PayPal
August 11, 2009: CNET News
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-10306902-248.html
video: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8342840
video: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=111865&videoChannel=5
PayPal on Tuesday is introducing a new service for parents with kids who are in high
school or college. Called Student Accounts, it centers on the use of a special PayPalbranded Mastercard debit card that's tied to a parent's PayPal accounts. The parent acts as
the provider and can funnel money in whenever they feel like it at predetermined dates,
or--at what will most-frequently happen--the behest of their kids.
Some of the perks include no overdraft fees and the use of a debit card that's not tied to a
particular bank account, meaning the balance can come from a variety of sources.
The system has more of an allure for parents though. It's easier for them to dole out cash
and track where it goes. In other words, your kid can have the $20 they said they needed
for gas money, but if it ends up being for the late-night beer run, you're going to know
about it.
The other design behind the card, and one that goes far beyond tracking beer money
spending, is to create an ecosystem of PayPal users that become acclimated to handling
their finances within the service's confines. Considering parent-child money transfers
may happen long after college attendance is complete, PayPal has incentive to get both
parties used to dealing with its system.
A good example of this is that these students will one day have the option to "graduate"
to having their own full PayPal accounts that they manage on their own and that includes
a complete history of transactions they made when they were in school. Don Fotsch, who
is PayPal's VP of user experience and design, told me that you cannot currently do this-but that it would be worked in by the time some of the early users reached that point.
PayPal will also be working on a way to let students integrate any outside income they're
getting from an after or during school job to be able to continue using that debit card on
other purchases.
Of course, PayPal being PayPal there is a cost to this service. PayPal takes a $1 cut for
every ATM withdrawal, which comes on top of any ATM fee considering the card is not
affiliated with any banks. There are also the typical PayPal percentage fees for using that
debit card outside of the U.S. either on purchases or trips to the ATM. For things like
online purchases, or in-store purchases, there are no fees or limits though. There also
aren't any sign up fees, load card fees, or annual fees.
One thing that makes the service really neat is that if the child runs out of money, they
can send a text to PayPal to request more. The parent then gets a text message from
PayPal asking if they want to transfer the money and can reply with a simple yes or no.
The money is then piped into the account within two minutes.
As Fotsche explained to me, this system worked out great for him when his daughter
needed to spend an extra $10 on a checked bag at the airport. But parents could also just
set up one of these cards for their kids as a real emergency credit card and one they
wouldn't have to worry as much about if it were stolen since it couldn't be maxed out.
And even if some parents do end up setting up one of these cards for such a purpose,
that's two users already in PayPal's pocket.
July 23, 2009: Masable
http://mashable.com/2009/07/23/paypal-x/
For years, PayPal had no rival in the online payments industry. Then, in 2007, Amazon
launched its Amazon Payments, which not only gave PayPal a rival with real muscle, but was
considered friendlier and more open to third party developers, thus why many apps utilized
Amazon Payments instead of PayPal. And let’s not forget about Google Checkout, which also
competes in the space.
However, Paypal is taking a swing back at the competition today, revealing PayPal X and
Adaptive Payments, a new initiative that allow third party developers to utilize PayPal in
completely new ways. Prepare yourself for split payments, payment aggregation, and PayPal
on other websites.
PayPal is essentially opening up its platform to developers so that they can build new products
off of PayPal. This is called PayPal X. The first part of this new initiative is PayPal Adaptive
Payments, which refers to the new APIs (application programming interfaces) that will help
developers do new things with PayPal.
All of the developer-related information will be placed on PayPal’s one-character domain,
X.com. Here are some of the things that are now possible:
- Send Money: Peer-to-peer payments can and will happen on multiple platforms, not
just on PayPal.com
- Split Payments: You can now split payments among many recipients via the Platform.
For example, if you need to pay multiple people a commission on the sale, you can send
just one payment instead of four or five.
- Payment Preapproval: Once you log into a system and confirm prepayments, the API
will automatically transfer funds based on pre-set specifications.
- Payment Aggregation: To reduce the costs of payment transactions, users can soon
aggregate multiple payments into one lump transaction. Amazon
Payments already offers this.
