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

A Lesson to Consider from The Information

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 18, 2015 7:01am PST · 2 comments

As 2015 draws to a close, it seems like a good time to reflect on The Information—where we have been, where we are going and what lessons our experience may have for others in the rough and tumble world of journalism. There are no shortage of opinions about the future of journalism and its business models. Two years ago, many people... As 2015 draws to a close, it seems like a good time to reflect on The Information—where we...

Jason Kilar, left, and his Vessel co-founder Richard Tom. Photo by AP.

Vessel Discusses Originals with Creators

By Tom Dotan · Dec 17, 2015 1:54pm PST · 4 comments

The video streaming service Vessel began its life as a place where people could pay $3 a month to watch content from YouTubers several days before it went up on YouTube. Now the site is talking to its programming partners about changing some of the deals to include production of original content, said several people close to the talks.The... The video streaming service Vessel began its life as a place where people could pay $3 a month to...

Private Tech Database

What Tech Employees Are Last To Know

By Cory Weinberg and Alfred Lee · Dec 17, 2015 7:01am PST · 2 comments

News broke this week that Hudson Bay was closing in on a deal to buy Gilt Groupe for $250 million, a 75% drop from the $1 billion value put on the company a few years ago. But for common shareholders, such a deal would turn out to be an even bigger loss than that price implies. One common stockholder estimated they would receive roughly $2... News broke this week that Hudson Bay was closing in on a deal to buy Gilt Groupe for $250...

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Salesforce.com In Talks to Buy SteelBrick for $600M

By Steve Nellis · Dec 16, 2015 9:49pm PST

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Salesforce.com In Talks to Buy SteelBrick for $600M

By Steve Nellis · Dec 16, 2015 9:49pm PST

Salesforce.com is in talks to buy software firm SteelBrick for as much as $600 million, mostly in stock, according to a person familiar with the situation. A deal would boost what is already Salesforce’s biggest business, sales software. SteelBrick makes so-called configure-price-quote software. It’s a kind of software that helps... Salesforce.com is in talks to buy software firm SteelBrick for as much as $600 million, mostly in...

Mark Zuckerberg, center, with Google's Eric Schmidt in 2011. Photo by AP.

Why Facebook Still Worries About Android

By Amir Efrati · Dec 16, 2015 7:02am PST · 8 comments

This summer, conversations between Google and Facebook sparked concern at the social media company. The issue: whether Google would eventually ask Facebook to pay for various app requests made by Facebook users on Android smartphones. These app requests included Google Maps information viewed within the Facebook app and app-related push... This summer, conversations between Google and Facebook sparked concern at the social media...

Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch/Max Morse.

Native Ad’s Pricing Problem

By Tom Dotan · Dec 15, 2015 10:00am PST · 5 comments

Native advertising, steadily becoming a significant revenue source for online publishers, is hurtling toward a paradoxical problem. And that is, the more popular it gets, the more its fundamental weaknesses will be revealed.These native ads—by which I mean articles and videos that mimic a site’s editorial content but are paid for and... Native advertising, steadily becoming a significant revenue source for online publishers, is...

Honest Co. founder Jessica Alba. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Tech Database

Investor-Friendly Deal Terms on Upswing

By Reed Albergotti and Alfred Lee · Dec 15, 2015 7:00am PST · 1 comment

It used to be that the most favorable terms a private tech investor could negotiate, limiting their potential losses or enhancing potential gains, were most commonly struck in late-stage funding rounds. Now, those terms are finding their way into younger startups, according to venture capitalists and lawyers privy to the negotiations.On Monday,... It used to be that the most favorable terms a private tech investor could negotiate, limiting...

The Information’s Private Tech Database

By Alfred Lee, Peter Schulz and Myk C. Klemme · Dec 14, 2015 7:00am PST · 9 comments

Private Tech Database

The Information’s Private Tech Database

By Alfred Lee, Peter Schulz and Myk C. Klemme · Dec 14, 2015 7:00am PST · 9 comments

To understand why investors pump money into private tech firms at apparently ever-rising valuations, you need to know the terms of the investments. These are things like the payouts investors are guaranteed if the company goes public, is acquired or liquidated. Also important: how many votes an investor gets and the dividends they’re... To understand why investors pump money into private tech firms at apparently ever-rising...

Private Tech Database

A Glossary of Private Tech Terminology

By Alfred Lee · Dec 14, 2015 7:00am PST

The private tech financing world has become increasingly complicated, as has the jargon used to describe different terms. Here’s a list of definitions for commonly used terms. Each of the terms shows up in the accompanying chart. The private tech financing world has become increasingly complicated, as has the jargon used to...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 12, 2015 8:01am PST

Good Morning!From the spate of holiday parties underway, the year-end slowdown may be fast approaching. But The Information is still going strong, with some big spotlights on private tech coming before Christmas. Stay tuned! Good Morning!From the spate of holiday parties underway, the year-end slowdown may be fast...

