Quick Bytes – Jan 26th: Facebook Seemingly Always in Strife
A look at the most interesting startup and business-related news stories of the week.
Facebook Seemingly Always in Strife
Quick Byte
Some almost see Facebook as a real life episode of the Black Mirror – technology that is changing the world in confronting, often negative ways. If you’ll believe the more extreme opinion pieces out there, the giant is heading towards it’s own self-destruction. This Vanity Fair piece is certainly opinionated but it takes a broad look at the issues the company is facing as a global tech company – regulatory hazards, how they’ll gain entry into China, and people turning themselves and their children away from social media almost as an act of ‘self care’. Worth a quick read over the weekend.
The Full Story
Years ago, long before Mark Zuckerberg became Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder reached out to a friend of mine who had also started a company, albeit a considerably smaller one, in the social-media space, and suggested they get together. As Facebook has grown into a global colossus that connects about a third of the globe, Zuckerberg has subsequently assumed a reputation as an aloof megalomaniac deeply out of touch with the people who use his product.. Read the Full Article Here
New venture at NewTV for Whitman
Quick Byte
“NewTV is one of the most disruptive and timely ideas I’ve come across during my career.” – big words from outgoing HP CEO, Meg Whitman. While she’s still on the company’s board she is heading to NewTV, a media startup that plans to “bring the highest quality Hollywood production values and storytelling to mobile, in bite-sized formats of 10 minutes or less.” Whitman will act as CEO and the first employee of the company – it’s a case of watch this space to find out what this company’s really about and how it plans to disrupt the media landscape.
The Full Story
Just a couple of months after announcing her departure as CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Meg Whitman has landed her next gig — at a startup (albeit a well-funded one).
The seasoned Silicon Valley executive will be moving to Los Angeles to head up NewTV, a mobile-first media platform incubated at Jeffrey Katzenberg’s new venture WndrCo.
Whitman, who will serve as CEO, is essentially employee No. 1. She starts on March 1. Read the Full Article Here
Rise of Diversity
Quick Byte
As seems to be the trend across business that get to a certain size (or ones who need good PR…) Uber has hired their first ever Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Bo Young Lee. Aside from sheer ethics, think tanks like the McKinsey Institute have been researching the payoffs of diversity for many years now. According to their research, companies in the top quartile for racial, ethnic and gender diversity are more likely to have better than average national returns. For startups that aren’t at the size for a CDO, keeping up with these findings, and how to apply them as your company grows, will continue to be important in an increasingly connected global world.
The Full Story
We know intuitively that diversity matters. It’s also increasingly clear that it makes sense in purely business terms. Our latest research finds that companies in the top quartile for gender or racial and ethnic diversity are more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians. Companies in the bottom quartile in these dimensions are statistically less likely to achieve above-average returns. And diversity is probably a competitive differentiator that shifts market share toward more diverse companies over time. Read the Full Article Here
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