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

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

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. 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

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

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

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...

One of the underwriters on Snap's coming IPO, Morgan Stanley, displayed a Snap sign on its building in New York last month. Photo by Bloomberg.

When Will Snap Embrace Data?

By Tom Dotan · Mar 1, 2017 7:01am PST · 5 comments

One of the underwriters on Snap's coming IPO, Morgan Stanley, displayed a Snap sign on its building in New York last month. Photo by Bloomberg.

When Will Snap Embrace Data?

By Tom Dotan · Mar 1, 2017 7:01am PST · 5 comments

When Snap employees pitch CEO Evan Spiegel on a new feature for the app, they’ve found he’s more likely to pay attention if they emphasize how they think users will feel about the feature than if they cite data about users’ likely response, says a former employee.It’s essentially the opposite at Facebook. That... When Snap employees pitch CEO Evan Spiegel on a new feature for the app, they’ve found...

Taylor Swift at a DirecTV Now concert before the Super Bowl earlier this month. Photo by AP.

Q&A

What’s Next for DirecTV Now

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 28, 2017 11:30am PST · 2 comments

Of all the attempts in distributing traditional TV channels online, DirecTV’s may be the one that has faced the most skepticism. With a starting price of $35 a month—rising as channels are added—DirecTV Now seemed destined to lose money. Customers initially complained the service was glitchy. Investors worried the service would... Of all the attempts in distributing traditional TV channels online, DirecTV’s may be the...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

AWS Takes Aim at Call Center Industry

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 28, 2017 7:01am PST · 6 comments

Alexa is coming to customer call centers.Amazon Web Services is preparing to sell software to help companies manage their call centers, based on software Amazon developed for its retail call centers, according to a person who’s been briefed on the plans. The new services also incorporate Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant to respond to... Alexa is coming to customer call centers.Amazon Web Services is preparing to sell software to...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Gender Reports: How Companies Stack Up

By Mike Sullivan · Feb 27, 2017 10:05am PST · 4 comments

As Uber scrambles to release a diversity report following sexual harassment allegations, private tech companies such as Snap, WeWork and Palantir are glaring holdouts from firms that release data on gender diversity. The table below shows that the workforce of major tech companies remains overwhelmingly male. Men account for at least two-thirds... As Uber scrambles to release a diversity report following sexual harassment allegations, private...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

How Rizvi’s Clients Will Do on Snap IPO

By Alfred Lee · Feb 27, 2017 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

How Rizvi’s Clients Will Do on Snap IPO

By Alfred Lee · Feb 27, 2017 7:00am PST · 1 comment

When Snap goes public on Thursday, one of the investors closely watching the result will be Rizvi Traverse, the secretive firm that rose to prominence amassing large stakes in Twitter and Square. Chances are Rizvi will do well on the offering—and probably better than people who invested in Rizvi-arranged funds holding Snap stock.Rizvi put... When Snap goes public on Thursday, one of the investors closely watching the result will be Rizvi...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Feb 25, 2017 8:00am PST

Good Morning!If you want to make some money this week on Snap, forget the IPO. Sell your services explaining the app to middle-aged investors. Good Morning!If you want to make some money this week on Snap, forget the IPO. Sell your services...

The Information’s 411 — The Bots Aren’t Good

By Tom Dotan · Feb 24, 2017 11:52am PST

Cory talks about why Facebook is betting on a new scaled-down version of M for Messenger. And Tom gives details on the private high school in Mountain View that's going to cash in on the Snap IPO. Cory talks about why Facebook is betting on a new scaled-down version of M for Messenger. And Tom...

AWS CEO Andrew Jassy. Photo by AP.

AWS Taking On Microsoft, Google with Productivity Suite

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 24, 2017 7:01am PST · 7 comments

Amazon Web Services dominates the market for cloud server and storage services and has made inroads in other enterprise technologies like databases. Now it wants to become a more potent competitor in productivity apps, where Microsoft and Google are well established. AWS is working on upgrades to its WorkMail email-calendar app and its WorkDocs... Amazon Web Services dominates the market for cloud server and storage services and has made...

Lightspeed partner Jeremy Liew. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

How a Mountain View High School Cashed in on Snap

By Alfred Lee and Tom Dotan · Feb 23, 2017 5:01pm PST

Lightspeed partner Jeremy Liew. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

How a Mountain View High School Cashed in on Snap

By Alfred Lee and Tom Dotan · Feb 23, 2017 5:01pm PST

Lots of people stand to make a fortune when Snap goes public next week, including co-founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy and early investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners. Then there’s Saint Francis High School, of Mountain View, California. An investment fund associated with the high school is believed to have been one of the... Lots of people stand to make a fortune when Snap goes public next week, including co-founders...