Tech

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: Hi There…

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on 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 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.

The Virtual Skinny: Just Say Yes..

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

11.17.2015

Good to Know:  Where did I put my phone?! The U.S. government is working on implantable memory chips so we don’t forget things – ever. It’s tested the chip out on those who suffer from brain injuries. 

THE SKINNY

Setting Yourself Up … 

Online music service Pandora just swooped up Rdio, a bankrupt music subscription service, for $75 million. Rdio’s intellectual property rights and technology included.

When You Start Trash Talking …

Pandora says it plans to “offer an expanded Pandora listening experience by late 2016…” No one really knows what that’s going to look like, but people are reading between the lines.  Pandora fired shots at Spotify and YouTube’s ways of letting people listen to unlimited music for free by calling the practice “unsustainable.”  All signs point to Pandora looking to create an Apple Music-type subscription service to go along with its current radio offerings.

Mending Difficult Relationships…

Unlike Apple Music, Pandora has always had a complicated relationship with music labels and publishers.  It all comes down to dolla dolla bills. Labels and publishers think Pandora’s been short-changing them since it came on the scene.  But, Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews wants to fix the relationship for the sake of the company’s future. He says, “[e]stablishing productive and collaborative partnerships with music makers puts Pandora in the strongest possible position to deliver on our long‐term vision.”

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

When You’ve Been Shut Down … 

Fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings are not getting their way. Soon after the New York Attorney General fired off letters to both companies asking them to stop operating in the state, the fantasy sports companies ran to a state court. They asked the court to tell the AG to get off their backs.  But, the court wasn’t having any of that and denied their request.  Verdict’s still out on whether their sites are illegal or not under U.S. federal law. The companies now have a November 25th court date.

When SomeThing Brings Up Old Drams … 

In the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, U.S. lawmakers are calling on Internet and tech companies to give law enforcement access to encrypted devices.  In the name of protecting consumers’ privacy, Internet and tech companies upped encryption on their devices after the Edward Snowden government surveillance leaks. U.S. lawmakers note that these days bad guys are turning to things like apps and video game systems (e.g.,Playstation 4) to communicate. Basically, lawmakers say that law enforcement needs access to encrypted devices because they can’t stop what they can’t see.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Earlier this year, e-commerce marketplace eBay and payments company PayPal went their separate ways. Now, billionaire investor Carl Icahn has chosen sides. He dumped his entire eBay stake for PayPal.

Need a ride to the game? Ride-hailing app Uber’s got you.  It’s trying out a new partnership with the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars.  The company’s experimenting with offering rides along with discounted tickets to Jaguar games.

Daily deals company Groupon is shutting down more offices.  This time, it’s bowing out of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. 

It’s been a hot second since Twitter announced that it was replacing its “stars” with “hearts” for users looking to “like” tweets.  But, the “hearts” may not be working out.  It’s being reported that Twitter is tinkering with emojis instead.  BTW, Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year isn’t a word but the “crying laughing” emoji.

Local recommendation service Angie’s List said thanks but not thanks to IAC/InterActiveCorp’s offer.

The Virtual Skinny: Back At It …

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

11.16.2015

Good to Know: In case you were wondering, the Internet has spoken and Justin Beiber > One Direction.  We try to keep you young, folks … 

THE SKINNY

What Is Going On With The World? 

Last Friday, terrorists launched coordinated attacks (involving suicide bombs, shootings, and hostage situations) in and around Paris. Attack sites included Stade de France (a soccer stadium in Paris), a concert hall, and restaurants.  The horrible attacks took the lives of 132 people and injured hundreds more. ISIS, the Islamic State, claimed responsibility, and 23 people have been arrested.  France is still on the hunt for one of the attackers, 26-year-old French national and Belgian born Salah Abdeslam. Authorities believe he’s one of eight gunmen responsible for shootings at the restaurants.  While the search continues, France launched airstrikes against ISIS in Syria.

Rising to the Occasion … 

Internet companies stepped up to help out in their own way. Facebook’s “Safety Check” feature kicked in for those in Paris to mark themselves as safe via their profiles. It’s the first time the feature has been used for an event that’s not a natural disaster. Also, FB users were able to apply filters of the French flag over their profile pics to show solidarity. Soon, the hashtag “#PorteOuverte” (meaning “open door”) started trending on Twitter for people looking for a place to stay. AirBnB pitched in by launching its own disaster response effort by connecting those who needed shelter with hosts for “at little or no cost.”  … Google made international calls to France via Google Hangout free through the weekend so people could connect with loved ones.