This could be good news for a lot of smaller firms and third-party developers. Let’s take
TwitPay as an example. TwitPay allows users to send and receive micropayments via
Twitter( ). It is run on PayPal, and in fact is one of the first apps utilizing the Adaptive
Payment platform (and probably the reason they switched from Amazon Payments). The new
API lets you do things like send payments right on Twitpay.me (and hopefully soon split
payments).
PayPal Adaptive Payments doesn’t come out to all developers and users until
November, but expect to see more websites utilizing the new PayPal X very, very
soon.
eBay
Oct 19, 2009
eBay and PayPal Now Offer Bill Me Later
SAN JOSE, Calif. - October 19, 2009 - Giving customers even more choice in how they pay online, eBay
and PayPal now offer Bill Me Later as a payment option during checkout. With Bill Me Later, qualified eBay
and PayPal customers in the U.S. can now manage their budgets more easily, buying items quickly and
effortlessly and paying for them over time, without using a credit card.
On eBay, Bill Me Later will be available as a payment option for both Buy It Now and approved auction
purchases. Qualified customers can also use Bill Me Later at tens of thousands of their favorite online
merchants that accept PayPal Express Checkout. When customers select the PayPal checkout button, Bill
Me Later will be available as a funding choice along with their stored PayPal balance, bank accounts or
credit cards. Customers select Bill Me Later as their funding choice and follow simple steps to take
advantage of the payment flexibility, convenience and security that Bill Me Later offers.
"Bill Me Later is the perfect complement to PayPal and eBay," said Sam Shrauger, vice president of global
product strategy for PayPal. "By offering Bill Me Later as part of the PayPal payment service, customers now
have the choice to buy the items immediately and pay for them when they want with Bill Me Later's flexible
financing options."
"Bill Me Later provides a great e-commerce experience for eBay buyers and sellers, and we're excited to
give our customers an easy, safe new way to pay just in time for the busiest shopping season of the year,"
said Dinesh Lathi, vice president of buyer and seller experience of eBay Marketplaces.
For merchants, Bill Me Later helps increase sales and higher average order values by giving consumers
promotional financing options and deferred payments, such as no payments for 90 days.
To use Bill Me Later directly, consumers simply select Bill Me Later as their payment choice, enter top-ofmind information including their date of birth and the last four digits of their social security number and
accept the terms. Bill Me Later uses a real-time credit model to make decisions about credit within seconds,
so consumers don't have to complete a lengthy application prior to making a purchase. PayPal customers
will be able to access their Bill Me Later statements directly from their PayPal accounts, with the option to
pay their Bill Me Later balances with PayPal.
Oct 14, 2009
Venture Capitalists Discuss the Future of Online Payments At PayPal X Innovate 2009
Conference
Developer Conference to Feature Executive Keynotes, Technical Sessions and
Exclusive API Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Oct. 14, 2009 - A panel of leading venture capitalists (VCs) will discuss breakthrough
opportunities in payments available to entrepreneurs at PayPal X Innovate 2009, PayPal's first developer
conference. Moderated by GigaOm blogger Om Malik, the panel will include Brian Ascher from Venrock,
Roger Lee from Battery Ventures, Eric O'Brien from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Dana Stalder from
Matrix Partners.
"Payments are becoming a game changing technology, with opportunities everywhere you look-and this is
not lost on the VC community," said Osama Bedier, vice president of PayPal Platform and Emerging
Technology. "Developer innovation has been stifled until now because it's so hard to make money. It's not
about technology, it's about solving fundamental challenges people face when trying to pay or get paid."
"By opening up its payments platform, PayPal is essentially giving developers the tools to easily monetize
their ideas, which has been a long-time challenge," added Dana Stalder, general partner, Matrix Partners.
"This will be of significant importance to the VC community and marks a major shift in payments as we know
it."
PayPal X Innovate 2009 will also feature keynote addresses from eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe, PayPal
President Scott Thompson and Vice President of Platform and Emerging Technology Osama Bedier.
Publisher and Web 2.0 activist Tim O'Reilly will close out the first day of the conference with the afternoon
keynote. Other speakers include innovative developers and partners who will unveil new applications based
on PayPal X, PayPal's open development platform.
The conference will feature dozens of interactive technical sessions covering everything from mobile
applications and financial innovation, to creating peer-to-peer applications in developing markets. Attendees
will get a preview of the PayPal X 2010 roadmap and have the opportunity to work directly with 200 PayPal
engineers on their ideas. Those in attendance will also receive exclusive access to PayPal's new application
programming interfaces (APIs), which will be announced at the conference. The APIs will not be available to
non-attendees until 2010.
