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Virtual Skinny: Friday Fave

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

5.13.2016

Good to Know: Want to delete your fave dating app? Just deleting the app from your phone won’t do the trick. Take these steps to delete your profile and avoid any awkward encounters or questions.

delete

THE SKINNY

When It’s The Same Story, Different Source … 

Facebook is having one of the worst weeks ever. More info has leaked about its editorial team and “Trending Topics” section. This time it’s courtesy of The Guardian.

When It’s More Of The Same … 

The Guardian obtained a leaked internal document intended to give FB’s editorial staff guidelines on how to determine what news is trending and what’s not. The docs confirms things that we’ve already heard. FB’s new team relied on 10 major new sources, staff can “inject” a story into Trending Topics even if it actually isn’t trending on the network, and new stories about FB are kind of off limits. A couple of things here: (1) FB’s VP Tom Stocky said earlier this week that the company does not “insert stories artificially” and (2) FB leads users to believe the stories are picked by algorithms, but there’s actually quite a bit of human involvement.  Hmmm … Whoops!

When It’s Time to Deny, Deny, Deny … 

FB responded and said that the Guardian’s doc is out of date and isn’t the current practices of the company.  FB’s VP of Global Operations Justin Osofsky responded with an official blog post of how “Trending Topics” actually works. He says the team relies on 1,000 new sources (not just 10). Osofsky says the team also uses an RSS web crawler to I.D. hot topics. And, he says that FB’s not about suppressing political views even if they are conservative.

When You Don’t Want No F&^#@! Problems …

Mark Zuckerberg is in full on damage control. He put out a lengthy FB status about the situation. He says the company is investigating the matter but has not found any wrongdoing yet. Also, he wants to pow-wow with conservatives and others to put this whole thing to bed. 

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 

When Amazon Isn’t Your Fave … 

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is not a fan of Amazon.  He thinks the company has a “huge antitrust problem.” It all comes down to the fact that Amazon’s Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post (WaPo). Trump is under the impression that Bezos is using WaPo to influence politicians and ultimately avoid paying taxes. #Interesting

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’ 

Pitching your startup to venture capitalists – the latest thing you can do on Snapchat.

Basketball legend Magic Johnson is leaving payment company Square’s board.  Who knew? Johnson’s kicking off his fund for urban development.

Virtual Skinny: Run That Back …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on 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 4th 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 464th 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: Netflix and …

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

1.22.2016

Good to Know:  If you’re in the Northeast U.S. (NE), here’s what you need to binge watch on Netflix while taking cover from #WinterStormJonas.  And if you’re not in the NE, then lucky you! 

THE SKINNY

When You’re Not Captain Planet … 

Turns out that sending that one line e-mail is bad for the environment – right up there with printing multiple pages … Single-sided.

What Now? 

Social media researcher Danah Boyd is making the case at this year’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.  Boyd says it’s easier for people to associate cutting down trees for paper and delivery trucks’ exhaust emissions with things that are probably destroying the environment. But, it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around their online activities’ environmental impact.

It’s Not Much Ado About Nothing … 

People’s online information is stored in the “cloud” aka a network of Internet servers located around the world, and these servers eat up a ton of electricity.

What Are We Going To Do About This? 

Already, tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook are letting us know what their doing to remain environmentally friendly. To go one step further, Boyd suggests “branding apps and tech services with the same sort of certification that the U.S. Green Building Council provides to eco-friendly structures.”

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

When Hate Doesn’t Drive Out Hate … 

Facebook is encouraging its users to fight hate speech with positivity. The company’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told an audience at Davos that countering negative comments with positive messages is the way to go.  It’s what she calls “the Like Attack.” The platform’s got some other things up its sleeve to combat extremists and terrorism (e.g., partnering with the U.S. government to urge college students to kick off anti-terrorism campaigns, teaming up with the German government on id-ing and taking down hate speech, and playing Switzerland with its News Feed algorithm when it comes to hate speech v. positive speech).

That’s Different… 

Home-sharing service AirBnB is getting serious about its intentions with cities all across America.  The company’s so serious that it’s asking the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a group of political heavy-hitters, to impose taxes on its service.  No joke … the company says it’s already paying about $42 million in taxes to 16 cities and is prepared to do the same with 50 of America’s biggest cities.  AirBnB legit wants show cities that it’s committed to making things right and paying their fair share.  Hotels and home-sharing platform AirBnB have been at odds since day one. Unsurprisingly, hotels aren’t buying it.

