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

Mark Zuckerberg at this week's Mobile World Congress. Photo by Bloomberg.

Inside Zuckerberg’s New Plan to Woo Telecom CEOs

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 24, 2016 11:39am PST

BARCELONA—At a private dinner here Tuesday night, Mark Zuckerberg was frank with about ten CEOs from global phone companies sitting around the table: India’s ban of Facebook’s Free Basics mobile app was a big setback and a significant moment for a company not accustomed to regulatory blowback. Facebook’s CEO then turned... BARCELONA—At a private dinner here Tuesday night, Mark Zuckerberg was frank with about ten...

Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

The International Stakes in Apple’s FBI Fight

By Reed Albergotti · Feb 24, 2016 7:01am PST

Apple’s fight with the FBI over hacking into the San Bernardino killer’s iPhone could affect its ability to make a stand on similar episodes yet to come overseas, such as one brewing in the U.K., lawyers say.A draft of a law called the Investigatory Powers Bill, which sits before the British parliament, appears to be designed for the... Apple’s fight with the FBI over hacking into the San Bernardino killer’s iPhone could...

Source: SimilarWeb

Snapchat Makes International Gains

By Amir Efrati and Peter Schulz · Feb 23, 2016 10:01am PST · 4 comments

Snapchat has surpassed Twitter in terms of daily active users in a large panel of Android devices across six key developed markets, including the U.S., U.K., Germany and France, by a substantial margin, according to new data. The same is true in the emerging markets of Brazil and United Arab Emirates. The data represent an impressive... Snapchat has surpassed Twitter in terms of daily active users in a large panel of Android devices...

Scott Guthrie. Photo by Steve Nellis.

The Secret of Microsoft’s Cloud Turnaround

By Steve Nellis · Feb 23, 2016 7:01am PST · 2 comments

Scott Guthrie. Photo by Steve Nellis.

The Big Interview

The Secret of Microsoft’s Cloud Turnaround

By Steve Nellis · Feb 23, 2016 7:01am PST · 2 comments

When Scott Guthrie used to attend Windows developer conferences, he sometimes found it hard to move around. Clad in his signature red polo shirt, the Microsoft executive was often trailed by developers wanting a word. He’s even been followed into the bathroom by eager coders. In other words, his work on tools used by independent software... When Scott Guthrie used to attend Windows developer conferences, he sometimes found it hard to...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Why Facebook’s Ad Spending Soared Last Year

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 22, 2016 10:00am PST

Facebook’s push into the developing world has created strange bedfellows, as the word-of-mouth growth that the social network used in the United States isn’t enough to fuel its global ambitions. The social network has bought ads on Google and elsewhere for years. But the company more than doubled how much it spent advertising last... Facebook’s push into the developing world has created strange bedfellows, as the...

Art by Sam Lessin

Modest Proposals

Startups Need to Fire More Customers

By Sam Lessin · Feb 22, 2016 7:02am PST · 6 comments

As belt-tightening has become a discussion theme in the Valley, teams are debating how to cut burn to survive through a perceived winter.Whether or not employees need to be cut, I believe that startups who want to build truly game-changing products would be best served by figuring out which customers they should be firing. As belt-tightening has become a discussion theme in the Valley, teams are debating how to cut...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Feb 20, 2016 8:02am PST

Good Morning! All eyes shift to Barcelona this week for Mobile World Congress, the most important wireless conference of the year. Expect lots of coverage about net neutrality, mobile advertising and snazzy new devices. Good Morning! All eyes shift to Barcelona this week for Mobile World Congress, the most important...

The Information’s 411 — Multiples

By Tom Dotan · Feb 19, 2016 3:12pm PST

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 — Multiples

By Tom Dotan · Feb 19, 2016 3:12pm PST

Ripples from the recent stock price collapse for subscription software companies has reached the private markets. If LinkedIn and Box are now going to be valued at much smaller multiples than before, what does that say about the pumped up valuations for private companies like DropBox? Steve came on the show to talk about what’s in store... Ripples from the recent stock price collapse for subscription software companies has reached the...

Mark Zuckerberg at last year's Mobile World Congress. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Zuckerberg Faces at Mobile Conference

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 19, 2016 10:58am PST

When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addresses Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress at its opening day on Monday, he’s likely to face a tough crowd. Just a few weeks ago India’s regulator rejected Facebook’s Free Basics app, a development foreshadowed by discussions at last year’s MWC. This year Mr. Zuckerberg will be... When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addresses Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress at its...

Niagara Falls. Photo by Flickr/Jeff Kubina.

The End of Streams

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 19, 2016 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Wherever you turn in media these days, publishers want to discuss the “platforms that matter.”Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. Snapchat. How much time should a publisher invest in each? Wherever you turn in media these days, publishers want to discuss the “platforms that...