What About Us? 

While many expressed their support for Paris, others, particularly those in Beirut, Lebanon, questioned why the same had not been done for the city, which had been the victim of similar attacks just two-days prior.  Those attacks claimed the lives of 40 people. One point of contention – FB didn’t activate “Safety Check” for Beirut nor was there an overlay option for the Lebanese flag available to users to show support.  FB said it chose to activate its “Safety Check” feature due to the high level of activity around the Paris attacks. One company rep said, “[t]here has to be a first time for trying something new, even in complex and sensitive times, and for us that was Paris…”

What Comes Next?

Well, FB has changed up its policy on “Safety Check.”  CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that the feature will be used for more human disasters moving forward.  Hacker group Anonymous is ready to rage against ISIS.  In terms of what governments are doing, it’s hard to say. The G20, an international forum with 20 of the world’s major economies and governments, meet this week in Turkey.  The topic of conversation during these summits are typically around economic policy and other global issues . G-20 leaders have already vowed to step their game up against ISIL aka ISIS aka the Islamic State.

How’s the Recovery? 

In the meantime,  Periscope and Snapchat users are documenting how Paris is getting back on track.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 

By Any Means Necessary … 

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, France is definitely going on the defensive.  The attacks come at an interesting time just shortly after the French Parliament passed sweeping, controversial reforms of its surveillance laws. The legislation passed in May, post attacks on magazine Charlie Hebdo. Basically, the law goes beyond just checking up on suspected terrorists’ calls and emails but also allows for Internet service providers (ISPs) to put in place “black boxes” to scoop up metadata on how millions of everyday folks use the Internet. The French governments says ISPs must hand this info over to intelligence agencies.  If things gets especially bad, then France reserves the right to launch “ISMI catchers” to monitor and track mobile phone communications.

When It’s not quite ‘out with the old, in with the new…” 

Workers love the “gig economy” model – a lot.  Thanks to on-demand companies like Gigwalk, traditional companies are relying on this model to upgrade their old biz processes. To keep things simple, rather than Gigwalk using its technology to compete with traditional companies like Crossmark (a sales and marketing company in consumer goods), it’s choosing to license its technology to would-be traditional competitors instead. As WSJ puts it, “[i[t is as if Uber had decided to sell its technology to taxi companies instead of driving them into oblivion.“ Meaning, traditional companies get to be more efficient with their operations, and workers get more flexible hours. Looks like a win for everyone involved.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’ 

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook says no chance on consumers seeing an iPad-Macbook hybrid.

Venture capitalist and Facebook board member Marc Andreessen is up to things … Over the past two weeks, he’s sold off a bunch of his shares in the company (1.5 million), bringing in about $160 Mill. No word yet on Andreessen’s motivations. #ShadyBoots

Zenefits CEO Parker Conrad is dismissing reports that his company is struggling. Conrad says the company is doing great and is snatching up new employees left and right. In other news, the company’s also coming out with its own payroll platform. 

Snapchat’s trying to offer users more variety.  It’s selling users new Lenses for added special effects to their selfies. The cost? 99 cents. Only problem is that users are not here for it! Translation: No one’s trying to pay for these filters.

 

The Virtual Skinny: Deep Breaths

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

11.11.2015

Good to Know: Remember the floppy disk? Who knew those things along with a few other old school technologies are still around? 

THE SKINNY

An Ongoing Battle … 

Yesterday, New York Attorney General (AG) Eric Schneiderman told fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings “not in my house.” *Finger wag* Schneiderman fired off cease and desist letters to each company telling them to stop doing business in the state … or else.

Why? 

If you’ll remember, we previously told you about the alleged insider trading scandal involving one of DraftKing’s employees. The issue comes down to whether these sites under federal law are illegal online gambling sites. FanDuel and DraftKings says that the law classifies them as a “game of skill and not chance” making their biz legit. Schneiderman disagrees and had some strong words for the sites. He says they are “evad[ing] the law and “fleec[ing] sports fans. ” He won’t let it go down like that on his watch. 

What’s Next? 

