März 2017 - Seite 219 von 221 - Cloud Computing Köln

Gavin Stenhouse

As Snap Inc. gears up for its forthcoming IPO, some of the company's Venice, California neighbors rallied outside its doors, aiming to send a message to the fast-growing social media phenom: Get out.

On Tuesday afternoon, dozens of Venice locals gathered outside of Snap&039;s offices to protest what they say is an unwelcome transformation of a vital piece of Los Angeles.

“This is a public street and the community will not sit by quietly while Snap attempts to annex it for a private corporate campus,” 11 year Venice resident Laura Booth told BuzzFeed News.

Snap&039;s headquarters is scattered throughout multiple buildings in the quirky beachside enclave that&039;s home to surfers, eccentrics and now herds of tech employees. The company&039;s Venice footprint has ballooned ahead of an initial public offering expected to hit the market this later week. And, as BuzzFeed News reported last week, that growth is causing serious tension with neighbors, some of whom say Snap is turning Venice into “a horrible business park.”

Instagram: @cjgronner

Reached for comment, Snap told BuzzFeed News that it is looking beyond Venice for future expansion.

“We’re very grateful to be a part of the Venice community and we are sorry for any strain that our growth has placed on those who live and work here,” a Snap Inc. spokesperson said.. “We&039;ve partnered closely with local schools and nonprofits to be a good neighbor and we&039;ve always tried to help our community feel safer in a neighborhood that is all too often the victim of violent crime. We recognize that we are no longer the small startup that we once were and we are necessarily concentrating our future growth outside of Venice.”

Laura Booth

Quelle: <a href="Angry Neighbors Protest Outside Snap Offices Ahead Of Highly Anticipated IPO“>BuzzFeed

1. März 20171. März 2017

da Agency

Video Shows Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Arguing With Driver Over Fares

Shu Zhang / Reuters

Uber’s public relations crisis continues apace with no apparent end in sight.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bloomberg published a video in which CEO Travis Kalanick aggressively argues with an Uber driver who claimed he is earning less money after Uber cut fares. “Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit,” Kalanick exclaims, after his driver says he lost $97,000 because of Uber. “They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!”

youtube.com

The publication of the dash-cam shot video is the latest in a parade of PR disasters for Uber. In January, Kalanick’s decision to sit on President Trump’s economic advisory group inspired a viral #DeleteUber campaign in which the company saw about 200,000 users delete their accounts, according to the New York Times. Kalanick subsequently resigned from the council.

Then, in early February, a former Uber engineer penned a viral account of her experience at the company with detailed allegations of systemic sexism. In response, Uber launched an internal investigation into the accusations, led by former attorney general Eric Holder and Arianna Huffington, who sits on Uber’s board. A visibly emotional Kalanick apologized to his staff at an all-hands meeting and promised to “do better.”

Two days later, during a meeting with more than 100 women engineers, Kalanick was grilled about issues of sexism at Uber, according to an audio recording obtained by BuzzFeed News. “I want to root out the injustice,” he told those in attendance. “I want to get at the people who are making this place a bad place. And you have my commitment.”

Uber’s tensions with its drivers are well-documented. The company continues to grapple with lawsuits over the classification of drivers as independent contractors. Just last month, Uber paid the Federal Trade Commission $20 million to settle allegations that it advertised inflated estimates of how much its drivers earn on its website and in Craigslist job postings.

Kalanick’s video interaction with his Uber driver is in many ways a snapshot of those tensions — and one that Uber clearly did not expect to become public. Uber declined to comment on the video.

Uber says on its website that drivers are permitted by the company to record riders “for purposes of safety,” but notes that “local regulations may require individuals using recording equipment in vehicles to fully disclose to riders that they are being recorded in or around a vehicle and obtain consent.”

In California, a state with a two-party consent rule for recording confidential conversations, could the driver be in legal trouble?

“It was a risky move to publicize this video,” Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University, told BuzzFeed News. “It’s unclear if the conversation between the Uber driver and the CEO would qualify as a confidential communication.”

