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.