via their mobile devices rather than desktops.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

LinkedIn wants to know how much bank you got with LinkedIn Salary. Don’t worry. This is for good, not evil. The company wants to help people better gauge how much they should be making for a particular role. But, nothing in life is free. To gain access to the aggregated and anonymous salary info, you gotta share yours first.

You’ll need to know your worth because the holiday season is here. Insta’s taking advantage. The app will now let people shop till they drop with 20 brands including J.Crew, Warby Parker, and JackThreads. Don’t be shy, hit that “shop now” button.

The holidays aren’t just about buying material things. It’s the season for giving. Check out apps like ShareTheMeal, Donate a Photo, Tinbox, Charity Mile, etc. to give back.

What else are the holidays good for? New Year resolutions and gym memberships. And, if you’re anything like us, you’ll never use them. ClassPass is ditching its premium membership for a la carte gym classes and three-class packages. Something to consider …

Uber’s learning more about you. The latest version of the app uses a combo of your past behavior and whatever you’ve got penciled into your calendar to prompt a suggested final destination.

Microsoft Teams allows teams to pow wow virtually. Sound familiar? Slack seems to think so. Looks like Microsoft’s going after the chat service with ‘Teams.’ But, Slack isn’t sweating it and took out a full-page ad in the New York Times. The ad is a welcome letter with a bit of advice for Microsoft on how to play in the space. Take a look at the full letter if you have the time. #ShadeMonster

After three years, Twitter’s got plans to shut down Vine. You’ve still got a few more months to take in some of Vine’s best video loops before it’s gone for good.

FUN (NOT SO) FACT

If some of the great classic writers were alive today, what would be their go to apps? Jane Austen would’ve probably been all over Bumble looking for bae.

Virtual Skinny: Life on Planet Mars…

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on October 11, 2016 in FinTech Edition, Newsletter 0 Comment

10.11.2016

Good to Know: President Obama says if NASA has anything to do with it, we’ll be on Mars by 2030.

THE SKINNY

When A Good Thing Comes to An End …

South Korean smartphone maker Samsung decided to end marketing and production of its high-end Galaxy Note 7 smartphone (except in China). Such a shame, it was a fan fave.

When You Have No Other Choice…

For weeks now, we’ve heard horror stories of malfunctioning Galaxy Note 7s (e.g., exploding phones on planes). The company recalled about 2.5 million phones thinking that’d solve everything. It didn’t. Some replacement phones still went up in flames.

When Things Don’t Go According to Plan …

The Galaxy Note 7 was Samsung’s answer to Apple’s high-end iPhones. Now that production has ended on the phones, this throws a serious wrench in Samsung’s financial plans. And by that we mean, this whole ordeal could cost the company US $17 billion and ruin its brand reputation.

When Things Are Unclear …

Samsung hasn’t figured out the issue just yet. The company thought it was a battery problem. But, that wasn’t the case. Malfunctions could have something to do with rushed production and the number of features crammed onto the phone to compete with iPhones. Moral of the story: Quality takes time.

When They’ll Move On This…

The holiday season is coming, which is when people usually update their phones. People want large-screen phones these days. Samsung’s got nothing to offer this year but Apple (iPhone 7) and Google’s Pixel are viable options. #Cha-Ching

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

When You’re Down in the Dumps…

Twitter’s future is unclear. At first, CEO Jack Dorsey didn’t want to sell the company to the highest bidder. But, reports say that he may be changing his mind. Potential buyers like Google, Apple, and Disney slowly backed away from a potential deal. But, Salesforce is still interested. While Salesforce and Twitter talk numbers, Twitter employee’s morale is all the way down. Some have even stopped showing up to work all together. Jack just sent around an internal memo to boost employee’s spirits but no mention of a potential sale in his note.