A few weeks back, Nevada banned the sites from operating within the state without official licenses.  Other states like Arizona, Montana, and Iowa flat out rejected the sites all together.  Now that NY is jumping on the bandwagon, this could compromise the sites’ business in a major way.  Both companies have five days to officially respond to Schneiderman’s letters.  In the meantime, they’ve made statements dismissing the NY AG’s actions as just a politician trying to drum up trouble where it doesn’t exist. Even if the companies get over this bump in the road, they’ve still got the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Making Good On Your Promise … 

After former venture capitalist Ellen Pao wrapped up her gender discrimination case against ex-employer Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, she vowed to keep talking about the issue and its existence within the tech industry. Pao penned a column for The Lenny Letter, a newsletter run by actress Lena Dunham and Dunham’s business partner Jenni Konner. Pao explains her side of the story and responds to all the haters. She claims that tech talked about gender bias and harassment but didn’t actually do anything to address the issue.  Pao plans to keep talking about gender discrimination and wants you to join her as well.

wHEN sOMETHINGS ARE JUST NOT WORTH IT … 

They say cheaters never win.  U.S. federal prosecutors just explained details of what it says is “the largest hacking case ever.” The case involves a multiyear effort where hackers stole information on 100 million customers from 12 companies and financial institutions including JP Morgan Chase to use and profit off of shady activities like stock manipulation, online gambling, and fraud. Prosecutors charged three men (two Israeli and one American) with 23 counts of fraud and other illegal activities. These hackers definitely did not keep things simple. They laundered money through 75 shell companies and used 30 false passports from 17 different countries to pull the job off for eight years.

All Signs Point To …. 

For what seems like forever, people have been talking about the high valuation trend for tech companies coming to an end.  Now, Fidelity is adding more fuel to the fire. The mutual fund company and investor in Snapchat just marked down its investment in the app company by 25 percent. No word on why though.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile wants its users to get their binge-watching on. The company is now offering “BingeOn,” which means it’ll let customers stream their preferred shows via Netflix, HBOGO, etc. without applying any data caps.

No more worrying about getting lost when you’re sans Internet connection. Google Maps’ new offline feature will be there to help you reach your destination.

Apple Music is now available for Android operating systems.  The service pretty much works the same way it does for iOS. Just one thing – playing music videos isn’t a thing on Droids yet.

Amazon Prime Now’s food delivery service from your local eatery or grocer is heading to Los Angeles then expanding to Portland.  Still waiting on when it plans to go country-wide in the U.S.

San Francisco based hotel booking app, HotelTonight, just let go off  20% of its staff. CEO Sam Shank (what a name!) said it was a hard decision but now the company’s lean and focused.

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba deemed November 11 as “Singles Day,” originally intended to celebrate all the single people out there.  Six years later, it’s now basically China’s version of Cyber Monday.  The company has brought in sales already exceeding last year’s $9.3 billion total.

 

The Virtual Skinny: The Swing of Things…

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

11.10.2015

Good to Know: ICYMI, yesterday Google featured Hedy Lamarr who is more known for her acting chops back in the day than being the designer of a communication system during World War II that set the groundwork for modern Wi-fi. 

THE SKINNY

When Tragedy Strikes …

Freelance journalist Zak Stone published a seriously tragic and heart-wrenching story about how his dad died while staying at an AirBnB rental during a family trip.  The incident happened about two years ago but now he’s letting everyone know how a major safety hazard on the AirBnB property took his dad’s life.

Now What?

His family’s story adds fuel to the ongoing debate about sharing economy services and their consumers’ safety. In AirBnB’s case, questions are being raised about the company’s responsibilities regarding safety.  The site offers safety pointers to hosts under the “Trust” section of its site.  The company also suggests to hosts that getting renter’s or homeowner’s insurance is probably a good idea.  The insurance issue a huge deal.

Why?

Well, the problem is a lot of home owner’s insurance policies out there don’t include commercial activity like AirBnBs.  So basically, people can get the insurance, but it still wouldn’t cover their AirBnB rental.  To fix that issue, the company began offering Host Protection Insurance for up to $1 million earlier this year.

What to Do?

AirBnB and other sharing economy companies are working to put more safety measures in place.  But, Zak notes that AirBnB is still not held to same standards as hotels (which is a huge point of contention between AirBnB and regular hotels).  Sharing economy companies say that users’ reviews will weed out all the bad folks in their system, but consumer advocates want more than that.  The struggle continues between balancing the benefits of these services with issues like safety.

