Social Media

Meta’s Twitter experiment is a long shot

5 Jul 2023

Now is the time for Mark Zuckerberg’s $730 bln social media behemoth to steal users from Musk’s network. And Meta has successfully ripped off ideas. But gaining users won’t move the needle on Meta’s massive base. Plus even before Musk, Twitter didn’t have a viable business model.

LinkedIn ages like fine wine in Microsoft’s cellar

28 Jun 2023

In contrast to souring Meta and Twitter, the drier social media app is flourishing. Although veiled by its parent’s cloud dominance, the 2016-vintage acquisition has tripled in value from its $26 bln price tag. Business-related data also will help it keep maturing in the AI era.

Reddit’s golden geese foul up its IPO plans

16 Jun 2023

The social network differs from peers like Facebook in its reliance on moderators – effectively unpaid employees, many of whom are on strike. Until CEO Steve Huffman can align their interests with his future investors, it’s hard to see Reddit as ready for public-company life.

Meta becomes cross-border tech mascot

22 May 2023

The EU smacked the $630 bln social media giant with a record $1.3 bln fine over data transfers to the US. Meta will fight it, but a fix requires a cross-border agreement and differing philosophies on data access make that hard. Without it, Meta’s fine is a bigger tech problem.

Fuddy-duddy Meta has a kid problem

5 May 2023

The FTC wants to bar the $613 bln company from monetizing young users’ data. But Zuckerberg’s audience is already among the oldest of social media apps. He not only has to figure out how to get kids and keep them. He has to do it in a way that builds trust.

Britain grabs mantle of chief Big Tech deal-slayer

26 Apr 2023

The UK competition watchdog vetoed Microsoft’s $69 bln purchase of “Call of Duty” owner Activision, rejecting the software giant’s promises. Takeovers by tech titans have fizzled under scrutiny from the EU and US. This decision makes it even harder to expand by acquisition.

Musk’s Twitter markdown falls short of the mark

27 Mar 2023

In stock grants to the social media app’s shrunken staff, the billionaire owner imputes a $20 bln valuation, or less than half what he paid. Getting there involves financial jiu-jitsu. Include the effects of leverage and falling revenue, and the equity is probably worthless.

TikTok pile-on opens two cans of worms

23 Mar 2023

US lawmakers grilled Shou Zi Chew about his short-form video network’s data collection and influence. Yet these are separate problems – both much bigger than TikTok. There are other Chinese apps that gather US customer details and plenty of homegrown tech firms that sway ideas.

Benefits of US political accord accrue to TikTok

21 Mar 2023

The short-form video platform’s CEO will appear in front of Congress this week. Backlash towards its Chinese parent ByteDance is one place politicians can agree. American media steals eyeballs when its citizens argue. TikTok, then, has an interest in keeping events copasetic.

TikTok sale would trade one threat for another

16 Mar 2023

The White House wants Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the video app to address security concerns. Since the last president tried something similar, TikTok has grown more popular and more valuable. The logical buyers are the same firms rule-makers want to stop from getting bigger.

Capital Calls: Ritchie Bros founder regret

13 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The industrial equipment auction company’s $7 bln deal for scrap-yard operator IAA has drawn one last opponent: the company’s own co-founder.

Capital Calls: World Bank, Bumble, Wood Group

23 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. picks ex-Mastercard boss Ajay Banga to run the multilateral development bank; while the dating app’s shares are down, private equity owner Blackstone is still in the money; the UK oil services group has turned down three bids from Apollo.

Capital Calls: Schneider’s sustainable CEO

16 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Jean-Pascal Tricoire’s departure as chief executive of the French industrial software group after nearly two decades at the helm defies the trend of short-lived or underperforming corporate bosses.

Meta exposes danger of trustbusting virtual risks

1 Feb 2023

Facebook’s owner won in court over U.S. efforts to block its acquisition of fitness-app developer Within. It trips up regulators trying to avoid missing another Instagram, with judges unpersuaded by future competition worries – a bad omen for the FTC’s case against Microsoft.

TikTok’s best U.S. charm offensive involves an IPO

19 Jan 2023

The social media firm owned by China’s ByteDance wants to appease concerns about its access to Americans’ data. If proposed fixes get past federal officials – no sure thing – it still must contend with state leaders. A stock market listing would add some helpful transparency.

Capital Calls: Activism, Bond spat, Airline M&A

18 Jan 2023

Concise views on global finance: Aggressive shareholder campaigns picked up in 2022, but activism is becoming an overcrowded strategy. Meanwhile, M&A machine Melrose takes on a fight that might not be worth winning, and German airline Lufthansa eyes a stake in Italy’s ITA.

China’s TikTok wins while U.S. dillydallies

6 Jan 2023

The social media app has stopped hiring people that would help appease U.S. regulators. Congress is slow – a reflection of Americans apathetic about sharing data. But impaling companies with taxes and tariffs happens regularly. As politicians delay, China tiptoes into homes.

E-commerce will go viral on social media in 2023

27 Dec 2022

TikTok and YouTube are among those fighting for a piece of the estimated $46 bln shopping market that’s growing twice as fast as ads. It’s a sensible strategic move, but recession would dash some plans. Many products also won’t suit the apps and competition is expanding quickly.

Capital Calls: Twitter’s news problem

6 Dec 2022

Concise views on global finance: If the U.S. Congress passes a law that allows news organizations to band together and negotiate with online platforms, Elon Musk may have one more challenge to add to his growing list.

Musk’s Apple fight could be his Twitter legacy

29 Nov 2022

The billionaire isn’t the first to criticize the smartphone maker for taking a cut from transactions on its app store. But owning Twitter gives Elon Musk a powerful megaphone. Taking a chunk out of Apple could even be the most durable outcome of Musk’s social media foray.