When You Have A Rough Week … 

Twitter and Square’s stock took a dive this week along with the rest of the stock markets. Each company’s poor performance bumped their CEO Jack Dorsey down a notch from billionaire to millionaire status. If that’s not bad enough, now rumors are cropping up again that the micro-blogging site may be up for sale. Oy!

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

The Facebook Sports Stadium is a thing now for all you social media-loving, sports fans. The feature will let you keep up on posts and comments from your friends, celebs, and journalists on the latest sporting events.  Just in time for NFL playoffs and March Madness.

Happy Birthday, WeChat! The Chinese mobile messaging app turns five.  It’s been through a lot in that time. We’re talking an upgrade from just simply chatting with friends to being able to buy stuff, watch videos, and make voice/video calls, etc.

Lots of Twitter rumors. Reports are saying the platform is thinking about expanding its 140-character limit to 10k characters. In the meantime Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, has already confirmed its plans.  The Chinese site is expanding its character limit to 2k.

Switzerland could be the new hot spot for early-stage startups.

Indian e-commerce company Snapdeal could be going public in its home country.

The Virtual Skinny FinTech Ed: Checking In …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter

1.20.2016

Good to Know: Global political and business leaders are in Davos, Switzerland this week. In between ski runs, they’ll be at the 16th World Economic Forum Meeting talking things like robots, inequality, Europe, etc. Where do we sign up? 

THE SKINNY

Is That A Threat?

People in their 20s and early 30s (aka Millennials) would rather handle their finances via digital services and smartphones than deal with old school banks.  FinTech startups and services offered by Internet and tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc. are giving banks a run for their money.

Just Look At the Signs … 

Well for one, in 2015 alone, retail banking saw about $6.8 billion in investments (up 4x from 2014). If that’s not enough, young people’s behavior is pretty telling. Some are ditching credit cards all together for alternatives offered by startups like Affirm. The appeal? A ridiculously easy sign-up/approval process and minimal confusion regarding its terms.

When You’re So good, You Can’t Be Ignored… 

You know what they say, imitation is the best form of flattery … Or, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.  Seems like a couple of cliché phrases, but that’s pretty much how banks are approaching competition in a FinTech world.  For instance, Citigroup is partnering with online lender Lending Club.  And just a few months ago, it created its very own group focused on becoming more innovative, appropriately named Citi FinTech.

It’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows … 

FinTech startups and services are popping up pretty quickly. But, it’s not without any issues. Legal and regulatory challenges are at the top of the list. But, companies are working on that. Last November, Amazon, Apple, Google, PayPal, and Intuit got together to form a D.C.-based group called Financial Innovation Now. Its goal? “To promote policies to “foster greater innovation in financial services.”

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

It Ain’t No Thing … 

Regulatory barriers are tough to break through, especially when it comes to moving money across borders. But, few Fintech startups (25 to be exact) have navigated the muddied, regulatory waters like champs to achieve global expansion and growth. Square, Payoneer, Stripe, Braintree, and Transferwise are just a few that made the cut. Congrats on figuring out how to strike the right balance on things like regulations, market opportunity, local ecosystem, competition, flexibility of business mode, etc.

When You’ve got a #@%$! problem … 

Bitcoin is going through it – again. Lately, there’s been not so positive chatter about the fate of the virtual currency and its network after one of its core developers Mike Hearn penned a pretty controversial blog post. In a nutshell, Hearn basically said Bitcoin is a major fail and announced that he was bowing out of the whole thing. Now, Bitcoin insiders and those on the outside can’t help but add in their two cents about the state of the Bitcoin network. See here and here.  Other developments? Russia plans to ban Bitcoin before it becomes a thing in the country. And, Bitcoin wallet and exchange company CoinBase’s main guy tasked with helping educate U.S. lawmakers is about to dip out for another gig with the bankers. No word yet on what this means for the company.

