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

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

Why the Home Wars Aren’t the Phone Wars

By Sam Lessin · May 9, 2016 11:30am PDT · 2 comments

For a generation, there has been a “Highlander”-style battle between the tech giants to be the phone in your pocket. The assumption has been that, since people will not carry more than one phone, the battle for presence in your pocket is a battle to the death.The same assumption applied to the battle for the living room, at least... For a generation, there has been a “Highlander”-style battle between the tech giants...

Facebook's VP for Messaging Products, David Marcus. Photo by AP.

Despite Stumbles, News Outlets Flock to Messenger

By Cory Weinberg · May 9, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Mic internally tested a Facebook’s Messenger “bot” to send out news articles last month, employees didn’t tap and chat with it much. So the Millennial-focused site changed course and will soon release a Messenger bot that sends people photos for a daily caption contest. An early test sent out a picture of Barack... When Mic internally tested a Facebook’s Messenger “bot” to send out news...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · May 7, 2016 8:00am PDT

Good Morning!If your virtual assistant hasn’t reminded you, it’s time to order flowers for Mom. And if you’re in the same city as Mom, make a lunch reservation for Sunday. Good Morning!If your virtual assistant hasn’t reminded you, it’s time to order...

The Information’s 411 — Bear Case

By Tom Dotan · May 6, 2016 12:24pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Bear Case

By Tom Dotan · May 6, 2016 12:24pm PDT

Stephen and Martin talk about their conversation with Janus Global Technology Fund and why they think the private tech markets are overpriced. Then Tom and Martin argue about whether there's consumer demand for more digital video.You can find our RSS feed here or subscribe via iTunes and SoundCloud. Stephen and Martin talk about their conversation with Janus Global Technology Fund and why they...

Our Top Comments of the Week

By The Information Staff · May 6, 2016 11:42am PDT

Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors. Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors.

Tim Cook, left, Eddy Cue, Les Moonves and Joe Ianniello of CBS. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Wrong Way to Do ‘Skinny Bundles’

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 6, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

It’s been a surprisingly good few weeks for “old media.” While tech high fliers like Alphabet and Apple missed analysts’ earnings expectations, Comcast, CBS and Time Warner beat them. The television business is proving more resilient than investors and the press are giving it credit for. It’s been a surprisingly good few weeks for “old media.” While tech high fliers...

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom. Photo by Bloomberg.

Sports Networks Want Instagram to Install Video Fence

By Cory Weinberg · May 5, 2016 7:00am PDT

Instagram’s efforts to become a hub for user-generated and professional videos have hit a snag: its lack of a fence. Instagram doesn’t have so-called “geofencing” capability, allowing it to cordon off the videos posted on the app for viewing only by users in particular countries. That is stopping some sports broadcasters... Instagram’s efforts to become a hub for user-generated and professional videos have hit a...

Mashable founder Pete Cashmore. Photo by Flickr/Josh Hallett.

Mashable’s Costly Path to Video

By Tom Dotan · May 4, 2016 12:58pm PDT · 10 comments

Mashable founder Pete Cashmore. Photo by Flickr/Josh Hallett.

Mashable’s Costly Path to Video

By Tom Dotan · May 4, 2016 12:58pm PDT · 10 comments

As this week’s Newfront digital video ad presentations in New York highlight, most news sites have been building up video production in the past couple of years. It’s a way to tap the $70 billion in TV ad dollars some think could switch to digital in the coming years. But as sites are discovering, video is also hugely expensive to... As this week’s Newfront digital video ad presentations in New York highlight, most news...

Janus' Brad Slingerlend, left, and Denny Fish. Photo by Steve Nellis.

Q&A

Mutual Fund Janus Makes Bear Case on Private Tech

By Steve Nellis and Martin Peers · May 4, 2016 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Startup valuations have skyrocketed in recent years, with big influxes of cash from mutual funds like Fidelity and T. Rowe Price fueling the rise. So it’s easy to think that mutual funds must be falling over themselves to get a stake in startups.Not so for the Janus Global Technology Fund, a $2.5 billion fund that will turn 18 this year.... Startup valuations have skyrocketed in recent years, with big influxes of cash from mutual funds...

An Uber ad on a taxi. Photo by Flickr/Alper Cugun.

Uber Bolsters its Marketing Ranks

By Amir Efrati · May 3, 2016 12:40pm PDT · 5 comments

Uber has hired its first vice president of growth marketing, Kellyn Kenny, signaling that it may be stepping up its marketing war against Lyft.Ms. Kenny, whose appointment was confirmed by the company, was most recently a top “brand strategist” at Capital One, the credit card and financial services firm. Prior to that, she worked on... Uber has hired its first vice president of growth marketing, Kellyn Kenny, signaling that it may...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

The Big Interview

Salesforce’s Developer Strategy: Target the Non-Coders

By Steve Nellis · May 3, 2016 10:01am PDT

Salesforce.com’s new platform chief, Adam Seligman, has a novel idea. He wants to turn 100 million business analysts and digital marketing executives into “developers” who’ll use Salesforce’s app-building tools.The technology he’s pitching is called Lightning, a part of Salesforce’s Force.com service.... Salesforce.com’s new platform chief, Adam Seligman, has a novel idea. He wants to turn 100...

