The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Modest Conversations

The Information Presents: Modest Conversations

By Sam Lessin · Mar 12, 2017 7:38pm PDT

Sam Lessin, who writes the Modest Proposals column for The Information, is starting a new podcast series called Modest Conversations. In the first episode, Dave Morin joins Sam for a conversation on what they call digital drugs. The two explore how things like VR could be thought of as platforms for therapeutics and recreation, rather than... Sam Lessin, who writes the Modest Proposals column for The Information, is starting a new podcast...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 11, 2017 8:01am PST · 1 comment

Good Morning!We hear LinkedIn is seeing a huge increase in the number of people claiming to be a “Sheryl Sandberg type.” Wonder what that’s about. Good Morning!We hear LinkedIn is seeing a huge increase in the number of people claiming to be a...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Bloomberg.

Airbnb Looks To Add To Executive Ranks

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 10, 2017 5:27pm PST

Airbnb’s on-again, off-again search for another senior executive to help CEO Brian Chesky manage the rapidly growing company is active again, said three people briefed on the matter. Among the people approached recently was Brent Bellm, former chief operating officer of vacation-rentals rival HomeAway and current CEO of ecommerce platform... Airbnb’s on-again, off-again search for another senior executive to help CEO Brian Chesky...

The Information’s 411 — The Softer Side of Facebook

By Tom Dotan · Mar 10, 2017 3:43pm PST

The Information’s 411 — The Softer Side of Facebook

By Tom Dotan · Mar 10, 2017 3:43pm PST

Alfred talks about why some early investors in Fitbit held on too long after the company went public and what that could foretell for Snap's investors. Cory explains how Facebook is trying to fix Instant Articles to get publishers back on board. And Sam plugs his new podcast series Modest Conversations. Alfred talks about why some early investors in Fitbit held on too long after the company went...

Mic CEO Chris Altchek. Photo by Flickr/Ole Bader.

Fewer but Bigger Ad Deals Challenge Smaller Publishers

By Tom Dotan · Mar 10, 2017 7:02am PST · 6 comments

There’s good news and bad news for digital media firms. The good news is that advertisers are finally plowing big money into new ad formats, particularly “branded content” like sponsored videos which mimics editorial content. The bad news: This favors big publishers over small.And that may be a catalyst toward combinations in... There’s good news and bad news for digital media firms. The good news is that advertisers...

Facebook vp of product Fidji Simo. Photo by Flickr/LeWeb.

Facebook’s Uphill Battle To Win Back Publishers

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 9, 2017 1:25pm PST · 3 comments

Facebook product managers gathered about a dozen news publishers at the company’s New York office two weeks ago to unveil potential changes to Instant Articles, the nearly-two-year-old program aimed at making news articles load faster on the social network. The roadmap, including giving publishers more ways to track reader habits and to... Facebook product managers gathered about a dozen news publishers at the company’s New York...

Source: SEC Filings. Graphic by Mike Sullivan

VCs in Fitbit Paid a Price for Not Selling Early

By Alfred Lee and Reed Albergotti · Mar 9, 2017 7:01am PST · 3 comments

For early investors in Snap, the next few months are likely to be tense. While the stock has traded as much as $11 above its $17 IPO price since it opened last Thursday, there’s no guarantee it’ll be trading that high when the investors are free to sell their shares in early August. For the early investors, the worst-case scenario... For early investors in Snap, the next few months are likely to be tense. While the stock has...

Former Quixey co-founder CEO Tomer Kagan, second from right. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Alibaba-Backed Quixey Shutting Down

By Amir Efrati · Mar 8, 2017 4:41pm PST · 2 comments

Former Quixey co-founder CEO Tomer Kagan, second from right. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Alibaba-Backed Quixey Shutting Down

By Amir Efrati · Mar 8, 2017 4:41pm PST · 2 comments

Quixey, a seven-year-old mobile search company that raised more than $130 million from Alibaba Group and others, is in the process of shutting down, said a person with direct knowledge of the situation. Numerous employees were laid off two weeks ago, according to a former employee.Quixey came to prominence as a potential alternative to Google... Quixey, a seven-year-old mobile search company that raised more than $130 million from Alibaba...

Google Cloud chief Diane Greene. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Cloud’s Diane Greene in the Hot Seat

By Kevin McLaughlin · Mar 8, 2017 7:01am PST · 10 comments

In her 16 months running Google’s cloud business, Diane Greene has reorganized its sales team, recruited new executive blood and cut staff. What she hasn’t done is announce many big new customers.That may change on Wednesday, as Google Cloud kicks off its annual conference for customers and developers in San Francisco. There are... In her 16 months running Google’s cloud business, Diane Greene has reorganized its sales...

