Virtual Skinny: Run That Back …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on April 15, 2016 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

4.15.2016

Good to Know: Reminder, if you haven’t gotten your U.S. taxes done, you’ve got until Apr. 18th. tax, Run

THE SKINNY

When You Swear It’s Déjà Vu …

Now that the Apple v. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) court battle has died down, Microsoft’s got next.

When You’re Like Hold Up! Run That Back …

The company wants to give you a heads up when the U.S. government is getting all up in your online biz. But, the government allegedly won’t let Microsoft put you on notice so the company’s fired shots with the lawsuit it filed earlier this week.

When You Need The Details …

Microsoft’s argument comes down to the information you store in the “cloud.” For years, tech companies and privacy advocates have been calling out the U.S. government for using an old-school law (Electronic Communications Privacy Act aka ECPA) to gain access to people’s personal information stored in the cloud. They want the law changed.

When You’re Like, But How?

Well, look at it this way. If the government wanted access to information you’re keeping in your house or mailbox, it would need a search warrant under the 4^th Amendment. But, when it comes to your online stuff, less is required of the government to gain access.

When Things Are Backwards …

Even though it makes a ton of sense to change the law, not much has happened (sigh, politics). The latest development is that the U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved its version of an amended bill to keep up with the times. #SmallVictories

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Try Take Over The World …

Mark Zuckerberg is legit on ‘Pinky and the Brain’ status. This week, Facebook put on F8, its annual developer conference. Per usual, FB’s got a lot on its “to do” list. The Zuck kicked things off by not missing a chance to throw shade at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Then, he kept the zingers coming (in a good way) by unveiling his company’s 10-year plan. Basically, it comes down to chat bots, virtual reality, and sponsored messages (in case you were wondering why you may have gotten a FB message from Lyft). Looks like FB Messenger is going to be kind of a big deal. We’re talking potentially being able to use Messenger to interact directly with businesses to meet our needs (i.e., pizza).

Baby Steps …

While Facebook’s on that world domination tip, Google’s taking a local approach. According to reports, Google – now known as Alphabet – is using one of its subsidiaries called Sidewalk Labs to build out a “digital district.” The company’s allegedly got big name consultants and urbanists on its team to “create an area in the U.S. that serves as a testbed for new technologies from super fast Internet to autonomous cars.”

QUICK POLL – RUN THOSE NUMBERS …

In honor of Equal Pay Day this past Wednesday (Apr. 13), Facebook and Microsoft said they’re progressive because they basically pay men and women equally for the same job (for every $1 a man makes, a woman makes 99.8 cents). Not quite equal pay, and the gender pay gap is still a major problem.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Twitter has its work cut out for it. It’s been on a take-down rampage of tweets and accounts related to terrorism. But, a good thing has turned into a never ending battle. As soon as Twitter takes a tweet or account down, similar ones pop right back up. Enemy #1 is Abu al-Walid. He’s now on his 464^th Twitter account. Oy …

While we’re on Twitter, can we talk about the Jack Dorsey- Azealia Banks connection? Let’s get into it. In 2015, Banks sent out tweets to promote Square Cash, the Venmo-like feature of Dorsey’s other company Square. Banks said she only did it because Dorsey promised to promote her mixed tape in return. He didn’t. She claims that he instead sent her his hair samples to “make him an amulet for protection.” Ok so, two things: (1) What TF is really going on? And (2) Watch your back, Jack. Yikes!

“Please silence your phones.” We’ve all heard that gentle reminder to not be that annoying person on their phones in the middle of a movie. Turns out AMC Theaters is admitting defeat. The CEO gets that millennials can’t part with their phones for too long so they want to make it acceptable for people to text and watch at their theaters. #ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmm …

Amazon’s trying to get knee-deep in the fashion world so it’s looking to buy up startups like Everlane, Le Tote, Rent The Runway, ThirdLove and PreeLine.

Old things are becoming new again. While the 90s are coming back with a vengeance, so are vinyl records. Startup ReplyYes wants to help you get your hands on the right vinyl records with its daily text recommendations.

Drone racing. Coming to ESPN in August 2016.

