Week 106 – NR – Google Memo, Uber Board, Netflix/Disney, Facebook Watch, CR & Surface, SoundCloud

Summary: With Aaron away, this is a solo episode of the News Roundup by Jan. Because there's only one of us talking, there are more topics than usual on this week's episode: six, to be precise. These are: the controversial Google memo; Uber board shenanigans; Netflix and Disney's announcements this week; Facebook's new Watch tab; Consumer Reports' decision to withdraw its recommendation of two Surface models from Microsoft; and the conclusion of the recent SoundCloud funding saga. The show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives and original sources as appropriate. News stories we covered: • Google Memo: Two pieces from Jan: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/07/google-employee-pens-memo-arguing-against-diversity-initiatives/ https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/11/google-cancels-diversity-town-hall-over-harassment-and-threats/ Business Insider on the cancelation of the Town Hall: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-cancels-diversity-town-hall-2017-8 Motherboard's original reporting on the memo: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/kzbm4a/employees-anti-diversity-manifesto-goes-internally-viral-at-google • Uber Board: Jan's piece on the Benchmark lawsuit: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/10/uber-investor-benchmark-sues-kalanick-over-fraud-to-remove-him-from-board/ Axios's scoop on this story: https://www.axios.com/benchmark-capital-sues-travis-kalanick-for-fraud-2471455477.html • Netflix and Disney: Jan's take on the Netflix Millarworld acquisition: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/07/netflix-acquires-millarworld-comic-book-company-to-hedge-against-loss-of-marvel/ Jan's take on Disney earnings: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/08/★-disney-reports-earnings-will-acquire-bamtech-launch-streaming-services/ Disney's announcements: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/walt-disney-company-acquire-majority-ownership-bamtech/ Netflix announcement: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/NFLX/3667621494x0x952713/155017DE-F0EF-47FA-972C-F9B002997979/PDF_Netflix_Acquires_Millarworld_-_Final_1_.pdf • Facebook Watch: Jan's take for Tech Narratives: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/09/facebook-launches-watch-a-new-tab-for-video-including-original-content/ Jan's Techpinions column: https://techpinions.com/the-risks-of-facebooks-video-pivot/50781 Facebook's announcement: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/08/introducing-watch-a-new-platform-for-shows-on-facebook/ Variety on some of the new shows: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/facebook-premium-shows-launch-1202521520/ • Consumer Reports and Surface: Jan's take: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/10/consumer-reports-withdraws-surface-recommendations-over-reliability-issues/ USA Today story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2017/08/10/consumer-reports-pulls-recommendations-surface-laptops/554302001/ • SoundCloud saga: Jan's take on the latest news: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/08/11/soundcloud-closes-new-investment-shuffles-management-pivots-business/ TechCrunch article: https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/11/soundcloud-saved/ Bloomberg interview: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-11/soundcloud-gets-new-life-with-fresh-170-million-investment You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-devices-podcast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (https://overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/beyond-devices-podcast), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email (jan@jackdawresearch.com).