In the Meantime … 

Here’s Zak’s post in full but please proceed with caution.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Not Many Things In Life Are Free … 

Google is giving away its machine learning software TensorFlow.  In normal people speak, TensorFlow is software the company uses to make computers “smarter” (e.g., teaching a computer to recognize cats by saturating its computer network with millions of cat images courtesy of YouTube).  No, this doesn’t mean Google is going to kill its own business.  The search company wants people to spend time with the software, come up with new ways to use the thing, and also hopefully improve the software.  If you’ve got what it takes, then by all means, have at it!

When People Are Playing Games … 

Immigration is a major issue in the United States (U.S.) and will continue to rage with upcoming presidential elections next year.  The tech industry has been pretty vocal about the need for more H-1B visas, three-year work permits for foreign-born professionals to legally work in the U.S. With each passing year, the demand for these visas (only 85k available in total) are only going up.  The demand is so high that the U.S. government had to put in place a lottery so regardless of whether people are qualified or not, their chances to legally stay in the U.S. to earn a living comes down to the luck of the draw. French born software engineer Théo Négri thought he had a promising career in San Francisco. But, that dream was cut short after he didn’t make it through the lottery. Négri later found out through data analysis that large global outsourcing companies are “gaming” the system by submitting thousands of applications and clogging up the system, leaving American companies with fewer chances of locking down a visa for their foreign-born applicants. Things definitely need to change.

The Clock Is Ticking …

A Belgian court wants Facebook to stop tracking people who aren’t users of its site.  For the past five years, whenever an Internet user visits FB, a cookie (aka a file that tracks when someone visits a site and also certain online activities) is instantly triggered. This applies to non-FB users, which the court doesn’t think is right.  The court says FB can only track people who directly give their consent; otherwise, the company will be fined 250,000 euros (£180,000) daily.  The court gave FB two days to come into compliance, but the social networking is putting up a fight and plans to appeal the decision.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

U.S. President Barack Obama got a Facebook for the country’s top position.  His first post is about climate change.

Facebook Messenger is relying on facial recognition technology for its new Photo Magic feature.  Photo Magic can i.d. your friends in photos and then asks if you want to send it to them or not.  Photo Magic makes its first debut “Down Under.”

Match Group, Inc., parent company of many dating sites and apps that we know, is looking to get in the money. The company is looking at a $3.4 billion IPO and wants to raise $536.7 million to get there.

Tag Heuer Connected is Android’s answer to Apple Watch. You can get yourself one of these bad boys for $1500.

Indian e-commerce company Flipkart partnered with Google to revamp its new mobile website. One point for Google! It’s a good way to get new Internet users from emerging markets, especially since most of them live in India and will be accessing the web via mobile phones.

Social platform Twitter is looking to diversify its Board of Directors.

Some execs recently peaced out on Yahoo so its CEO Marissa Mayer came up with an idea. Mayer wants the remaining execs to sign a pledge saying they’ll stay on with the company for three to five years.  Interesting.

Apple’s 12-inch iPad Pro hit stores tomorrow.

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: Ohh, Watch Me

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

11.5.2015

Good to Know:  Who says you can’t become more cultured via the Internet? 

THE SKINNY

When It’s Time to Rally …

For the first time in a long while, the price of virtual currency bitcoin is on the up and up. Wednesday morning the value of a single bitcoin skyrocketed above $500 on some bitcoin exchanges but ended the day at $400. Still not bad …

When People Start to Question You … 

Bitcoin has only been around for about 6 years so naturally people were skeptical. First, we heard that it was popular among criminals. And to top that off,  Mt. Gox, Bitcoin’s largest exchange, managed to lose hundreds of millions of dollars before going bankrupt. People kept their distance and what was once a hot ticket got downgraded to a basic fad.

When You’re On An Upswing …

Over the past few weeks, things are looking up for bitcoin thanks to growing interest from China and Wall Street. Banks and financial service companies are especially interested in the blockchain, the technology behind the virtual currency.

When You’re Getting Ahead of Yourself … 

In the past, bitcoin has fallen just as fast as it’s risen. Though people are geeked up about bitcoin’s future, there are still some issues (e.g., majority of people aren’t using bitcoin in their day-to-day, and there’s still its link to activities that aren’t legit).  But, the glass should always be half full, right?