Source: ChannelMeter

Facebook Videos Live Fast, Die Young

By Tom Dotan and Peter Schulz · May 3, 2016 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Source: ChannelMeter

Facebook Videos Live Fast, Die Young

By Tom Dotan and Peter Schulz · May 3, 2016 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

While YouTube and Facebook have established themselves as major hubs for mobile video, the lifespan of content on each platform is markedly different. Put in astronomical terms, a Facebook video is a brief supernova, peaking early and then quickly fading out; a YouTube video is more like a cooling star that emits a small flash of light then... While YouTube and Facebook have established themselves as major hubs for mobile video, the...

Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg.

In the Cloud, Oracle Shops the Discount Aisle

By Steve Nellis · May 2, 2016 12:02pm PDT

With two deals in two weeks, Oracle seems to have kicked off the cloud software deal-making spree that The Information and others have predicted for a year. It’s easy to see why: Oracle is getting much-needed cloud revenue at historically low prices in industries where it already has a foothold it can leverage. A quick sift through... With two deals in two weeks, Oracle seems to have kicked off the cloud software deal-making spree...

Mike Clayville. Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Amazon Web Services’ Revenue Wrangler

By Steve Nellis · May 2, 2016 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

General Electric spent more than a year negotiating with Amazon Web Services before moving big chunks of its computing work there. During that time, AWS’ chief of enterprise sales, Mike Clayville, got everyone from AWS CEO Andy Jassy to other customers to answer GE’s questions about AWS’ security and reliability.By making GE... General Electric spent more than a year negotiating with Amazon Web Services before moving big...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Apr 30, 2016 8:02am PDT

Good morning!Investment bankers are having their day in the sun, thanks to a spate of deals this week (Rovi-TiVo, AbbVie-Stemcentrx, Comcast-DreamWorks Animation, etc.). All this before Yahoo’s auction wraps up. But there’s plenty else going on in tech. Check out these stories. Good morning!Investment bankers are having their day in the sun, thanks to a spate of deals this...

The Information’s 411 — Infosphere

By Tom Dotan · Apr 29, 2016 12:48pm PDT

The Information’s 411 — Infosphere

By Tom Dotan · Apr 29, 2016 12:48pm PDT

Sam argues that most TV shows should be edited way down. Cory discusses WhatsApp's revenue-generating plans and Tom explains why HBO might be in trouble.You can find our RSS feed here or subscribe via iTunes and SoundCloud. Sam argues that most TV shows should be edited way down. Cory discusses WhatsApp's...

Our Top Comments of the Week

By The Information Staff · Apr 29, 2016 10:42am PDT

Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors. Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors.

Stemcentrx and the New Startup Dispersion

By Jessica E. Lessin · Apr 29, 2016 7:02am PDT

Yesterday was an M&A bonanza with some $50 billion in deals announced, led by pharma and rounded out by Comcast’s acquisition of DreamWorks Animation. But the deal that caught my eye the most was the sale of Stemcentrx, a South San Francisco startup trying to eliminate cancer, to AbbVie for $6.2 billion in upfront cash and stock and as... Yesterday was an M&A bonanza with some $50 billion in deals announced, led by pharma and...

Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Stalled AWS Margins Should Worry Cloud Investors

By Steve Nellis · Apr 28, 2016 4:23pm PDT · 1 comment

Amazon’s first quarter showed a solid profit on better-than-expected revenue. But there was a dim spot: Operating margins for the company’s fast-growing cloud computing segment, Amazon Web Services, fell slightly to 27.9% from the previous quarter. It’s beginning to look like that’s the industry norm for cloud computing.... Amazon’s first quarter showed a solid profit on better-than-expected revenue. But there was...

Source: The Information Subscriber Survey

Subscribers Shy Away From Original Sharing

By Peter Schulz and Cory Weinberg · Apr 28, 2016 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

Source: The Information Subscriber Survey

Subscriber Survey

Subscribers Shy Away From Original Sharing

By Peter Schulz and Cory Weinberg · Apr 28, 2016 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

Nearly two-thirds of The Information subscribers responding to our latest subscriber survey say they share fewer personal posts to Facebook than they did a couple years ago. Only 8.8% said they shared more.The findings are in line with The Information’s report this month that the company is struggling to reverse a double-digit decline in... Nearly two-thirds of The Information subscribers responding to our latest subscriber survey say...