WHEN SOMEONE’S Not A Fan … 

Unlike Bitcoin, crowdfunding typically doesn’t get a bad rap. In fact, you’d think that everyone loves it, but no so much. Ian Russell, CEO of the Investment Industry Association of Canada, is not feeling crowdfunding – not even a little bit – particularly when small businesses use it to raise capital. Russell thinks TSX Venture Exchange (TSX), Canada’s stock exchange, is a way better option for early stage ventures looking for money. Russell isn’t just talking about it. The man is on a mission.  He is calling on Canadian regulators to forget about equity crowdfunding and focus on TSX instead. Naturally, the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada thinks that’s a terrible idea. Side bar: If you’ll remember the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission signed off on rules allowing non-accredited investors to participate in equity crowdfunding.  Just something to think about …

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

The UK Government Office for Science wants other parts of the UK government to look into blockchain technology and figure out how it can work for them on things like government aid payment systems, tax monitoring, etc.

Commerce technology company First Data is going after mobile payments company Square with CloverGo, its new EMV card-reader.

 

The Virtual Skinny: Happy Holidays from Us to You!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on 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 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: Getting on Your Radar…

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

11.9.2015

Good to Know:  Online retailers are bringing their items to you in the real world just in time for the holidays. 

THE SKINNY 

Coming Up Short… 

Late last week, mobile payments company Square announced its IPO price, which had people doing head tilts.

Why?

Well, Square says its price will be between $11 and  $13 per share, which values the company at $4.2 billion. That’s obviously a ton of money, but people were originally expecting a $6 billion valuation.

What Does This Mean? 

Two things. First, the company agreed that it would have to fork over additional shares  to investors if its price came in below $18.55/share so that’ll probably happen. If Square’s shares go for about $12, it’ll be on the hook for about 5.3 million shares to investors. And for other “unicorns” aka companies valued at $1 billion or more, it’s not looking great for them.  This could mean that if other private companies in the $1 billion club decide to go public, their valuation probably won’t be high either.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 

When You Hate To Burst Someone’s Bubble… 

Square’s latest IPO news had people saying that there’s a tech bubble, and that “ish” is about to blow.  Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen sees things differently. Andreessen took to Twitter to sound off on what the Square news means to him.  Put simply, he says that a tech bubble isn’t a thing at the moment.  Basically, for a tech bubble to exist, there’d have to be a ton of excitement and things happening with no real rationale or justification in equity markets.  Square’s “modest pricing” doesn’t quite live up to that type of hype. Don’t believe him? Andreessen dares you to compare and contrast what’s going on today with what happened in ’99.

When You Reinvent Yourself, Madonna-Style … 

In the world of online streaming and digital music, some small, non-profit music stations aren’t going out like that. Rather than fighting the Internet and streaming services like Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, etc., they’re taking a different approach.  KXEP, a Seattle, Washington-based radio station that’s put acts like the Lumineers, Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis on the map, says it’s no longer just a radio station but is using the Inter-webs to transition into a community organization.  These stations are taking a cue from online services and are building communities that turn to them for curated playlists by trusted sources that often help with the discovery of new artists. Nonprofit stations like KXEP are also turning to Internet platforms such as YouTube to expand their reach.  If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em …

When You Can’t Control Them … 

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is not getting into the online tracking business.  The agency said that it won’t do anything to make it hard for the likes of Google, Facebook, and other internet companies to track what you do online.  Naturally, Internet companies are happy about this since they rely on your information to make money. Privacy advocates, on the other hand, are understandably salty about the decision because they hoped the FCC would make it standard for online companies to recognize a “do not track” button while users are on their sites. But alas, the FCC said no and hopes that’s the end of that debate … at least as far as the FCC is concerned.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’ 

Verizon will soon start selling the Blackberry Priv, the first phone using Android mobile operating system that has a physical keyboard.  Speaking of … reviews are in and let’s just say it’s a mixed bag.

Online search via text is played out like an 8-track. “Discovery engines” is where it’s at, according to Pinterest. Starting today, you can search Pinterest with images only. This new tool could mean more ad sales for the company.

When your love only grows … for Snapchat.  The company says its daily video views are up to 6 billion.  It’s catching up to Facebook, which says its video views are up to 8 billion on a daily basis.

Facebook’s trying things out with its new digital assistant, M. FB wants to use a single interface to replace all those web searches you tend to do. The company sees M as a one-stop shop so to speak.  If things work out, all we’ve gotta say is … watch your back, Google.

Yahoo is enlisting management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to clean things up. The Internet company wants McKinsey to tell it what parts of its biz to keep and which to chuck.

U.S. university MIT picked Hong Kong as the location for its new innovation center.

 

The Virtual Skinny: Wakey, Wakey!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on 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.