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

Matthew Vascellaro

With Maker Acquisition, Disney Takes on a Tough Challenge

By Tom Dotan · Mar 26, 2014 2:38pm PDT

Walt Disney Co.'s $500 million buyout of Maker Studios has been described as many things: An endorsement of the YouTube economy, an admission by a media giant that it can’t build digital properties in-house, and a seminal moment for Los Angeles’ startup scene. What it isn’t, though, is the acquisition of a... Walt Disney Co.'s $500 million buyout of Maker Studios has been described as many...

Matt Vascellaro

Crunch Time Coming in Online Storage Race

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 26, 2014 7:44am PDT

The online storage business is one of the hottest niches in Silicon Valley, with upstart Box unveiling its IPO plans this week and rivals Dropbox and Evernote boasting multibillion-dollar private market valuations. Just don’t call it the online storage business. The startups bristle at the label, insisting they’re... The online storage business is one of the hottest niches in Silicon Valley, with upstart Box...

Matthew Vascellaro

Uber Mulls a Move to Android

By Katie Benner and Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 25, 2014 12:29pm PDT

Uber, which has purchased tens of thousands of iPhones for its drivers, has been talking to Samsung and other Android hardware manufacturers about equipping drivers with Android phones, according to people involved in the discussions. It’s unclear whether the discussions are part of a broader strategic shift by the red-hot... Uber, which has purchased tens of thousands of iPhones for its drivers, has been talking to...

Matthew Vascellaro

Parrying Apple, Google Pushes Android into the Office

By Amir Efrati · Mar 25, 2014 6:58am PDT

Matthew Vascellaro

Parrying Apple, Google Pushes Android into the Office

By Amir Efrati · Mar 25, 2014 6:58am PDT

Behind the glitzy ad campaigns and massive product development efforts that dominate the consumer smartphone business, Apple and Google are quietly squaring off in a battle for BlackBerry’s old turf. Google is now embarking on a major effort to make its Android software more attractive to businesses and blunt Apple’s growing success among... Behind the glitzy ad campaigns and massive product development efforts that dominate the consumer...

By Matt Vascellaro · Mar 24, 2014 11:12am PDT

Matthew Vascellaro

Games Take Center Stage in Mobile Ad Surge

By Eric Newcomer and Tom Dotan · Mar 24, 2014 7:02am PDT

The race for smartphone real estate among gaming apps is emerging as a major driver of mobile ad spending, helping Facebook in particular boost revenue but also raising questions as to whether the growth is sustainable. Advertisers spent about $18 billion on mobile internet ads in 2013, according to a new report from eMarketer, and that... The race for smartphone real estate among gaming apps is emerging as a major driver of mobile ad...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Source: Reuters

Apple Pushes Ahead with TV Box Amid Tough Talks with Cable Cos.

By Jessica E. Lessin and Amir Efrati · Mar 23, 2014 8:19pm PDT

The years-long dance between Apple and cable operators marches on, as Comcast and Apple continue to discuss enabling the cable company's subscribers to watch TV through an Apple set-top box instead of a Comcast one, people familiar with the talks said. While no deal has been reached, teams at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif. headquarters are... The years-long dance between Apple and cable operators marches on, as Comcast and Apple continue...

Photo by Reuters/ Albert Gea

In Debate Over PayPal, Lessons from Alibaba

By Katie Benner · Mar 21, 2014 1:38pm PDT

Photo by Reuters/ Albert Gea

In Debate Over PayPal, Lessons from Alibaba

By Katie Benner · Mar 21, 2014 1:38pm PDT

Ebay has rebuffed demands from investor Carl Icahn that it sell or at least partially spin out its PayPal division. In doing so, the e-commerce giant has painted Mr. Icahn as a self-serving vulture who doesn’t understand or care about innovation and the technology business. Yet the case for a PayPal spinoff is much stronger than the... Ebay has rebuffed demands from investor Carl Icahn that it sell or at least partially spin out...

Publishers Need Ad Revolution, Not Evolution

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 21, 2014 1:12pm PDT

This week I traveled to London and learned a new language. Not Briticisms like “bollocks,” but a new lexicon of digital ad industry terms that were front and center at the Guardian newspaper’s two-day Changing Media Summit. Old ways to measure and charge for online ads, like click-through rate and how many times an ad is loaded... This week I traveled to London and learned a new language. Not Briticisms like...

A Doctor-Entrepreneur Takes on Digital Healthcare

By Katie Benner · Mar 20, 2014 8:21am PDT

Jordan Shlain could be described as the house doctor of the San Francisco tech scene, treating many prominent executives and investors through his exclusive concierge medical practice, San Francisco-based Private Medical. But the ebullient 46-year-old internist, long a sought-after speaker and advisor on health policy issues, has also built... Jordan Shlain could be described as the house doctor of the San Francisco tech scene, treating...

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Photo by Reuters/ Gary Cameron

As Tech Valuations Soar, Eyes Turn to Interest Rates

By Katie Benner · Mar 19, 2014 11:11am PDT

It’s the economy, stupid. Anyone following today’s technology boom should keep Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign mantra in mind. Low interest rates are drastically inflating the value of companies both public and private, according to a growing chorus of investors and analysts, and an improvement in the global economy will almost... It’s the economy, stupid. Anyone following today’s technology boom should keep Bill...

