Articles
February 2, 2012
845 Million Users: Facebook Files for Its IPO
On Wednesday, Facebook filed its S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the most anticipated technology initial public offering since Google's debut in 2004 officially began. The document revealed the company's numbers for the first time: eight hundred forty five million monthly active users at the end of 2011, four hundred eighty three million daily active users, and revenue of three point seven one billion dollars, up eighty eight percent. The company planned to raise up to five billion dollars, and the figure was only the opening bid. The filing was a formality, and the filing was also a revelation. This is the February 2012 story, and the story is the lesson: ...
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January 18, 2012
One Dark Day: Wikipedia Protests SOPA
There is a blackout this week, and the blackout is the encyclopedia: the English Wikipedia that went dark on Wednesday for twenty four hours, the protest against two bills in Congress, the action described as the largest online protest in history. The blackout is the message, and the message is the banner: 'Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge,' the words that greeted the web. The questions began that day: what were the bills, why choose silence. One Dark Day is the January 2012 story, and the story is the lesson: the web that spoke in one voice, the Congress that heard it, the free knowledge worth the fight.
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December 19, 2011
Virtual Goods, Real Money: Zynga Goes to Market
On Friday, Zynga went public, and the market greeted the social gaming company with a shrug. The shares priced at ten dollars, the top of the range, and the company raised about one billion dollars on a valuation near seven billion. The stock opened at eleven dollars and then faded, closing at nine fifty, down five percent from the offering price. It was the first big social internet initial public offering to end its first day below its price, and the signal was impossible to miss. This is the December 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: ...
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November 8, 2011
Up a Third: Groupon Rings Nasdaq
On Friday, Groupon went public, and the market gave the daily-deals company a reception that felt like a coronation. The shares priced at twenty dollars, above the already raised range, and the company raised about seven hundred million dollars on a valuation near twelve and a half billion. The first trade came in near twenty-eight dollars, and the stock closed its first day at twenty-six eleven, up about thirty percent. It was the biggest technology initial public offering since Google's debut in 2004, and the whole industry watched. This is the November 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: ...
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October 6, 2011
Goodbye, Steve
On Wednesday, the world said goodbye to Steve Jobs. The co-founder of Apple, the man who returned to save the company, and the most celebrated chief executive of his generation died at fifty-six, at home in Palo Alto, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. The tributes began within minutes and did not stop: from presidents, from rivals, from the customers who lined up at Apple Stores to leave flowers and notes. Apple had become the most valuable company in the world only months before, and now it faced the future without its founder. This is the October 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: ...
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September 21, 2011
Two Companies: Netflix Divides Itself
On Sunday evening, the chief executive of Netflix announced that the company would cut itself in two. Reed Hastings said the DVD-by-mail business would become a separate service called Qwikster, while streaming would keep the Netflix name. The split was the climax of a summer of fury from subscribers who had watched their bills rise and their loyalty tested. The company that had built the modern mail-order movie business was now telling the world that its future lay elsewhere. The reaction came fast, and it was not kind. This is the September 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: ...
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August 9, 2011
First Time Ever: America Loses Its AAA
There is a downgrade this week, and the downgrade is the rating: the AAA of the United States, cut to AA+ on Friday evening, the first time in history that America lost its top mark. The downgrade is the shock, and the shock is the market: the Dow that fell 634 points, the worst day since 2008. The questions began that day: what is a rating worth, who can be trusted, where does the money go. The First Time Ever is the August 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the rating that fell on Friday, the market that reeled on Monday, the trust that must be rebuilt.
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July 15, 2011
Music for Everyone: Spotify Crosses the Atlantic
There is a launch this week, and the launch is the arrival: Spotify in the United States, the Swedish service that opened its doors in New York on Thursday. The arrival is the crossing, and the crossing is the Atlantic: ten million users in Europe, more than a million paying. The launch is the bet, and the bet is the model: free with ads, premium without. The Music for Everyone is the July 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the access that replaces ownership, the music for everyone.
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June 20, 2011
Cents on the Dollar: Bitcoin's First Great Theft
There is a theft this week, and the theft is the exchange: Mt. Gox, the dominant Bitcoin exchange. The theft is the Sunday: the compromised auditor account, the thousands of bitcoins moved out of user accounts, the coins sold into the market. The theft is the collapse: the price that fell from about seventeen dollars to one cent, the chart everyone watched. The theft is the number: roughly sixty thousand bitcoins reported stolen. The questions began that day: who is inside, what was taken. Cents on the Dollar is the June 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the exchange that held the coins, the account that opened the door, the custody that every user must question.
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May 11, 2011
Eight and a Half Billion: Microsoft Calls Skype
There is a call made this week, and the call is the deal: the eight and a half billion dollars that Microsoft promised for Skype, the news that broke on Tuesday and filled the pages on Wednesday. The call is the validation: the free service that became the prize. The questions began that day: would the price be justified, would the users stay free, would the integration succeed where eBay failed. The eight and a half billion dollar call is the May 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the free service that became the prize, the deal that will define the decade.
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