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

Uber Maps, Mobile APIs and More Next Big Things

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 19, 2014 11:23am PST · 3 comments

A few months ago I predicted a few Next Big Things based on rumblings from industry insiders. With the new year approaching, I thought it was time for another batch. Mobile Maps 2.0: Mobile maps have been the killer app of the smartphone era, proving why it’s useful to have a computer in your pocket. Now, I think we’re... A few months ago I predicted a few Next Big Things based on rumblings from industry...

Vessel CEO Jason Kilar. Photo by Bloomberg.

New Video Upstarts Take a Crack At Windows

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Dec 19, 2014 7:01am PST

The short-form online video movement, with its homespun stars, low-budget productions and ceaseless flood of new content, has tried hard to stand apart from the traditional media industry. So it feels almost unsettling to see online video startups now adopting a very old-school media model. The latest example: New-era studios looking to make... The short-form online video movement, with its homespun stars, low-budget productions and...

TubeMogul employees at their Nasdaq IPO in July. Photo by Nasdaq.

Better Business Models Shift Mood on Ad Tech

By Amir Efrati · Dec 18, 2014 2:29pm PST · 1 comment

Ad tech has had a rough year, with a range of public stocks getting hammered. But the emergence of more efficient business models now appears to be helping some companies stand out, creating a split in the market. Companies that have long competed for individual contracts to help advertisers with campaigns, like Millennial Media, Tremor, YuMe... Ad tech has had a rough year, with a range of public stocks getting hammered. But the emergence...

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Cloud Over the Wireless Spectrum Auction

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2014 7:01am PST · 1 comment

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Cloud Over the Wireless Spectrum Auction

By Martin Peers · Dec 18, 2014 7:01am PST · 1 comment

There’s a spending spree under way among the country’s wireless juggernauts for valuable spectrum. But can the bidders—the biggest of which are thought to be AT&T and Verizon—grow revenues enough to justify these investments? The total value of winning bids has reached $44.3 billion, according to the Federal... There’s a spending spree under way among the country’s wireless juggernauts for...

Art by Matt Vascellaro.

Q&A

Sizing Up the Private Tech Markets

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 17, 2014 10:59am PST

For the well-connected in Silicon Valley, there is no shortage of ways to participate in the private tech company land rush. There’s also no shortage of prognosticating on which companies will remain standing when the funding environment turns. Justin Fishner-Wolfson, founder of investment firm 137 Ventures, has an interesting... For the well-connected in Silicon Valley, there is no shortage of ways to participate in the...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

When Will Mobile Ad Rates Max Out?

By Tom Dotan · Dec 17, 2014 7:00am PST

Whether it’s a blessing or a curse depends on whom you ask, but the inarguable fact for app makers remains: The cost of getting a person to download an app continues to go up. It’s a trend that has meant big business for Facebook, Twitter and other social networks that are central to mobile ad campaigns and have been cashing in on... Whether it’s a blessing or a curse depends on whom you ask, but the inarguable fact for app...

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Hole in Google’s Mobile Strategy, Part Two

By Amir Efrati · Dec 16, 2014 12:46pm PST · 1 comment

Google’s supremacy in mobile ads has slipped. While the online advertising giant still takes in more money from mobile ads than any other company, selling some $15 billion this year by some estimates, its share of mobile graphical and video ads is falling. Rival Facebook has pulled ahead and now captures around three times as much revenue... Google’s supremacy in mobile ads has slipped. While the online advertising giant still...

Rob Bearden, CEO of Hortonworks. Photo by Hortonworks.

Hortonworks’ Public Debut Hides Big Questions for Big Data

By Steve Nellis · Dec 16, 2014 7:01am PST · 3 comments

Rob Bearden, CEO of Hortonworks. Photo by Hortonworks.

Hortonworks’ Public Debut Hides Big Questions for Big Data

By Steve Nellis · Dec 16, 2014 7:01am PST · 3 comments

It would be easy to look at investors’ early enthusiasm for the newly public big data darling Hortonworks and conclude that the opportunity to cash in on the much-hyped Hadoop software platform has arrived. The Palo Alto-based company became the first developer of a commercial version of the open-source data-storage technology to go public... It would be easy to look at investors’ early enthusiasm for the newly public big data...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

How Digital Photography Is Altering Our Memory

By Sam Lessin · Dec 15, 2014 10:18am PST · 9 comments

Last week, I ran through all the digital photos I have taken since 2001 to help with a slideshow for a friend’s wedding. It quickly became apparent how changes in technology, specifically sharing services, have dramatically shifted the types of photos that we take, and therefore changed how we shape the memories they capture. Since I... Last week, I ran through all the digital photos I have taken since 2001 to help with a slideshow...

The Information’s Final Free Agents of the Year

By Amir Efrati, Tom Dotan and Steve Nellis · Dec 15, 2014 7:00am PST · 1 comment

The fifth installment of The Information’s Free Agents, a group of prominent tech and media professionals between full-time roles, includes executives previously responsible for the images of tech giants like Intel and Facebook.Two of our free agents built some of the most storied franchises in U.S. television history, while one then... The fifth installment of The Information’s Free Agents, a group of prominent tech and media...