When this is still planet earth…

This past Sunday’s U.S. presidential debate left many of us feeling like we were in another world. And, alleged Russian hacks in the form of email leaks are definitely stirring things up this election season. U.S. officials are worried that it’ll give people the perception that actual ballot boxes are also susceptible to hacks. Turns out, that’s almost impossible since the process is decentralized and is mainly offline. Perception isn’t always reality.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Dating app Hinge just hit the ‘do-over’ button. It’s rebranded as a ‘relationship app.’ It wants users’ to swipe right for real, solid relationships. It’ll cost US $7/ month.

Do it for the kids … U.S. telecom company Sprint is giving away one million wireless devices and service to underrepresented high school students to help ‘bridge the digital divide.’ It’s called the ‘1Million Project.’

Amazon doesn’t want to say ‘these [students] ain’t loyal.” It’s offering college students Amazon Prime benefits for US $50/year (half the normal prime price). The hope is that Amazon Prime Student turns college kids into lifelong customers.

Facebook just launched two major things: (1) Workplace, which is basically Facebook for businesses to compete against Slack. Don’t worry your personal and work accounts will be kept separate. (2) A standalone events app.

Google wants to make its new Google Home assistant relatable and personable so the company’s hiring creatives from places like Pixar and The Onion.

Movie company IMAX is opening its first virtual reality theater in Europe. It’ll be in Manchester, England to be exact. There’ll be ‘pods’ for single or multiple users.

MAKING MOVES

AOL’s top global sales exec Jim Norton is dipping out on the company before the Verizon-Yahoo deal goes down. Norton is headed to media company Condé Nast.

Former corporate development head for Twitter and Square Rishi Garg is joining Mayfield, a venture capital firm, as an investing partner. His focus will be on consumer companies generally (social and fintech companies included).

Virtual Skinny: We Can Be Your Motivation…

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on April 18, 2016 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

4.18.2016

Good to Know: Does your LinkedIn profile bring all the recruiters to the yard? If not, you’ll need three things: a strong headline, a well-written summary, and keywords. #MondayMotivation

THE SKINNY

When Presidents Are Just Like Us …

It’s his last year in office, and President Obama is telling us how he really feels. This time, he’s talking cable set-top boxes. Obama is not here for providers forcing you to rent old-school cable boxes from them.

When You Want to Know More…

Last Friday, he went on the record and made a public statement about the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s pending proposal to increase competition in the cable set-top box market. Obama thinks consumers are spending billions of dollars every year to rent those damn boxes and don’t even have a say in what they get. He’d like to see the market open up to innovative players like Internet and tech companies (e.g., Google, Amazon, and Apple).

When People Come For You …

The U.S. cable market is not happy with Obama’s latest revelation. Given Obama’s close ties to the tech industry, companies like AT&T say that Obama is simply giving a little shine to his political squad.

When You Let Your Haters Be Your Motivator…

While the cable market cries over spilled milk, the Obama Administration has filed its official comments re the FCC’s proposal. The Administration wants a “measured and balanced” plan to get the market competitive again. Based on the president’s 2016 State of the Union address, this is all part of the course.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

**If You Stay Ready, You Never Have to Get Ready …**

Looks like Verizon is prepping for the new cable set-top box market. It’s coming out with “Mallard,” a new device (complete with new interface features) to change-up how it offers cable and Internet services to FIOS users.

The European Union’s Back At It Again …

With an antitrust probe into Google. The company’s coming under fire in a couple of different ways. First, News Corp is the latest to question whether the Google machine’s search and news services are legal. And, EU regulators are gunning for mobile operating system Android. The EU thinks Google should let phone makers and operators do what they want. In other words, EU regulators are not cool with Google requiring phone makers to pre-load Google apps rather than allowing them to choose their own “app” adventure.