Goldman said whether the conversation would qualify as confidential would depend on several factors, such as whether the dashcam was prominently visible, and whether for-hire vehicles could count as public spaces. Regardless of those questions, he said, lawsuits of this variety are uncommon and the optics around Uber suing one of its own drivers lower the odds of a lawsuit.

Said Goldman, “Uber’s CEO has much bigger problems in his life right now.”

Quelle: <a href="Video Shows Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Arguing With Driver Over Fares“>BuzzFeed

1. März 20171. März 2017

da Agency

Hootsuite CEO Directs Comment-Seeking Reporter To Phone Sex Line

The CEO of Hootsuite — a Canadian social media management startup — responded to a Bloomberg reporter’s request for comment on Tuesday by directing him to a paid sex phone hotline.

Here’s what we know: Earlier this morning, Bloomberg News reporter Gerrit De Vynck published a story making the case that Hootsuite is overvalued at $1 billion and is underserving of its so-called unicorn status.

Hootesuite CEO Ryan Holmes (who maintains that the company is, in fact, worth more than a billion dollars) took to Twitter, decrying Bloomberg’s headline (“Hootsuite: The Unicorn That Never Was”) as salacious, and complaining that that the De Vynck published his story without comment from Hootsuite.

The Bloomberg reporter tweeted back at Holmes with his phone number, asking the CEO to call him. Here’s what Holmes tweeted back:

The thing is, that’s not Holmes’ phone number — it’s the number for a paid sex hotline — 1-800-EAT-DICK. When you call it, a man’s voice offers you unpublishable favors, if you simply enter a valid Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit card number.

After BuzzFeed News reached out to Holmes and his PR team, he deleted the tweet, and his PR person pointed to a followup tweet sent by Holmes that says, “apologies. wrong number.”

The timing of Holmes’ tweet is particularly ill-timed, considering the tech industry writ large is under fire this week for reports of pernicious sexism in the workplace. Earlier this month, a former Uber employee published a harrowing account of her time at the company, which detailed numerous allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. The post sparked a public dialogue about how and why inappropriate behavior gets brushed under the rug at startups.

The reporter involved in the exchange declined to comment, but in an email, a Bloomberg spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that “we stand by our reporting.”

Quelle: <a href="Hootsuite CEO Directs Comment-Seeking Reporter To Phone Sex Line“>BuzzFeed

1. März 20171. März 2017

da Agency

YouTube’s New App Lets You Watch Live TV

YouTube / Via tv.youtube.com

YouTube unveiled YouTube TV today, a standalone app that'll let you watch 40+ cable and broadcast channels via the internet for $35 per month. The service will launch in the spring at an unspecified date in “the largest US markets,” according to a YouTube statement. Key channels include ESPN, CBS, ABC, USA, FX, Fox News, E!, the CW, and others. And just like a cable subscription, you can add premium channels like Showtime to your bundle for extra money per month.

The service resembles Dish’s Sling TV, Sony PlayStation Vue, and AT&T’s DirecTV Now, which allow people to watch live TV on traditional channels via the internet. Hulu is planning to release a similar service soon, according to the New York Post. Facebook has plans for a standalone TV app, and Apple, already a player with Apple TV, has announced plans for making original TV shows.

YouTube TV is separate from YouTube Red, the site’s premium content channel that requires a subscription, though subscribing to YouTube TV also gives you access to YouTube Red Originals. (Disclosure: YouTube Red has purchased web series from BuzzFeed). YouTube TV will be a standalone app downloaded to phones (both iOS and Android), tablets (same), or computers. In its announcement blog post, the company highlighted the ability to watch YouTube TV on traditional sets via the company’s Chromecast device.

You’ll be able to record live shows and save them to the app without storage limits, where you can keep them for up to nine months. Each subscription comes with the ability to create six personalized accounts and watch three concurrent streams at once. Recode reports that Google’s artificial intelligence software will power the service’s recommendation system. The company didn’t say how regular YouTube videos will interact with YouTube TV, but it is worth noting that TV will be a separate app from YouTube’s flagship downloadable service.

Justin Connolly, an executive vice president at Disney and ESPN, said in a statement that the service would allow networks to reach “young, mobile-first audiences.”

Quelle: <a href="YouTube’s New App Lets You Watch Live TV“>BuzzFeed