When Shareholders Fight

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 12, 2014 11:21am PST

Back in 2012, five software developers who helped found a company that made technology to monitor health care fraud sued the venture capitalists who had invested in their company. They argued their ownership stakes had been diluted by the VCs, who held preferred stock and had padded their own wallets through a merger. The court allowed the case... Back in 2012, five software developers who helped found a company that made technology to monitor...

James Murdoch, co-chief operating officer of 21st Century Fox in October. Photo by Bloomberg.

TV Networks Divided on Streaming

By Martin Peers · Dec 12, 2014 7:00am PST

James Murdoch, co-chief operating officer of 21st Century Fox in October. Photo by Bloomberg.

TV Networks Divided on Streaming

By Martin Peers · Dec 12, 2014 7:00am PST

The major TV companies are making progress in their slow and painful march toward video streaming. But they appear divided about how far to go, given a desire to protect the existing $100 billion pay-TV ecosystem. Judging by comments from various 21st Century Fox executives in recent weeks, including on Tuesday by co-COO James Murdoch at the... The major TV companies are making progress in their slow and painful march toward video...

Russian-born Sergey Brin, a Google co-founder. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Shuts Down Russia Engineering Office

By Amir Efrati · Dec 11, 2014 2:47pm PST · 1 comment

Google plans to shut down its engineering operations in Russia, following similar recent departures by other Western and Russian software companies and engineers, according to people informed of the decision. Google plans to shut down its engineering operations in Russia, following similar recent...

Art by Jessica Lessin.

Fast Climbers

By Jessica E. Lessin · Dec 11, 2014 11:34am PST · 2 comments

Skyrocketing private tech valuations are the norm these days, causing us to wonder how the pace of growth of today’s high-fliers compares to high-fliers of the recent past. The Information crunched data supplied by PitchBook to identify private VC-backed companies whose valuations have climbed the fastest between financings since 2011. ... Skyrocketing private tech valuations are the norm these days, causing us to wonder how the pace...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Serious Problem With Satire on Facebook

By Tom Dotan · Dec 11, 2014 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Late last month, while the debate around President Obama’s decision to grant some amnesty to undocumented immigrants was happening, a story with the headline “Sarah Palin: Send Immigrants ‘Back Across Ocean’ to Mexico” appeared in many people’s Facebook News Feeds. The story was, of course, untrue. But scores... Late last month, while the debate around President Obama’s decision to grant some amnesty...

Art: Matt Vascellaro

Tapping India’s Massive Mobile Ad Market

By Steve Nellis · Dec 10, 2014 10:12am PST

Art: Matt Vascellaro

Q&A

Tapping India’s Massive Mobile Ad Market

By Steve Nellis · Dec 10, 2014 10:12am PST

With 200 million users, India is the world’s third-largest Internet market. But the overwhelming majority of those people connect solely through phones, which means some ad-targeting approaches common in the U.S. don’t work. One executive working on new types of targeting is Dippak Khurana, the CEO of Mumbai-based Vserv. He has... With 200 million users, India is the world’s third-largest Internet market. But the...

Baidu CEO Robin Li. Photo by Bloomberg.

Stealth Chinese Apps Gather Data on Global Users

By Steve Nellis · Dec 10, 2014 7:00am PST

Selling utility apps such as battery savers and speed boosters might not seem like the path to world domination. But China’s biggest Internet firms are doing just that to amass hundreds of millions of international users—and gain an understanding of their browsing habits. Companies like Baidu, China’s dominant search engine,... Selling utility apps such as battery savers and speed boosters might not seem like the path to...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Subscriber Survey

Economy Soars, Uber Drops in The Information Survey

By Jessica E. Lessin and Sam Lessin · Dec 9, 2014 12:12pm PST · 4 comments

Maybe it was the bullish jobs report. Maybe it was the drumbeat of mammoth fundraising rounds for private tech companies.Whatever the reasons, The Information subscribers are notably more optimistic about the overall economy than a month ago—and in a more upbeat mood about the tech sector too. In December’s monthly sentiment survey,... Maybe it was the bullish jobs report. Maybe it was the drumbeat of mammoth fundraising rounds for...

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Hole in Google’s Mobile Strategy

By Amir Efrati · Dec 9, 2014 7:01am PST · 3 comments

This article is part one of a series. Part two is here. Google has a mobile problem, and it goes beyond the fact that people are searching differently on phones than on computers. Fast-growing smartphone apps from Snapchat to Yik Yak are being born every day, occupying bigger slices of people’s time. Google hasn’t built or acquired... This article is part one of a series. Part two is here. Google has a mobile problem, and it goes...

Art by Sam Lessin.

The Race to Become the Apple of Drones

By Sam Lessin · Dec 8, 2014 10:54am PST · 3 comments

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

The Race to Become the Apple of Drones

By Sam Lessin · Dec 8, 2014 10:54am PST · 3 comments

One of the biggest technology battles brewing is the war over the flying camera. On one hand, there’s GoPro, the action camera company whose plans to build drones leaked last month. And then there is DJI, the Chinese consumer drone manufacturer, whose easy-to-fly quadcopters have been gaining traction with consumers. The latter recently... One of the biggest technology battles brewing is the war over the flying camera. On one hand,...