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 — Greek Dramas

By Tom Dotan · Dec 11, 2015 1:50pm PST

The holiday season, and holiday parties, are in full swing; at The Information we just hosted ours Thursday night. But there’s little in the way of celebration coming out of Yahoo right now. The company announced that it was pulling back on its proposed spin-off of its Alibaba stake, and instead will look to spin out Yahoo’s core... The holiday season, and holiday parties, are in full swing; at The Information we just hosted...

Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

A Letter to Marissa Mayer

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 11, 2015 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

A Letter to Marissa Mayer

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 11, 2015 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Dear Marissa,You have had a tough week—make that a tough year. Yahoo is, in the words of Re/Code, in the hands of the accountants. My fellow reporters have published some anecdotes about your management style that make you look pretty bad. And did you really pay your editor-in-chief $5 million a year? But there are sides to you people... Dear Marissa,You have had a tough week—make that a tough year. Yahoo is, in the words of...

Lia Marie Johnson. Photo by Flickr/Gage Skidmore.

The Marketing Influencer’s Playbook

By Tom Dotan · Dec 10, 2015 7:01am PST · 1 comment

To reach young audience on social media, marketers seem to be going through an assortment of influencers with a wide variety of backgrounds.Some are aspiring musicians or comedians, others are stop-motion animators or fathers of three. The only thing these celebrities have in common is sizeable social media presence. To reach young audience on social media, marketers seem to be going through an assortment of...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, with Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Open Compute Project Targets India

By Amir Efrati · Dec 9, 2015 1:40pm PST

Facebook is looking to make more strategic inroads in India, one of its most important markets. In the coming months, the company’s representatives there plan to recruit new members for Open Compute Project, a Facebook-led industry group that aims to make it easier for companies to build data centers, says one person who has been involved... Facebook is looking to make more strategic inroads in India, one of its most important markets....

Docker CEO Ben Golub. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Information Series

Four Questions for Docker

By Steve Nellis and Amir Efrati · Dec 9, 2015 7:02am PST · 1 comment

Docker’s free open-source software for creating containers is insanely popular with developers. And that has venture capitalists hoping that there’s an alchemy for turning that popularity into profits.But Docker, valued at slightly above $1 billion at its most recent funding round, doesn’t make money off its software. Its plan... Docker’s free open-source software for creating containers is insanely popular with...

Source: SEC Filings

Tech IPO Slump Drowns Options

By Alfred Lee and Peter Schulz · Dec 8, 2015 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Source: SEC Filings

Tech IPO Slump Drowns Options

By Alfred Lee and Peter Schulz · Dec 8, 2015 7:00am PST · 1 comment

The lackluster performance of this year’s tech company IPOs hasn’t just hurt shareholders. A significant proportion of stock options, typically held by employees and directors, are underwater, data shows.For instance, 30% of outstanding stock options issued by Apigee, a software company that went public in April, were underwater,... The lackluster performance of this year’s tech company IPOs hasn’t just hurt...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Buzzfeed Faces Challenges in Video Push

By Tom Dotan · Dec 7, 2015 8:30am PST

At the 2014 Newfronts, Buzzfeed made a big splash with its plans to dive headlong into branded video. It was a well-timed announcement; video would soon be dominating Facebook’s news feeds as well as other fast growing apps like Snapchat.It was also an ambitious add-on to Buzzfeed’s offering to brands and a major piece of its... At the 2014 Newfronts, Buzzfeed made a big splash with its plans to dive headlong into branded...

Jonah Peretti. Photo by AP.

Q&A

Buzzfeed’s Next 10 Years

By Tom Dotan · Dec 7, 2015 8:29am PST · 5 comments

Buzzfeed became famous for its GIFs and lists, expanded into serious news and now is trying to turn itself into a video powerhouse. In the view of co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti, video is vital for Buzzfeed to draw increased spending from major advertisers. But competition for video advertising is much tougher than branded articles [see... Buzzfeed became famous for its GIFs and lists, expanded into serious news and now is trying to...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

The Good Enough Stuff Revolution

By Sam Lessin · Dec 7, 2015 7:01am PST · 17 comments

Are Harry’s or Dollar Shave Club razors better than Gillette? What about Honest Co. soap versus Dial soap? I have no idea, and I don’t have any interest in figuring it out. They are good enough and generally easier to buy, and so they win.There is, in my mind, a major revolution underway in most consumer hard and soft goods which I... Are Harry’s or Dollar Shave Club razors better than Gillette? What about Honest Co. soap...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 5, 2015 8:02am PST

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Dec 5, 2015 8:02am PST

Good morning!What with the latest rumors about Yahoo, Uber’s fundraising and Zuckerberg’s stock giveaway news, there was plenty of tech news to chew on this week. Here at The Information, where we celebrated our second anniversary on Friday, we’re looking forward to Thursday’s holiday party. It’s our last event of... Good morning!What with the latest rumors about Yahoo, Uber’s fundraising and...