QUICK POLL – RUN THOSE NUMBERS …

Amazon v. Netflix v. Hulu: Which Streaming Service Should You Got With? Check It Out …

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

In 2005, Mark Zuckerberg was just another “bro.” At the time, he described Facebook as “an online directory for colleges.” He’s come a long way …

IRL, Brazil’s government is getting ready to impeach its president Dilma Rousseff for cookin’ the country’s books for her 2014 re-election. The government’s lower chamber had no problem saying yes to Rouseff’s ousting. The Senate is up next. Meanwhile, Netflix is prepping for an original series based on Brazil’s political drams. The new show will be created by Jose Padilha, formerly of another Netflix original, “Narcos.” #MentalNotes #AddtoQue

What’s the Amazon version of “Netflix and Chill?” While you’re thinking about that, Amazon’s becoming more open. It’s going with a $9/month video-only subscription to compete with the ‘Flix.

Home-sharing service AirBnB is already in India, but now it’s taking market domination more seriously. Turns out India’s travel market could be worth a whopping US $40 billion within 5 years. How do we sign up?

When will this whole ordeal come to an end? Verizon may be the likely buyer of Yahoo. #OverIt

The Virtual Skinny: It’s Enough Now …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on December 3, 2015 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

12.3.2015

Good to Know: Most of you will likely get new devices as holiday presents this year. Not sure what to do with your old ones? Amazon, Gazelle, and Best Buy have stellar recycling or trade-in programs in the U.S.

THE SKINNY

Something Becoming Routine Isn’t Always A Good Thing…

In fact, it can be a very bad thing. Yesterday, a horrible mass shooting took place in San Bernadino, California and claimed the lives of 14 innocent people. Per usual, U.S. politicians immediately took to Twitter to send their “thoughts and prayers.” It didn’t go over well with the American public.

aN uNEXPECTED RESPONSE …

The hashtag #thoughtsandprayers started trending on Twitter but not in the way you think. Americans tweeted their frustrations with the U.S. Congress’s inaction on gun control. Their message: Simply tweeting about “thoughts and prayer” won’t change anything. The controversial front page of today’s NY Daily News pretty much sums it up.

Speak Up or DO SOMETHING

This latest tragedy is just another example of the increasing role Internet and tech companies are playing to either help force difficult political debates or help take action against domestic and global terrorists. For instance, earlier today, five tech companies including Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Google, and Microsoft told France that they would “define and establish an offensive strategy of counter-discourse that will specifically target the online activities” of terrorist group ISIS.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Break Me Off A Piece of that…

If Yahoo’s board decides to sell the company’s Web business, it looks like almost everyone and their Moms want a piece of the action. Potential buyers range from private equity firms to media and telecom companies like Verizon Communications (they bought AOL earlier this year), Time Inc., and even News Corp. (owner of Wall Street Journal). Not everyone’s jumping on the Yahoo bandwagon. Chinese Internet company Alibaba is not interested. Decisions should be made by the time the company’s marathon board meeting ends tomorrow. The suspense!

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

German banking startup Number26 is going after Europeans with aversions to traditional banking. It’s expanding across Europe to service countries like France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia and Spain.

When a potentially better product is on your heels, you have to act quick! Global bank Goldman Sachs is creating its own version of “bitcoin” or virtual currency called SETLCoin. Trading securities and settling those trades may just get a bit easier and faster.

Spotify is world’s the #1 music streaming service, but Pandora isn’t going out like that. Pandora’s pretty popular in the U.S., but it’s putting in work to compete in a very competitive market. New strategy: Attack the Spotify-types’ “free” music model. Record labels are listening, but that message probably won’t go over well with consumers.

YouTube is forming closer ties with Hollywood. The online platform is wheeling and dealing (in a good way) to get rights for TV shows and movies to stream via its new YouTube Red Service.

Parking your own car is such a waste of time. Don’t worry! Startup valet-parking company Luxe has got you. Start saving your coins. Depending on the U.S. city, pricing could range from US $5-7 hourly or US$15 – US$30 daily.