Virtual Skinny: Did You Hear?

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on February 11, 2016 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter 0 Comment

2.11.2016

Good to Know: It’s that time of year again … Valentine’s Day is coming up. Dating apps are changing this up. Here’s 5 of them.

THE SKINNY

When You Listen to Kanye West who took advice from “50”…

Twitter’s switchin’ its style up to hopefully watch its money pile up.

When You Make Things Easy …

Following reports last week from BuzzFeed, the micro-blogging site is in fact making changes to its timeline. But, it’s not what you think. To clear the air, no Twitter isn’t turning into Facebook so we can all cool it with the #RIPTwitter hashtags.

When You Step away for a hot minute …

Some Twitter users follow many, many people. But, who really has time to check tweets all day? Twitter doesn’t want its users to miss the good stuff so it’s making two very similar but different changes. First up, the company will start placing more tweets at the top of users’ timelines (personalized, of course). And second, when users launch their Twitter apps, they’ll be greeted with the “best” tweets right out the gate. Confusing, but we’ll figure it out.

Keep ‘Em Coming Back For More …

Turns out CEO Jack Dorsey couldn’t do much to up Twitter’s user numbers (305 million monthly users) at the end of 2015. The company knows that it needs to make the platform more user-friendly, but it’s a work in progress.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

When Cam Newton Isn’t The Only “Sore Loser…”

The Indian government dealt Facebook a blow earlier this week when it put the kibosh on the social network’s Free Basics program. The effort was intended to help spread Internet access across India by offering a bare bones version of the Web (the technical term is zero-rating). Civil societies in India opposed the program and turns out that their advocacy game is strong. Ultimately, the Indian government essentially banned the program. The Zuck put out a statement expressing his disappointment in the decision but also his commitment to the country. Reports speculate that this decision could potentially negatively impact the company. But before we even get there, the Zuck had to put out yet another statement distancing himself from one of his board members, Marc Andreessen. What did Andreessen say? Let’s just say he referenced colonialism in a tweet convo … Yikes! Many people were understandably upset … Andreessen has since apologized …

When You Don’t Play By The Rules …

Parker Conrad, Co-Founder and CEO of online HR software company Zenefits, is back in the market for a new job. The company grew pretty quickly and became a $4.5 billion in almost no time.But turns out, things don’t work out when you cut corners. The startup operates in the highly regulated industry of insurance, but the company wasn’t exactly on the up and up with compliance, licensing, etc. The company wants to get right with its paperwork and processes so now Parker’s out, and the company’s Chief Operating Officer David Sacks is in …

Wha???

FBI Director James Comey wants people to know that the U.S. government doesn’t want special access to your devices. No, not at all. Comey said they’d rather just have companies like Apple, Google and Facebook to keep your encrypted data just in case the government needs it. *Head Tilt* While we’re talking encryption, two members of the U.S. Congress just introduced a bill that would ban states from passing laws, which would prevent manufacturers from encrypting smartphones. New York and California have already seen these type of proposals. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) don’t this is exactly feasible so they’re trying to stop the madness.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

HBO came out with its HBO NOW streaming service for all you cordcutters, but things aren’t picking up like people thought it would. The service only has 800,000 subscribers.

Verizon Communications is in the market for another Internet company. Looking at you, Yahoo.

Unlike Kenya’s government, Hungary is showing ride hailing app service Uber no love. The country’s considering banning the app.

Wanna step your selfie game up to Kardashian status? Easy … Just pony up US $55 for a Lumee lighting phone case.

Seems like everyone and their moms is on WhatsApp. But, Pope Francis does want he wants. He’s opting for messaging app Telegram to reach out to young peeps during Lent.

The Virtual Skinny: Happy Holidays from Us to You!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on December 22, 2015 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

12.22.2015

Good to Know: See here for our our end of year note to you! Yesterday, we branched out a bit and released the first newsletter of our new financial technology (FinTech) weekly series. 2015 has been great, and we’re looking forward to an even better 2016! We’ll see you back here on Tuesday, January 5, 2016! Happy New Year!