Alibaba headquarters. Photo by Reuters/ China Daily

Alibaba Plans Niche Approach to U.S. Market

By Eric Newcomer · Mar 18, 2014 12:05pm PDT

Alibaba headquarters. Photo by Reuters/ China Daily

Alibaba Plans Niche Approach to U.S. Market

By Eric Newcomer · Mar 18, 2014 12:05pm PDT

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s decision to list its shares in the U.S. doesn’t mean it’s planning a major push into the U.S. online retail business—at least not right away. At the annual Morgan Stanley technology conference in San Francisco two weeks ago, Alibaba executive vice chairman Joe Tsai said the company had... Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s decision to list its shares in the U.S. doesn’t...

Art: Matt Vascellaro

YouTube Sets Sights on Kids

By Amir Efrati · Mar 17, 2014 3:32pm PDT

YouTube is going younger. Google’s online video destination, long a haven for teens, is now developing a version of the site for kids under 10 that would wall off racier videos and comments and be deemed a safe place by parents, according to three people who have been briefed about the move. YouTube is going younger. Google’s online video destination, long a haven for teens, is now...

Matthew Vascellaro

Video Producers Explore Options as YouTube Revenues Disappoint

By Tom Dotan · Mar 17, 2014 7:24am PDT

Online video companies that had once hoped to build robust ad-supported entertainment services on YouTube are now scrambling to find additional revenue sources in the face of stagnant ad rates and a glut of inventory. Subscription services, microtransactions, and new approaches to mobile video are all gaining attention as professional content... Online video companies that had once hoped to build robust ad-supported entertainment services on...

Friday Newsletter

Seduced by Startup Journalism

By Jonathan Weber · Mar 14, 2014 1:24pm PDT

When I told my teenage son that I was considering joining a startup news operation called The Information, his initial response was that it sounded “kind of sketch.” I was taken aback, and asked him why he felt that way. “Well if it’s like New West,” he said, referring to the media company I founded in 2004,... When I told my teenage son that I was considering joining a startup news operation called The...

Art: Matt Vascellaro

Google’s Motorola Experiment: The Silver Linings

By Amir Efrati · Mar 14, 2014 7:08am PDT

Art: Matt Vascellaro

Google’s Motorola Experiment: The Silver Linings

By Amir Efrati · Mar 14, 2014 7:08am PDT

Google’s strained stewardship of Motorola has been called a failed experiment, but the temporary subsidiary accomplished many things for Google. For starters, Motorola is pushing down prices in the smartphone market with its Moto G device—a less slick version of the flagship Moto X—which retails for less than $200... Google’s strained stewardship of Motorola has been called a failed experiment, but the...

Google CEO Larry Page (Art: Matt Vascellaro)

Google & Motorola: A Match Made in Purgatory

By Amir Efrati · Mar 14, 2014 7:07am PDT

During much of last year, Motorola’s top executives had one message for Google CEO Larry Page: If he didn’t go “all in” on Motorola, the Google-owned handset maker would barely make a dent against industry leaders Samsung Electronics and Apple. In monthly operating meetings with Mr. Page at Motorola’s Silicon Valley office, numerous Motorola... During much of last year, Motorola’s top executives had one message for Google CEO Larry Page: If...

Art: Matt Vascellaro

Amid Cloud Mania, Questions About Salesforce's Growth

By Katie Benner · Mar 13, 2014 3:09pm PDT

Salesforce.com’s many acquisitions and the change-the-business-world gospel preached by chief executive Marc Benioff mask a deterioration in the company's much-touted revenue growth, a worrying development for a bellwether firm whose share price has risen steadily for years. Doubts about Salesforce’s financial... Salesforce.com’s many acquisitions and the change-the-business-world gospel preached...

Matthew Vascellaro

Amazon Eyed Overseas Markets in Smartphone Talks

By Amir Efrati · Mar 13, 2014 7:16am PDT

As Amazon prepares to launch its long-awaited smartphone, opportunities in non-U.S. markets loom large. Amazon executives last spring held talks with possible hardware partners that included detailed discussions on strategies for China and European markets, according to a confidential document produced by a potential partner and two people who... As Amazon prepares to launch its long-awaited smartphone, opportunities in non-U.S. markets loom...

Art: Matt Vascellaro

As Gaming Booms, Microsoft Windows Is Left Behind

By Eric Newcomer · Mar 12, 2014 9:03am PDT

Art: Matt Vascellaro

As Gaming Booms, Microsoft Windows Is Left Behind

By Eric Newcomer · Mar 12, 2014 9:03am PDT

Microsoft’s Xbox video game business is a rare success story for the lumbering software giant—which makes it all the more surprising that the company has largely failed to profit directly from the $18 billion personal computer gaming market. PC games like Battlefield 4, League of Legends and StarCraft 2 are played mostly on Windows... Microsoft’s Xbox video game business is a rare success story for the lumbering software...