The Virtual Skinny: Make Room…

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on November 25, 2015 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

11.25.2015

Good to Know: Tomorrow is American Thanksgiving. Startups want people to stay at home, eat, drink, and be merry. This Thursday, these companies are prepared to deliver last-minute, wine, stuffing, movies, etc. straight to your door within an hour. BTW, like many people in the U.S., we’ll be busy gobbling up turkey. See you back here on Monday, November 30.

THE SKINNY

When You Can’t Remember Your Password …

It’s not you … It’s them. E-commerce company Amazon reset passwords for some of its users recently.

Why?

Well, if you got an email from Amazon, then you probably know that the company feared that some users’ passwords may have been inadvertently exposed to third parties. Amazon said it has “no reason” to believe that this actually happened but wanted to take precautionary measures.

Safety First …

Amazon’s also pushing users to make sure their information is secure via two-factor authentication. With this system, hackers would need more than just your username and password to get into your accounts. They’d also need another device like your mobile phone.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Shady “Mr. Grey…”

If you’re up to some shady things, it’s probably best to just keep your mouth shut. Around this time last year, cybersecurity firm Hold Security id-ed a Russian hacker group responsible for stealing 1.2 million credentials and over 500 million email addresses. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) got involved. According to official court documents, the FBI figured out that the hacker, known as “mr. grey,” is linked to a Russian email address. mr. grey hasn’t been shy… The group previously boasted that it could hook people up with user account information for popular sites like Facebook and Twitter. For now, FB, Twitter, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Justice have nothing to say on the matter.

Going Solo …

Tor, the place where Internet users go for private and secure messaging, wants your money. The organization’s network is mainly U.S. government backed (about 80-90%), but Tor thinks that it’s time to fly solo. The project thinks that being more independent will allow it the flexibility to offer its communication services to those around the world who need increased privacy.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Do it for the kids. YouTube’s under fire for allegedly pushing junk food ads on the kids’ version of its video platform. Two children advocacy groups have filed complaints with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Talk about trying to bring someone back down to Earth … Earlier this week, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took to Twitter for the first time to brag about his other company, Blue Origin. The aerospace company successfully launched and landed a rocket-ship. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, must’ve been feeling some kind of way. Musk gave the ultimate back-handed compliment: First, he congratulated Bezos but then quickly implied that SpaceX did it first.

Amazon’s e-commerce rival Jet.com just pulled in $350M and is expected to add $150M more. The company says most of it will go to marketing, customer support, and growing its team. Who needs a job?

Three ex-Goldman Sachs bankers are trading in their designer suits for jeans and hoodies. The former bankers recently joined Uber adding to the growing trend of people opting out of Wall Street for tech companies. In more Uber news, the company’s pulling together a ‘Safety Advisory Board,’ to help the company navigate its consumer safety issue. It’ll focus on the U.S. first before taking the show worldwide.

The Virtual Skinny: Go Time …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on November 23, 2015 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: Cheers!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on November 20, 2015 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

11.20.2015

Good to Know: Singer Adele’s much-anticipated album, “25,” drops today. If you want to hear it in full, get ready to either fire up iTunes or physically make your way to a store. She’s keeping the album off of all streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Some people think this could backfire and make her fans pretty angry. But, we suspect many of you won’t care since Adele’s music is SO good. Cue the tears…

THE SKINNY

Now That’s What We Call A Rally …

Things were looking pretty bleak for mobile payments company Square when it set its IPO price at $9/share. But, after making its New York Stock Exchange debut yesterday, its share shot up by 45%. By day’s end, the company was valued at $4.2 billion ($13.07/share). Hopefully, this performance will be the gift that keeps on giving for CEO Jack Dorsey who turned 39 yesterday.

Onwards and Upwards …

Moving forward, Dorsey just wants to get back to business as usual. The company’s still focused on making payments easier via its infamous card reader. But, investors are uncertain of the company’s ability to grow as it goes up against competitors like PayPal and Verifone. Not to worry, Square’s looking to diversify its business with services that take care of company payroll or that help set up appointments. It’s even acquired a startup called Caviar that’s in the food delivery biz.

