Silicon Valley was right to invest in DNA: Facebook and Google-backed personal genetics business strikes $10m deal with Genentech January 7, 2015 Facebook and Google will be pleased about their decision to invest in personal genetics business 23andMe. The firm, which sells DNA testing kits to individual customers for $99 (£65) each, has secured a major deal with Genentech – a subsidiary of Roche. According to Forbes, 23andMe is receiving an upfront payment from Genentech [...]
Mark Zuckerberg’s book club: Facebook founder invites people to join his 2015 challenge to read a book every other week January 5, 2015 It’s that time of year again when resolutions are made and many more broken. Those struggling to stick to theirs should be heartened that even the world’s biggest entrepreneur and richest man thinks he needs to do a little self-improvement. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has set himself a challenge of reading a new book every [...]
New year’s resolutions to make you think more like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg December 31, 2014 As if running a $221bn (£142bn) company isn't enough, Mark Zuckerberg is known for his commitment to keeping new year's resolutions. Every year, the Facebook founder sets himself a new challenge – a process which, he told an audience last week, forces him to "do other things outside of [work]". But Zuckerberg doesn't just go for [...]
Instagram valued at $35bn – but how does that compare to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and WhatsApp? December 19, 2014 Instagram exceeded Twitter in terms of daily users last month; now it looks like that has trickled through to its valuation. The photo-sharing app has been valued at $35bn by Citi analyst Mark May, nearly double the amount he previously estimated. Based on Twitter's current share price, it's worth just over $23bn. [...]
Real Madrid’s Ronaldo beats Barcelona’s Messi with $22.5m endorsements and $143,750 Facebook posts December 1, 2014 Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have once again been pitted against each other in the running for this year’s Ballon d’Or, yet in marketing terms the battle has already been won by the Real Madrid man. Such is the size of Ronaldo’s global fanbase that his average Facebook post is valued at $143,500 (£99,525) according [...]
Ex-BP boss Lord John Browne gets a helping hand with Facebook from COO Sheryl Sandberg November 30, 2014 If you're going to get help with your new Facebook page, it doesn't get any better than having Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of the social network giving you a hand. That, of course, is unrealistic for most of us – but not Lord John Browne it seems. The former BP boss-turned-LGBT activist tweeted yesterday, [...]
Ex-MI6 chief says criticism of Facebook over Lee Rigby murder is unjustified November 26, 2014 Facebook has gained support from an unlikely source. Richard Barrett, the former global anti-terrorism director of MI6, has said that in his opinion it is unreasonable to expect Facebook to vet conversations for terrorist content and then report them. A report published this week said that an internet site, understood to be Facebook, had hosted [...]
Facebook responds to accusations it failed to inform police of plan to murder Lee Rigby November 25, 2014 Facebook has responded to accusations it hosted conversations planning the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby. Although the site wasn't expressly named in the report, Facebooks is udnerstood to be the site involved. Michael Adebowale used Facebook to outline his plan to murder a soldier in a "graphic and emotive manner", according to the Intelligence and [...]
New digital bank picks Starling name: “It will look more like Facebook than a bank” November 18, 2014 A digital bank being set up by ex-AIB banker Anne Boden has picked the name Starling for its brand. Boden hopes to gain the first part of the licence in late spring 2015, before raising the roughly £100m of capital needed and getting a full licence at the end of next year. The bank will [...]
Facebook Groups: The new standalone app for iOS and Android November 18, 2014 The world’s biggest social media platform somehow just got a bit more social. Facebook Groups is a new standalone app designed for easy communication and collaboration between chums, colleagues and contacts. Available on iOS and Android, the app will help people “share faster and more easily with all the groups in their life”, [...]