THE SKINNY

In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched and landed its Falcon 9 rocket yesterday after the rocket launched 11 satellites into space.

If At First You Don’t Succeed…

After some failed attempts in landing Falcon 9 over the past year, SpaceX dusted itself off and tried again. This isn’t a case where we can say “NBD” because it is in fact a very big deal. It marks the first time that a rocket of the Falcon’s size and complexity has shot deep into space then made a safe and controlled return back down to Earth. The usual outcome? Rockets launched into orbit are usually either destroyed or lost. Huge step for reusable rockets, which could mean major cost-savings for space travel.

#FunShade or #ShadyShade?

People celebrated the occasion, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns his own space startup called Blue Origin, chimed in with a tweet. Bezos tweeted “…Welcome to the club.” That was a reference to what Blue Origin did about a month ago, which was very similar to Falcon 9’s mission. Differences being that the Blue Origin effort was a trial (not a real mission), and Blue Origin’s rocket was on a “suborbital” flight (i.e., it didn’t go quite as high as Falcon 9). On that note, we’re gonna say #FunShade.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

You’re Not Hearing Us …

Tech companies’ rejection of governments’ requests to gain more access to their users’ personal info is fast becoming their least favorite pastime. The latest? The United Kingdom (UK) now has a bill known as the “Investigatory Powers” bill that would take things a little too far. Internet and tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Yahoo want no part in hacking their own users’ information on behalf of the UK. These companies are speaking out against the bill because it has potential to violate other countries’ laws where they operate. The UK wants everyone to chill as it simply wants to make sure things like child sexual exploitation and crime cartels are handled. The struggle continues …

Lawyer Up!

Google’s experimenting with its driverless cars and turns out that following traffic rules isn’t always safe. Since human drivers don’t always play by the rules on the road, there are more traffic accidents with the driverless cars than expected. Humans are to blame, of course. But, what happens if there’s a computer glitch and an accident occurs? If driverless cars go commercial, plaintiff lawyers may have a field day. The possibilities of whom to blame for accidents involving driverless cars could be endless … One more thing: Google’s said to be partnering with Ford on making the driverless car thing happen by 2020.

When You Mess up, But Not As Badly as Miss Universe Host Steve Harvey ….

Facebook’s effort to bring Internet access to the entire globe, Internet.org, is under fire in India. The issue is whether the program goes against net neutrality since it offers only a few select apps for free to participants and not the whole web. FB’s been sending out notifications to users in India to express their support of the program to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRIA). U.S. users received similar notifications, which people found strange. FB said “our b …” It was a mistake. BTW, whatever TRIA decides about Internet.org is a big deal. For one, India is a massive growth market for FB, and other emerging markets like Brazil and Indonesia will be watching. #NoPressure

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Short videos are the new selfies if Apple and Facebook have anything to do with it. Look for that feature on FB in 2016.

Word to the wise: Don’t let people waste your time and be strategic about how you spend every minute of the day. That’s how Jack Dorsey is able to be the boss man of Twitter and mobile payments company Square at the same time. Jack definitely needs more sleep. Being the boss is hard…

Twitter just filed a patent for “messaging with or from” drones … Interesting …

Operating system Android is still killing it in the U.S. market (sorry iOS).

Apps can be used for good and not just games. Social entrepreneurs are trying to figure out how to use apps to fight human trafficking.

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: Wakey, Wakey!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on October 15, 2015 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

10.15.2015

Good to Know: Restaurateur Danny Meyer wants to get rid of tipping in the U.S.

THE SKINNY

When You Actually Just Don’t Have Time …

Twitter’s Co-Founder and two-time CEO Jack Dorsey is about his business (or two). Dorsey just put the world on notice that he’s going public with his other company, Square – maker of … well, those small white plastic “squares” often plugged into smartphones when people want you to pay them what you owe them.