What Does This Mean?

TBH, it’s unclear. There’s been speculation that Square’s low IPO price could mean that unicorns in Silicon Valley, private companies in the billion dollar club, would start to see low market valuations moving forward. It’s hard to say what’s really happening. While there’s certainly a shift towards more conservative valuations, financial experts are saying we shouldn’t expect to see any drastic changes.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Time’s Supposed to Heal Ya, But You Ain’t Done Much Healing …

That’s probably because you’re still Facebook friends with your ex whose new fab life is taking over your newsfeed. So, not cool! Facebook doesn’t want you feeling down anymore when break ups happen. The company’s testing out a new tool that’ll help people distance themselves from their exes without de-friending them. This means seeing less of the ex’s name, profile picture, and posts on your newsfeed. Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner? Just saying …

When The Stakes Are Just Too Damn High …

Starboard Value, an activist hedge fund, has an idea for Yahoo. It wants the Internet veteran to sell off its core advertising business. Whaaa? It’s no secret that Yahoo is struggling and has tried almost everything under the sun to get back on track. Nothing has worked. One thing the company has tried to do is sell off its ownership stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba. But, pursuing this spin-off could take forever and who knows how the U.S. Internal Revenue Service would handle that transaction. Basically, the spin-off comes with too much uncertainty and too much risk. Starboard wants Yahoo to strip down to just its stake in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. That’s a sure thing in the company’s opinion. No comment from Yahoo on this recommendation.

Keep A Closer Watch, Will Ya?

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wants social media companies to make more of an effort when it comes to preventing terrorists from recruiting followers and spreading their ideas via companies’ platforms. Hacker group Anonymous recently waged war against Islamist militant group ISIS and claims that it has personally closed down thousands of “pro-ISIS Twitter accounts.” Companies like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter say that they take this type of thing seriously, which is reflected in their policies. They keep a close watch on terrorist-type activity and have no problem taking down content or shutting down accounts when users violate these policies.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Jack Dorsey, CEO of mobile payments company Square, wants to bring Square Wallet back. He thinks the digital wallet could work a second time around.

It’s a good day to be Diane Greene. Google just brought on Greene, a veteran in the cloud computing industry, to run point on its growing enterprise cloud business. And, it also scooped up bebop, Greene’s enterprise development startup.

Online music streaming service Spotify says employees can take up to six months of parental leave. Did we mention, its six months PAID? The Swedish company wants make sure all of its employees world-wide are on the same page after their bundle of joy(s) arrive.

Oops! Their b … Indonesia only meant to cut off access to social and messaging platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Viber, but the government inadvertently kicked off a country-wide black out of the entire Internet instead. Could you imagine absolutely no Internet access for an hour? The horror!

The Virtual Skinny: Hi There…

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on November 19, 2015 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

11.19.2015

Good to Know: Global investment bank Goldman Sachs is telling people to buy Apple’s stock. Why though? Goldman says Apple is no longer a hardware company but evolving into a services company. This means more growth = more $$$$. Enough said.

THE SKINNY

When You Give a Helping Hand …

Many people around the world are trying to do right by Syrian refugees. Instead of funneling funds through traditional nonprofits like the Red Cross, people are choosing crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and GoFundMe to make online donations.

WHEN YOU HAVE All The Feels …

Norwegian web developer and activist Gissur Simonarson saw a pic on Twitter of a Syrian refugee dad holding his daughter while trying to sell pens on the streets of Beirut, Lebanon. The image touched Simonarson so much that he wanted to do something help. So this past August, he tracked them down and launched a pretty successful Indiegogo campaign.

When Something’s not what you expected …

The campaign raised about US $190,000, and the family ended up using the money to buy a bakery. But, Simonarson says issues came up that he didn’t anticipate. First, between Indiegogo and the payment service PayPal, the family lost about US $20,000 of their donations to fees charged by these platforms. Sidenote: Indiegogo’s new charity platform eliminates these fees. Second, so you’ve raised the money, now where do you keep it? Yes, a bank account would be logical, but there was no way for Simonarson and the family to set one up. Add security and safety to the list of concerns.