Source: CloudHarmony

How AWS Stacks Up Against Rivals on Downtime

By Kevin McLaughlin and Mike Sullivan · Mar 7, 2017 7:02am PST · 6 comments

This might be hard to believe, given Amazon Web Services’ three-hour outage last Tuesday: AWS is far better at keeping its public cloud service running than either Microsoft or Google.Since the start of 2015, AWS has had a total of 448 minutes of downtime, 40% of which occurred in last week’s episode. That total compares with 1,652... This might be hard to believe, given Amazon Web Services’ three-hour outage last Tuesday:...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Slowing Down the Digital Escapist Movement

By Sam Lessin · Mar 6, 2017 10:55am PST · 13 comments

In “The Three-Body Problem” science fiction trilogy, there’s a constant tension between the “escapists” who want to leave the galaxy and its problems and those who want to stay. We don’t have the technology yet to escape the universe on near-lightspeed ships. But in the tech community there is increasingly a... In “The Three-Body Problem” science fiction trilogy, there’s a constant tension...

A group of women live streaming at a shopping mall in China last September. Photo by AP.

Inside a Bubble: Death of a Chinese Video Streaming Firm

By Juro Osawa · Mar 6, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments

A group of women live streaming at a shopping mall in China last September. Photo by AP.

Inside a Bubble: Death of a Chinese Video Streaming Firm

By Juro Osawa · Mar 6, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments

For a while, startup founder Zhang Yi’s live-streaming video app appeared to be riding the wave of China’s booming mobile broadcasting market. The bookish history professor-turned-entrepreneur thought he was on the cusp of internet millions. But Mr. Zhang’s fortunes quickly sank as his company struggled to keep up with... For a while, startup founder Zhang Yi’s live-streaming video app appeared to be riding the...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg

Uber CEO, Facing Multiple Controversies, Seeks No. 2 Exec

By Amir Efrati and Alfred Lee · Mar 4, 2017 6:06pm PST · 3 comments

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick plans to appoint a number two executive to serve alongside him and make key decisions, said a person briefed on the plan. The decision is a concession for Mr. Kalanick, who has long operated Uber without a formal second in command. Along with two colleagues, he controls a majority of the shareholder votes.The expected... Uber CEO Travis Kalanick plans to appoint a number two executive to serve alongside him and make...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Mar 4, 2017 8:02am PST

Good Morning!As a way to get ahead of its next scandal, Uber should announce that Travis Kalanick may have also met with Russian officials. Good Morning!As a way to get ahead of its next scandal, Uber should announce that Travis Kalanick...

The Information’s 411 — Alexa’s Call Centers

By Tom Dotan · Mar 3, 2017 12:00pm PST

Reed talks with Kevin about Amazon's plans to use Alexa to manage call centers. Tom phones in to give his thoughts on the Snap IPO. Reed talks with Kevin about Amazon's plans to use Alexa to manage call centers. Tom phones...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Uber Can Drive Profits

By Amir Efrati · Mar 3, 2017 7:01am PST · 4 comments

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Uber Can Drive Profits

By Amir Efrati · Mar 3, 2017 7:01am PST · 4 comments

How much the recent spate of negative media coverage of Uber and its workplace culture will have on its business and ability to attract talent is anybody’s guess. But new financial data shows how profitable the ride-sharing firm is in key cities in the U.S. and Europe—and gives a clue about what it has to do to cut its enormous... How much the recent spate of negative media coverage of Uber and its workplace culture will have...

Source: SEC filings and publicly reported information

How Snap’s Shareholders Fared on IPO

By Alfred Lee and Mike Sullivan · Mar 2, 2017 9:56am PST

Snap’s late-stage investors, such as Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Alibaba, will be breathing a sigh of relief after the company’s stock began trading at $24 a share Thursday morning. How long that relief lasts is a big question, given skepticism among some analysts and investors about Snap’s competitive position.The opening... Snap’s late-stage investors, such as Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Alibaba, will be...

An attendee at this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Photo by Bloomberg.

Out of Sight at Mobile World, Facebook Still Looms Large

By Cory Weinberg · Mar 2, 2017 7:00am PST · 1 comment

BARCELONA—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stayed away from this week’s Mobile World Congress, the telecom industry’s annual assembly, for the first time in four years. That lowered Facebook’s profile at the gathering but not its activity level. Behind the scenes, executives from the social network wooed telecom executives as... BARCELONA—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stayed away from this week’s Mobile World...

Source: The Information

Subscriber Survey

The Information’s Public Company Index

By The Information Staff · Mar 1, 2017 10:08am PST · 1 comment

Subscribers are feeling slightly more upbeat about Twitter, judging by the results of our latest subscriber survey. Meanwhile, attitudes towards Amazon Twitter’s sentiment score dropped to a negative 21%, a big improvement on the negative 47% score in March, which was an improvement on the negative 60% in February. Twitter appears to be... Subscribers are feeling slightly more upbeat about Twitter, judging by the results of our latest...

Source: The Information

Subscribers Turn Sharply Negative on Uber

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2017 10:04am PST · 10 comments

Source: The Information

Subscriber Survey

Subscribers Turn Sharply Negative on Uber

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2017 10:04am PST · 10 comments

Here’s one sign the furor over sexual harassment allegations at Uber has taken a toll. The Information subscribers turned sharply negative on Uber—and much more upbeat about Lyft—in our latest subscriber survey. Here’s one sign the furor over sexual harassment allegations at Uber has taken a toll. The...