Cast members of Yahoo's cancelled original "Community." Photo by Flickr/Gage Skidmore

Yahoo Originals Department Shuttered

By Tom Dotan · Feb 18, 2016 4:41pm PST

Yahoo’s original programming division was laid off on Wednesday, including its head Ian Moffitt. The move, which happened during company-wide layoffs, is perhaps the final nail in the coffin for Yahoo’s original video ambitions. The company confirmed Mr. Moffitt’s departure but declined to elaborate.Mr. Moffitt, who was... Yahoo’s original programming division was laid off on Wednesday, including its head Ian...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

The True Value of Yahoo Finance

By Amir Efrati · Feb 18, 2016 3:07pm PST · 4 comments

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

The True Value of Yahoo Finance

By Amir Efrati · Feb 18, 2016 3:07pm PST · 4 comments

As potential buyers look at Yahoo’s assets, they may come to view Yahoo Finance as representing a meaningful percentage of the company’s enterprise value.Even as traffic to some of Yahoo’s core products has declined meaningfully in the past year, Yahoo Finance seems to be holding steady, internal data show. As potential buyers look at Yahoo’s assets, they may come to view Yahoo Finance as...

Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Investors Think About Private Tech’s Biggest Companies

By Alfred Lee · Feb 18, 2016 7:00am PST

Drilling down into the details of how mutual funds value their private tech investments, as we did last week, can do more than explain their writedowns. By applying some back of the envelope math to mutual fund disclosures, it’s possible to figure out what kind of revenue growth these investors expect from the private firms, among other... Drilling down into the details of how mutual funds value their private tech investments, as we...

Salesforce's Tod Nielsen. Photo by Flickr/Luke Kilpatrick.

Salesforce’s Platform Chief to Depart

By Steve Nellis · Feb 17, 2016 4:15pm PST

Tod Nielsen, the Salesforce.com executive vice president who oversees the Heroku and Force.com app-building platforms, is leaving the company at the end of March, he confirmed.His departure could be a sign that Salesforce is rethinking its strategy towards Heroku and Force.com. Salesforce has struggled for years to harmonize the two platforms,... Tod Nielsen, the Salesforce.com executive vice president who oversees the Heroku and Force.com...

Marc Maron. Photo by Flickr/Timothy Krause.

Can Podcasting Ever Be an Industry?

By Tom Dotan · Feb 17, 2016 10:00am PST · 6 comments

The breakout success of "Serial" has helped bring new listeners to podcasts. And more importantly, it also has gotten big advertisers interested in podcasting’s audience.But this won’t necessarily transform podcasting into a true industry that can scale with its audience and growing number of shows. Instead, without more... The breakout success of "Serial" has helped bring new listeners to podcasts. And more...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Death March of Yahoo’s Core Products

By Amir Efrati · Feb 17, 2016 7:00am PST · 8 comments

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Death March of Yahoo’s Core Products

By Amir Efrati · Feb 17, 2016 7:00am PST · 8 comments

The number of people visiting Yahoo’s three most important products—Yahoo Mail, the Yahoo.com home page and Yahoo Search—on a daily basis declined meaningfully over the past year, according to confidential internal data. It’s a reminder of the deep challenges any potential buyer of Yahoo would face.Daily active users... The number of people visiting Yahoo’s three most important products—Yahoo Mail, the...

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston. Photo by Bloomberg.

The SaaS Startup Valuation Gap

By Steve Nellis · Feb 16, 2016 7:00am PST · 5 comments

In the past two weeks, the sinking prices of publicly traded subscription software stocks like LinkedIn and Box have had an interesting effect on privately held firms. All of a sudden, startup valuations that looked reasonable over the past two years look like a stratospheric premium compared with public markets. Take Domo. It helps businesses... In the past two weeks, the sinking prices of publicly traded subscription software stocks like...

Nashik, India. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Best Argument Against an Internet ‘On Ramp’

By Amir Efrati · Feb 15, 2016 7:00am PST · 2 comments

India’s rejection of Facebook’s “Free Basics” mobile app and other similar services last week mystified some prominent tech entrepreneurs and investors in the U.S. These people tend to believe that access to free Internet services, even if it’s a limited subset of the broader Web, is better than having no Internet... India’s rejection of Facebook’s “Free Basics” mobile app and other...

The Information You Missed

By The Information Staff · Feb 13, 2016 8:00am PST

Happy Presidents’ Day Weekend! We’ll jump right into the stories of the week, which covered a lot of ground. NEWSMutual funds use various methods to analyze the value of private tech companies and Alfred has the details. They include the revenue growth assumptions investors are using for companies like Uber and Palantir. Inside... Happy Presidents’ Day Weekend! We’ll jump right into the stories of the week,...

The Information’s 411 — Hype Smoothie

By Tom Dotan · Feb 12, 2016 1:49pm PST

The Information's 411

The Information’s 411 — Hype Smoothie

By Tom Dotan · Feb 12, 2016 1:49pm PST

Compared to a few years ago, there’s a lot more skepticism today within the tech and finance worlds around startups. All those concerns came to a head this week in a pair of stories we did that touched on themes we’ve been following closely.The first was Alfred’s deep dive into the methods mutual funds and other public market... Compared to a few years ago, there’s a lot more skepticism today within the tech and...