WHEN YOU’RE DOWN FOR THE CAUSE …

People pouring money into online platforms to help others is a good thing, right? Well, yes and no. There’s concern that increased online giving to individuals may create issues of equitable distribution since crowdfunding platforms may reflect biases of societies that use them. Also, opting for online platforms takes money away from nonprofit institutions capable of addressing crises at a macro-level. In other words, crowdfunding platforms may potentially hurt the larger cause. Perhaps, online platforms will put pressure on traditional organizations to reform their practices, some of which have not been great (e.g., mismanaging funds).

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Playing the Blame Game …

In the wake of the Paris attacks, U.S. lawmakers and law enforcement launched a blame game targeted towards today’s technology. First up? Encrypted devices. CIA director John Brennan said it’s hard to uncover info because of encryption. Then, some lawmakers blamed the Internet. One lawmaker thought it would be a great idea to shut down “ISIS websites and social networks.” Now, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is saying that it’s time for Congress to look into the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). Basically, CALEA would make companies build mandatory pathways or “backdoors” into their technology to decipher encrypted messages. May sound good in theory, but in reality, a backdoor in these technologies would be accessible by anyone and everyone savvy enough. Privacy issues much?

On High Alert …

The European Union (EU) is considering ways to cut off terrorist financing. Virtual currencies like Bitcoin and anonymous forms of payment are on the chopping block so to speak. EU officials met last Friday and concluded that they’ll try to convince the European Commission to tighten up controls of “non-banking payment methods such as electronic/anonymous payments and virtual currencies and transfers of gold, precious metals, by pre-paid cards.”

When people aren’T Feelin’ yOU like they used to …

Match Group, the parent company of dating apps like Tinder, is now officially ‘MTCH’ on NASDAQ. The company’s IPO price came in at US $12/share, the low end of the US $12-$14 expected range. Mobile payments company Square is officially public as of today. Its price came in at an underwhelming US $9/share, way below the expected $11-$13 range we originally thought. Ouch! Attention companies worth at least a billion dollars or more (aka unicorns): These are probably more signs that investors are cooling off on tech IPOs.

It’s All About Mobile These Days …

Google is changing up how mobile search works. The company’s transitioning into the mobile age and will start indexing content from Android apps, even if these apps don’t have a corresponding website. Google is letting mobile users “stream” content from apps (Note:app downloads not necessary). The company’s testing things out with a few partners including horoscope sites and the New York Subway.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Yesterday, we said that ride-hailing app and Uber rival, Lyft, is looking for $500 million. Now, we know why thanks to some leaked docs. In the first half of the year, Lyft lost a ton of money and didn’t bring in much revenue. To be more specific, we’re talking losing $127 million on $46.7 million in revenue. We’re not financial experts, but …

Dutch file-sharing service WeTransfer is tapping into the online music streaming game alongside Spotify and Apple Music. For the company, it’s not about making money from music (ha!) but simply about getting on the map in the U.S.

Social network Facebook is improving its “Donate” button to help nonprofits raise funds. Organizations like Mercy Corp, National MS Society, and Worldwide Wildlife Fund are the first to get on board. BTW, #IStillUseFacebook was trending on Twitter. #NoHate #NoShade, but we chuckled at some tweets, especially those poking fun at how FB is late to the party when it comes to breaking news.

The Virtual Skinny: Just One of Them Days…

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on November 18, 2015 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

11.18.2015

Good to Know: “Where is the opportunity? The opportunity always lies where people worry.” – Jack Ma, CEO of Chinese Internet company Alibaba, during a sit down with U.S. President Obama on why his company will prop up startups trying to prevent climate change. Also, just some solid advice for your next venture …

THE SKINNY

When Will It End?

