The Information

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...

Friday Newsletter

Board Conflicts Deserve a Closer Look

By Jessica E. Lessin · Mar 7, 2014 12:38pm PST

Cover the technology industry for long enough and you’ll see it again and again: A company board member facing an awkward conflict when the company wants to do business with–or compete against–another company in which the director also has an interest. The director’s response to this problem is always the same: “I... Cover the technology industry for long enough and you’ll see it again and again: A company...

Friday Newsletter

The Hardest Hire

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 28, 2014 12:24pm PST · 3 comments

The award for hiring coup of the month goes to Drew Houston at Dropbox, who nabbed outgoing Motorola chief Dennis Woodside as his first COO. Woodside’s résumé is impressive. He ran Google’s U.S. sales arm before CEO Larry Page tapped him to save Motorola Mobility. While the ending wasn’t pretty—a sale to... The award for hiring coup of the month goes to Drew Houston at Dropbox, who nabbed outgoing...

Platform or Perish

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 21, 2014 12:53pm PST

Friday Newsletter

Platform or Perish

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 21, 2014 12:53pm PST

As Google and Facebook vie to buy fast-growing apps for billions, I have one big question: Where is everyone else? If Google and Facebook believe WhatsApp and messaging are strategic enough to pay $19 billion or more to own them, what are Apple, Amazon, Samsung or Twitter thinking? (Let’s ignore the fact that WhatsApp may not have... As Google and Facebook vie to buy fast-growing apps for billions, I have one big question:...

Friday Newsletter

Tech's Duopoly Moment

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 14, 2014 9:44am PST

As everyone wonders whether regulators will bless Comcast’s $45.2 billion megamerger with Time Warner Cable, don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. It isn’t just the cable industry consolidating. It’s the technology industry. Just a day or so before news broke about that deal, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son reminded us of... As everyone wonders whether regulators will bless Comcast’s $45.2 billion megamerger with...

Friday Newsletter

Will Mobile App Preloads Disappear?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Feb 7, 2014 12:56pm PST

In the race for mobile distribution and revenue, there's been a under-the-radar development worth watching. A new set of guidelines in South Korea will soon require wireless carriers and handset makers to allow consumers to delete many of those pesky apps that come preloaded on phones, like music and messaging services. In the race for mobile distribution and revenue, there's been a under-the-radar development...

BloomEnergy

Friday Newsletter

Grandmaster Larry Page

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 31, 2014 1:20pm PST

If it wasn’t clear that Larry Page is playing—and winning—a game of chess against the rest of the technology industry, it has become clear in the past two weeks. The Google CEO took aim at Apple and upgraded its entire hardware strategy by ditching struggling Motorola and buying Nest Labs, the thermostat company loaded with Apple alumni. And he... If it wasn’t clear that Larry Page is playing—and winning—a game of chess against the rest of the...

When Netflix Goes Dark

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 24, 2014 2:06pm PST

Friday Newsletter

When Netflix Goes Dark

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 24, 2014 2:06pm PST

It’s the year 2020. There’s a big new show about to premiere to millions of homes. And executives from the media company that made the program and the service provider that is distributing it to viewers are at loggerheads over their distribution agreement. They are locked in a conference room trying to reach a 11th-hour deal to... It’s the year 2020. There’s a big new show about to premiere to millions of homes....