When People Are Giving Major Side Eye …

Ok, so two things: (1) Square isn’t profitable just yet – its revenues totaled $560 million the first half of this year and losses during the same time came out to about $78 million (apparently, not great). (2) This isn’t exactly prime time for tech-related initial public offerings (IPOs) because investors seem a little over it (only 22 tech IPOs happened this 3rd quarter compared to 53 same time last year), and other companies like Chinese Internet company Alibaba have been struggling with stock prices. If you want in, Square’s stock price may start out at $18.56 per share (at the very least).

**i’ve got this…**

Moving forward, Square wants out of its less than profitable deal with Starbucks. Also, the company is pretty open about the fact that Dorsey will sporadically be forced to play favorites and give his other responsibilities (aka Twitter) more love. But, he still controls an impressive 24.4% of Square so he can’t be too neglectful. Square’s leader wants to empower your local business to accept any type of payment – cash, cards, bitcoin, etc. He also plans to commit 10% of the entire company to help artists, musicians, and local businesses in underserved areas through the Start Small Foundation. This guy!

What Else Is Going On?

Sometimes, It’s Good To Be Bad …

Internet companies want hackers to use their skills for good, not evil. Protecting and securing your online information is a major issue that companies (not just Internet companies) want to figure out, especially after big names like Sony Pictures, Target, Home Depot, and T-Mobile via credit agency Experian took some major hits thanks to hackers. This crafty group has even created a black market where bad guys and even governments pay top dollar for not yet widely known flaws in systems. But, companies like Facebook, Yahoo, PayPal, etc. are luring hackers from the dark side with monetary rewards for those who can spot vulnerabilities in a company’s system before it’s forced to say “Code Red” due to a breach. There’s also Google’s Project Zero, which is made up of top-notch hackers to uncover bugs in Google’s system and across the entire InterWebs.

It’s Complicated …

Earlier this year, Taylor Swift rocked the music industry when she removed her entire catalog of work from streaming service Spotify. She made very public statements about how online music services like Spotify aren’t fairly compensating artists for their work. These days, it’s Tay Tay’s world, and we’re all just living in it (No hate. No shade). Naturally, people listened. Other artists like Aloe Blacc (you know him for the “Wake Me Up” song) backed her up and even made visits to U.S. Members of Congress to air his grievances. Turns out Spotify shouldn’t be blamed. The real culprit? America’s music licensing system: It’s a hot mess. Basically, many people can own different parts to a song. When a song is uploaded to a streaming service, information about who owns what isn’t included. That makes it very hard for services like Spotify to determine who is owed what. These services end up paying the record labels to settle the score, but the money doesn’t always trickle down to the artists. Ok, that’s enough …

TOLD YOU SO …

Are you into fantasy sports websites? Did you recently get a call from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)? If you answered “yes” to both, then you’re likely a DraftKings customer. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are getting involved in fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings’ alleged insider trading drama. DOJ is putting in calls to DraftKings’ users to ask about their experience with the service. The agency wants to figure out whether fantasy sports sites are legit or just unregulated gambling.

The Streets Are Talkin’

Thanks to new chip-enabled credit cards in the U.S., Netflix says it on boarded less than a million new subscribers – way below its anticipated numbers – in the third quarter. Something about the switch to new cards caused “involuntary churn” since the old cards on file no longer worked. Analysts aren’t buying it. That’s Netflix’s story, and it’s sticking to it. On the upside, Netflix wants to be “edgy” and is stepping up its documentary game. We also hear its film Beast of Nations is Oscar-worthy.

In the midst of layoffs this week, Twitter brought on former Googler Omid Kordestani to join the team as its Executive Chairman. Kordestani tweeted about his excitement..

Must be something in the water. LivingSocial just handed 200 employees pink slips. Daily deals are no longer working out for the company so it’s moving towards more “experience-based services” (e.g., haircuts, massages, etc.).

Who knew Amazon had a travel marketplace called Amazon Destinations? Probably explains why the company shut it down with a quickness after only six months.

LinkedIn is changing up company referrals. The professional network just released a new product appropriately named “Referrals” to make it easier for your connections to refer you for that open position at their companies.

Female executives at GoDaddy make 4 percent less than male execs according to the company in its newly released diversity report.

Did someone say diversity? AirBnB promises to hire someone (a “Head of Diversity”) to help the company do better.