Joe Kraus–the longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur who sold his most recent start-up, JotSpot, to Google in 2006 and has been a director of product management since–has moved to its Google Ventures unit as a partner, said several sources.
Sources added that Kraus is likely to be the first of several well-known appointments at the relatively new venture arm of the search giant.
Of all the tech stocks to watch, perhaps none have been more interesting to follow than those of Microsoft, Google and Apple in recent days.
With so much news emanating from the trio, their shares have been gyrating and twisting on each and every piece of information, so here are some numbers to take a gander at.
Yesterday, BoomTown moderated a panel at California’s Women’s Conference titled “Changing the World Through the Web” for a crowd of several thousand people.
The panelists included Hollywood actor/producer, Katalyst co-founder and Twitter demigod Ashton Kutcher; Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg, who leads the social networking site’s elections, breaking news and social change initiatives; Premal Shah, president of online microloan site Kiva.org; and Joe Rospars, founder and creative director of Blue State Digital and new media director for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
Here are video interviews I did with each of them.
Microsoft announced much better than expected results–led by strong Windows and Xbox demand and cost discipline.
Here are Microsoft’s slides on the financial results, which you can enjoy all weekend long (if you have no life, it goes without saying).
Well, well, well, that financial imp at Microsoft–CFO Chris Liddell–pulled a fast one on Wall Street and turned in first-quarter earnings that blew away all estimates and even whisper numbers.
BoomTown liveblogged the morning conference call, which took place at 7:30 am PT–thanks for the Kiwi-laced wake-up call, Chris!
While revenue and net income in Q1 were down significantly from the same period a year ago, they were not as bad as investors expected.
Which apparently passes for terrific these days!
Microsoft has had a high-profile week, between launching its new Windows 7 operating system and striking real-time feed partnerships with both Twitter and Facebook.
But Wall Street is not expecting quite as much excitement from the software giant’s first-quarter earnings, which will be announced before the markets open this morning.
So any beating of expectations would be seen as a big deal by investors.
Yahoo reported its third-quarter earnings earlier today, a pretty good performance in which it soundly beat Wall Street expectations with a stronger net income than expected.
While advertising revenue was down at the Silicon Valley Internet giant, also as expected, cost-cutting by CEO Carol Bartz and the sale of its stake in China’s Alibaba seem to have more than made up for it.
Here are Yahoo’s financial presentations, full of more numbers than you will ever want to crunch.
Uh-oh, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was expected to appear on the Internet giant’s third-quarter earnings call, but she apparently “came down with something,” according to CFO Tim Morse.
BoomTown is sending over chicken soup right now, but let’s hope she gets her vaccinations tout de suite!
Thus, no sassy quotes or cursing, but a very earnest Morse, who sounded like he was once a Boy Scout.
Yahoo bested Wall Street expectations today, announcing stronger net income for its third quarter, despite an also expected decline in revenue.
In addition, Yahoo’s expectations for the fourth quarter are more positive than expected by investors.
But, there were some issues to worry about: Search advertising revenue was off 19 percent and display was off eight percent at “Owned and Operated” sites on Yahoo.
So, while investors can finally relax, how Yahoo can grow going forward is sure to be their next focus.
It’s not likely the announcement of Yahoo’s third-quarter earnings later today will be quite as exciting as its Open Hack Day in Taiwan this past weekend, but BoomTown will try to make those numbers and the conference call afterward with CEO Carol Bartz as entertaining as possible.
Bartz is certain to be so, especially if she lobs some good quotes, as she did in a recent interview about her management style: “I have the puppy theory. When the puppy pees on the carpet, you say something right then because you don’t say six months later, ‘Remember that day, January 12th, when you peed on the carpet?’ That doesn’t make any sense.”
How much does BoomTown pray for more zingers like that? Muchly!
For the past few months, the Huffington Post has been on a bit of a tear–both in terms of traffic gains and in its hiring of some big talent for key positions.
Now, those execs are focusing on using that consumer momentum to achieve what has eluded the Huffington Post thus far: Making some serious bank from the privately held news and media site.
Here’s a chat I had with new President and Chief Revenue Officer Greg Coleman about how he is aiming to do just that.
When Apple reports its fourth-quarter earnings today, investors are hoping–actually, expecting–that the iconic computer company will look a lot now as it always has.
In other words, don’t go changing and it will please us.
In fact, Wall Street is anticipating, as it has throughout the econalypse, another estimate-beating performance.
In one week, Yahoo will report its third-quarter earnings, after the market closes.
And so far, its stock is showing signs that investors are hoping for better days ahead for the Internet giant.
Other good news: A pair of bullish analyst reports yesterday.
But, a spate of executive departures, with chances of more to come, are worrisome.
As is the excessive yodeling Yahoo is once again encouraging.
Let’s all agree first to blame owner Condé Nast for deciding to shutter Gourmet–the elegant and iconic magazine, which has been around since 1941, after the November issue.
While circulation remained steady at Gourmet at just under one million monthly paying subscribers, Condé Nast Chief Executive Officer Chuck Townsend pointed to a fall-off in advertising spending by luxury brands that result in a money-losing mess.
But some are blaming a movement of readers to the Web. Is it true?
Considering the ongoing skirmishes going on right now between Amazon and Google over digital book publishing, it’s more than ironic that Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos was one of only a few initial investors in the search giant.
But–in one of the many interesting details in New Yorker author Ken Auletta’s new book, “Googled: The End Of The World As We Know It”–it was indeed Bezos who invested $250,000 in the start-up in 1998 at four cents a share.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
There’s a great excerpt in the New Yorker this week.
Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference.
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
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