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

If It Ain’t Broke … 

Coming off its successful defeat of San Francisco’s (SF) Proposition F (a proposal that would’ve restricted short-term rentals in the city), homesharing service AirBnB is taking its show on the road.  In SF, the company kicked off its Anti-F campaign and relied on thousands of volunteers to defeat the proposition.  Things worked out so now the company thinks it can use the same playbook in cities around the world where it faces similar regulatory issues.

Reaching Milestones … 

Facebook is kicking butt and taking names. Its third quarter earnings were better than expected. The social network pulled in $4.5 billion in revenue during that time. What did we learn? Its users are up to 1.55 billion, and most of them are using FB via their phones (mobile advertising accounted for $3.4 billion of the $4.5 billion).   FB’s spending more than previous quarters as it looks into virtual reality and ways to bring Internet access to everyone in the world. But don’t worry, it’s still focused on the main business. Things with FB are good and all, but people want to see how Instagram is doing. FB’s making ’em wait for those numbers.

Eye Spy…

For once how the government is looking at what you do online isn’t about the U.S. Yesterday, the United Kingdom (UK) revealed new plans for government to keep its people safe.  Business groups, Internet, and tech companies are worried about undermining people’s privacy and their trust in companies’ products. Under this UK proposal, things like allowing government to see which websites people are checking out would be A-OK. Also, the UK could force communication service companies to hoard their customers’ web browsing information for one year.  The U.S. is giving the UK major side-eye because this proposal wouldn’t fly State side.  Other major issues: The UK could require that companies stop encrypting devices and that they hack into suspects’ devices for info.  It’s a lot to digest, and that’s just the watered-down version of the bill.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Yesterday, ex Twitter engineering manager Leslie Miley posted a no holds barred explanation of why he left the company. In a nutshell, the company wasn’t doing much in the diversity department.  Now, Rev. Jesse Jackson wants Twitter to release numbers on just how many people who fall into the underrepresented category have been laid off. 

Uber surge pricing can be the worst. Gett, a London-based startup, “gets” how you feel so it’s refunding Uber riders’ their surge fees. It’s not exactly what you think. To compete with Uber, Gett is running a promo in New York City.  New Yorkers would need to sign up on SurgeSucks.com and send their Uber surge receipts into Gett.  In return, the company sends potential customers company credit in that amount for free rides.

Sports fantasy site FanDuel has run into some legal issues recently, and it isn’t making as much money off of its contests anymore. Overexposure may be to blame so FanDuel is reigning in its advertising spending.  It has no plans to go public anytime soon and definitely won’t be merging with competitor DraftKings.

Travel site Expedia is stepping its game up and purchased AirBnB competitor, HomeAway, for $3.9 billion.

Google’s putting out its low-cost smartphone, Android One, in the Indian market.  Android One is a lesser version of Google’s mobile operating system Android.

Dating app Tinder’s CEO Sean Rad says contrary to popular belief, most of its users (80% to be exact) are looking for something serious.

 

The Virtual Skinny: Hello, It’s Me

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

11.4.2015

Good to Know:  Former Daily Show Host Jon Stewart is coming back to TV but only via the Interwebs. He has a four-year deal to do shows for HBO’s online platforms.  

THE SKINNY

 When You Give No Types of “Effs…”

San Francisco (SF) residents gave the city’s Proposition F, otherwise known as the AirBnB Initiative, a big thumbs down.  Prop F would’ve limited short-term rentals in the city to only 75 nights/year.  Also, it would’ve encouraged people to dime out their neighbors and companies violating the law.

This Is NOT A Fire Drill …

To defeat the proposal, AirBnB launched an $8 million full court press called the Anti-F campaign.  The rental platform unleashed seasoned organizers and volunteers (including 138,000 members of the AirBnB community) to pound the SF pavement to turn voters against Prop F. Unofficially, about 55% of voters checked no on their ballots.

When You Pull Off The “W…” 

AirBnB is happy because the proposition would’ve caused issues for the $25.5 billion company both in the U.S. and abroad. And, residents are happy because they can continue to freely rent out their homes to supplement their incomes.  After all, prices for SF housing are no joke, partly thanks to the technology boom in the city. This year’s average rent for a studio apartment in the city is $2,828.month, and the median home price is $1,097,000 (up 17% from last year). Yikes!

