Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN)
Facebook’s CEO aims to get the world online (MyRecordJournal)
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to get all of the world’s 7 billion people online through a partnership with some of the largest mobile technology companies. He says the Web is an essential part of life, and everyone deserves to be connected, whether they live in Norway, Nicaragua or Namibia. “The Internet not only connects us to our friends, families and communities, but it is also the foundation of the global knowledge economy,” Zuckerberg wrote in a paper posted to his Facebook page late Tuesday. The title asks “Is Connectivity A Human Right?” Of course, connecting more people to the Internet is the kind of philanthropy that would create more potential Facebook users, which would also help boost the company’s bottom line. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” said Fordham University communications professor Paul Levinson, author of “New New Media.”
LinkedIn Corp. CEO Jeff Weiner Sells 37,000 Shares (LNKD) (ZolMax)
LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) CEO Jeff Weiner unloaded 37,000 shares of LinkedIn Corp. stock on the open market in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.13, for a total value of $8,551,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,835 shares of the company’s stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. LNKD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) in a research note to investors on Friday, August 16th.
Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) runs for help post L.A town hall meeting (GDPInsider)
Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) had organized a town-hall meeting in Los Angeles for small business owners. In a totally unexpected twist, the business owners literally slammed the review website, complained about its aggressive ad-sales tactic as well as its bogus reviews that ended up having an adverse effect on sales. YELP was hoping at get rid of all the misconceptions and also ease all the concerns that business owners had about the popular site. This is just one of a series of meetings that has been organized by Yelp. These events are to be held across 22 major cities in the United States. This was the first of the meetings and had been held at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre. Active advertisers, dozens of business-owners and also people who knew something about the site had been invited to the meeting.
Apple Inc undergoes culture shift as Tim Cook leads quiet revolution (FinancialPost)
Shortly after signing on as chief operating officer at Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Sheryl Sandberg was looking to connect with people in a similar role – No. 2 to a brilliant and passionate young founder. She called Tim Cook. “He basically explained nicely that my job was to do the things that Mark (Zuckerberg) did not want to focus on as much,” Sandberg said of the 2007 meeting that lasted several hours with the chief operating officer of Apple Inc. “That was his job with Steve (Jobs). And he explained that the job would change over time and I should be prepared for that.”
Yelp gets an earful from L.A. business owners (LATimes)
Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) was hoping to debunk misconceptions and ease business owners’ concerns about the popular review website. Instead, many small-business owners at the company’s town hall meeting in Hollywood on Tuesday slammed the site, venting their frustration at Yelp for aggressive advertising tactics and bogus reviews that they said hurt their businesses. “I have one-star reviews for my diner from people that have never walked into the place. They’ve never stepped foot, they’ve never tried the food, but they give me one-star reviews.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Finally Made Available its New Embedded Posts Feature – ZNGA, RENN, YELP, GRPN, LNKD (FiscalInsider)
After the successful beta trial run for more than a month, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has finally made available its new embedded posts feature to all its users across the globe. In this new feature of embedded posts users can now share their posts publicly on the social network or on website or even on their blog. Tech focused site Mashable.com writes, “Anyone using a third party website, including users who post to personal blogs or websites, can now embed a public Facebook post directly into their own site. Users can find the line of code needed to embed a post or video by clicking on the arrow in the post’s upper right-hand corner.”
LinkedIn Reduces Minimum Age To 13 In UAE (GulfBusiness)
LProfessional networking site LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) has reduced the age limit for UAE users to 13 in a bid to target high school students looking for suitable university options, the site’s officials confirmed to Gulf Business. The minimum age to be a LinkedIn member has recently been changed across the world in line with official regulations. While most countries allow users aged 13 access to LinkedIn, countries such as US, Canada, Germany, Australia, Spain and South Korea have stipulated that LinkedIn users have to be at least 14, Netherlands has a minimum age requirement of 16, and China only permits adults aged 18 and above to use the site.
Watch Yelp’s CEO Defend Yelpers on Charlie Rose (Eater)
Here’s a video of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) CEO Jeremy Stoppelman’s interview on Charlie Rose last week. Stoppelman and Rose discuss the origins of Yelp, the importance of adapting to mobile technology, and Stoppelman’s decision not to sell to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). Stoppelman also defends the reliability of the reviews and reviewers on Yelp, gives his thoughts on whats wrong with Google and Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN), and much more: …On putting the business model second to consumer experience: “If you’re able to connect people with great local businesses, if people are coming to a site to find business, those are transactions. There’s going to be a business model there.”
