I’ve tagged these links for possible show topics/background notes on September 8th:
- Reuters – Google buys Zagat to vie with OpenTable, Yelp – From the article: "Google Inc has bought Zagat, the popular dining recommendations and ratings authority, jumping into a niche Web market alongside the likes of OpenTable Inc, Yelp and Yahoo Inc.
…
The 32-year-old Zagat, which polls consumers and compiles reviews about restaurants around the world, will become a cornerstone of Google's "local offering" and work in tandem with its mapping services and core search engine, the Internet search and advertising leader said.Buying Zagat should fill a hole for Google — which needs reviews and other content for its "Google Places" websites — and fend off criticism. It has been accused of using comments from review sites, essentially siphoning off their readers and, more importantly, their clicks."
- OregonLive.com – New school year brings cheaper Internet access for poor families, pilot iPad program in Portland schools – I *like* this! From Mike Rogoway's article: "To win federal approval for its acquisition of NBC-Universal early this year, Comcast agreed to provide discounted Internet access to low-income families across the country. Service is now available for $10 a month, $30 less than Comcast's standard price.
At the same time, Portland Public Schools will use tax revenue paid by Comcast to fund a pilot technology program at Roosevelt High School in North Portland.
The district will equip teachers with iPads this year, and will buy an iPad for all 850 students at Roosevelt next year."
- VentureBeat – Condé Nast spins off Reddit. “Nothing is off-limits,” says co-founder – I'm the first to admit that I'm not a Reddit user. But many of you are…so this should be of interest. From the article: "
Reddit had around 700,000 page views per day when it was first acquired, but it has since grown to more than a billion page views monthly. As part of the company’s new autonomy, it has started searching for a chief executive officer to run the company. There’s also a chance the company will now work on official mobile applications and other types of ways to view the site.“Nothing is off-limits,” Ohanian said. “If it helps the user experience and helps spread Reddit, it’s fair game.” "
- Fortune: Carol Bartz exclusive: Yahoo "f—ed me over" – Here's how it went down "On Tuesday, Bartz was in New York, to speak at Citigroup's (C) technology conference the next day, when she was supposed to call Bostock at 6 p.m. "I called him at 6:06," she recalls. When he got on the line, she says, he started reading a lawyer's prepared statement to dismiss her.
"I said, 'Roy, I think that's a script,'" adding, "'Why don't you have the balls to tell me yourself?'"
When Bostock finished reading, Bartz didn't argue—"I got it. I got it," she told the Yahoo chairman. "I thought you were classier," she added."And then Bartz followed up with this message to Yahoo staff…
You thought *I* was feisty? Bartz is my hero…!