Taking A Victory Lap …

AirBnB plans to brief reporters on the results today.  But, the company can’t celebrate for too long. It’s hit roadblocks in Santa Monica and Berlin, and the company has attempted to compromise with authorities by saying yes to paying taxes in cities like Paris. If the company wants to go public, it’ll need to sort out all of the legal and policy stuff first.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 

It’s Better To Give Than To Receive … 

For Internet companies these days, that’s the motto.  Marc Benioff, CEO of cloud computing company Salesforce, says including corporate giving into your business strategy is a must.  Salesforce takes the 1-1-1 approach, meaning the company annually donates 1% of its equity, 1% of employee time, and  1% products to communities where Salesforce employees live. Benioff had a lot to tell the New York Times, but the key takeaways for businesses and its leaders? Do good in your community, have a heart, stand up for equality, and try not to stress too much.  Other companies that are taking this to heart? Google.org is gifting San Francisco organizations fighting for racial justice in the U.S. criminal, prison, and educational systems with $2.35 million in grants to help the cause. And, Kickstarter’s CEO Yancey Strickler is still sounding off on staying true to the crowdfunding sites’s core and “not selling out” on its values by going public.

A FEW OF Your FAVORITE THINGS… 

Yesterday, Twitter changed things up on us and decided it preferred hearts over stars. The social platform replaced the star intended for users to “favorite” tweets with a heart. Turns out this change happened because the star was confusing for folks new to Twitter. Apparently you can’t have more than one favorite thing (tell that to Oprah and Maria von Trapp). We’ll see if the heart brings in the new blood Twitter hopes to see.

Not All Hearts Aflutter… 

In other news, former Twitter Engineer Manager Leslie Miley left the company and then wrote about his less than diverse experience.  He says he’s happy to have been part of a platform that gives a voice to underrepresented groups but takes many … and we mean many issues with how the company handled increasing its low diversity numbers (3% of engineering and product personnel at Twitter are African-American/Hispanic and less than 15% are women). From a lack of communication with the company’s black employee resource group to a questionable suggestion for a name analysis tool to track job candidates, Miley uses examples to show how Twitter leadership just doesn’t get it. But, Miley thinks CEO Jack Dorsey is the man to fix the problem.

who’s the boss? 

Ride-hailing app Uber has a lot on its plate. Ready? First, the company’s still in the midst of the employee v. contractor battle.  Uber drivers say they should be considered employees, but CEO Travis Kalanick insists that Uber isn’t their direct boss. Kalanick is giving the “boss” title to its algorithmic software that matches drivers and riders. New York University Data and Society research team begs to differ.  The team says the algorithm manages drivers the same way a human would.

Second, Uber wants regulators and policymakers to ease off on the company because it gives people jobs (1.1 million around the world) and puts money in their pockets ($3.5 billion this year for U.S. drivers alone).

Third, competition is getting tough in the ride-hailing app game so Uber is reportedly exploring the idea of luring new drivers with promises of bank accounts and same day payments.

Fourth, Chinese regulators have a proposal that would be hugely problematic for Uber, but the company’s still full steam ahead on its plan to be in 100 Chinese cities in 2016. Speaking of expansion, Uber’s putting up $250 million to get into North Africa and the Middle East.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Who has time to reply to e-mails anymore?  No worries, Gmail’s got it handled. Through machine learning, Gmail will generate responses on your behalf via “Smart Reply.”

Pinterest Shop is coming to your phone soon.

Don’t be scurred. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is letting media execs know that they shouldn’t worry about what his company’s doing but should instead focus on themselves. Industry’s ‘TV Anywhere,’ which lets users watch network TV shows online, isn’t catching on with folks.

OfferUp, an online classifieds apps aka the potential ‘Craigslist Killer,’ just put $90 million in its bank. The currently free app has seen consistent user growth over the past three years and processed $2.9 billion worth of transactions this year alone.

Facebook’s really getting into artificial intelligence and is trying to build software that works like our brains.  If its software can beat the strategy game Go, then FB is headed in the right direction.

Eric Lefkofsky, co-founder of daily deals site Groupon, is no longer the company’s top guy effective immediately. Lefkofsky is now chairman. He’s been replaced by its Chief Operating Officer Rich Williams.

Social video game provider Zynga keeps losing users, and its Chief Financial Officer David Lee just dipped out.