Last night, a bombing went down in the city of Yola in Nigeria. It claimed about 31 lives and injured 72 others. No one knows who’s responsible just yet, but Islamist militant group Boko Haram is no stranger to the area.

Making Good on Your Promise …

Earlier this week, we told you that people had a lot to say about how the general media covered the Paris attacks in comparison to the Beirut bombings, which both happened last week. Facebook came under fire for ‘perceived Western bias’ because it launched its “Safety Check” after the Paris attacks but didn’t do the same for Beirut. Facebook promised to change its policy and said it would activate that feature for human disasters moving forward. The social network delivered. It launched “Safety Check” for Yola residents to show that the company “cares about all people equally.”

Raising More Questions Than Answers …

FB has come a long way from its debut ten years ago. These days, it’s taken a massive role in how people interact and keep up with each other. The company is on a mission to bring Internet access to everyone around the world. With ‘Safety Check,’ it raises questions of FB’s social responsibilities (e.g., Will the feature be applied uniformly across the world? Or, does it require a tailor-made approach for different regions? And, how will FB define what ‘safe’ means? Lots of questions but no answers.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Putting Plans Into Action …

There’s just a lot going on at Facebook. When it’s not dealing with serious human crises, it’s trying to outfit the world with Internet access. The social network announced that it’s entered a deal with telecom company Airtel Africa to bring basic Internet access aka ‘Free Access’ via its Internet.org initiative. Seventeen African countries will reap the benefits of this deal including countries like Burkina Faso,Chad, Gabon, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

**Don’t Give Up … Don’t Ever Give Up …**

Google tried to get into the social game with its Google Plus service to compete with the likes of Facebook. It didn’t quite work out. Rather than throwing in the towel, Google went back to the drawing board and did a complete redesign of the feature. It’s now geared towards a “mobile first” experience and focused on ‘Communities’ (where people with similar interests can virtually gather) and ‘Connections’ (a place for virtual scrapbooking). It’s sort of a cross between Facebook and Pinterest. Interesting …

If You Can Make It There, You Can Make It Anywhere …

Hell hath no fury like a NY Attorney General (AG) scorned … The AG is not letting up on fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings. The AG’s office filed an injunction (order issued by a judge to prevent someone or an entity from starting or continuing to engage in certain activities) against both sites. The 35-page report rips into the sites’ arguments on why they should not be considered online gambling sites. FanDuel ( which has already stopped accepting contest entries from NY residents) and DratKings aren’t the only ones that should be worried. The jig is up for Yahoo. The Internet vet runs its own fantasy sports service and has done so long before FanDuel and DraftKings even existed. Yahoo isn’t officially part of the investigation just yet, but the AG is watching. The relevant parties head to court next week (November 25).

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Flu shot season is in under way, and ride-hailing app Uber is taking away your excuses. This Thursday, the company’s re-launching its UberHealth to bring those dreaded flu shots to your desired location.

On a side note: NY taxi drivers are still peeved at Uber and plan to sue New York City and its Taxi and Limousine Commission. The basis of the suit? Violating their right to pick passengers up street-side.

Amazon’s Black Friday kicks off this Friday (November 20). See here for how to properly secure your Amazon.com account information. It’s called two-factor authentication. Don’t worry … It’s pretty straightforward.

Boards of tech companies are including more women (it’s up to 18.3% in 2014 compared to 13.7% in 2010). But, tech still falls behind other industries on gender diversity. If we talk about it enough, then things have to change, right?

Mobile payments Square is set to announce its long-anticipated IPO price today. The thing is, we already know that the price will be discounted from what people originally expected. Unicorns (aka private companies worth a billion dollars or more) are watching this closely.

You can make a few extra bucks by selling some of your photos via apps like EyeEm and Snapwire.

German company Jobspotting GmbH, competitor to professional network platform LinkedIn, is looking for funds to get into the U.S. market.

Ride hailing company and Uber rival, Lyft says it needs $500 million.