Oct 7, 2009
eBay Teams With The Uniform Project to Launch Re+Purpose Campaign
Championing Eco-Conscious Ways to Shop, Save and Be Green
SAN JOSE, CALIF. - October 7, 2009 - The vintage dress that gives you a brand new
look. Last year's laptop that saves you money, and helps save the planet. An antique
couch that now looks great in your living room instead of in a landfill. For savvy
consumers around the world, discovering new value in existing products is becoming a
smarter, greener way to shop. The latest consumer trend didn't just arrive in stores, it's
using what we already have and can buy and sell from each other.
This fall, eBay's Green Team champions this growing consumer mindset with their sixweek "re+purpose" campaign. Re+purpose is designed to inspire people to make more
sustainable shopping choices and increase awareness that the greenest products are often
ones that already exist, whether vintage, used, or repurposed.
eBay's re+purpose campaign kicks off October 7 through a collaboration with The
Uniform Project - designer Sheena Matheiken's year-long mission to increase awareness
about sustainable fashion and raise money to support education for underprivileged kids
in her native India. Beginning October 22, eBay's re+purpose campaign moves into its
second phase via a collaboration with PopTech and MAKE Magazine to show how old
items can be transformed into creative and functional new products. And on November 4,
the eBay Green Team will launch the third and final phase of re+purpose alongside
ecofabulous.com by holding a national competition for the most creative do-it-yourself
home décor reuse project. To follow the re+purpose campaign, visit ebay.com/greenteam.
"The trend towards repurposing is something we see consumers embracing around the
world," says Amy Skoczlas Cole, Director of the eBay Green Team. "These consumers
recognize how much stuff there is in the world. They see buying used and vintage as not
only a way to shop smart, but also to help the planet by extending the useful life of things
that already exist. Useful stuff doesn't need to become useless trash. By connecting
buyers and sellers in the world's largest online marketplace, eBay helps create value for
vintage, used and refurbished products. The re+purpose campaign promotes three of the
best creative reuse efforts we see today."
The eBay Green Team - comprised of over 100,000 eBay consumers and employees from
more than 25 countries - is committed to encouraging smarter, greener shopping choices.
The community draws inspiration from some of the ways in which the eBay marketplace
is intrinsically green. Because of the green advantages of buying used combined with the
environmental benefits of eBay's business model, which leverages existing transportation
modes:
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Over the past three years, the sales of pre-owned handbags instead of new on
eBay had the same effect as planting over 2 million trees
Last year alone, the sales of used laptops on eBay instead of new saved 96,000
tons of greenhouse gas emissions
1 dress, 365 days - unlimited possibilities
The re+purpose campaign launches with a focus on fashion. In May 2009, Brooklynbased Sheena Matheiken pledged to wear the same dress for an entire year as an exercise
in sustainable fashion. Inspired by the uniforms she wore as a child in India, she called
her venture The Uniform Project, and her challenge has been to reinvent the uniform
dress every day by accessorizing it with sustainable goods-vintage, borrowed, purchased
on eBay and elsewhere. The Uniform Project has succeeded in proving that reuse is
stylish, yet Sheena's ultimate aim is to raise funds for the Akanksha Fund, a non-profit
organization that is bringing education to underprivileged children living in the slums of
India.
To help The Uniform Project achieve its mission, the eBay Green Team will engage its
100,000+ member base in the effort. At ebay.com/greenteam, members can find featured
content from The Uniform Project - including a design-your-own-look application, as
well as opportunities to win a $5,000 vintage shopping experience on eBay. From
October 7-21, for every person who joins the eBay Green Team, designs their own look,
or tells a friend, eBay will donate $1 to The Akanksha Fund in support of the cause.
Master makers at work
The second phase of the re+purpose campaign will tap into the community of "makers"people who turn existing items into functional or artistic pieces, giving them a second
life. From October 22-November 3, eBay Green Team will collaborate with PopTech, the
leading "innovation" exchange, and MAKE Magazine to celebrate some of the most
creative and innovative makers worldwide. At PopTech 2009: America Reimagined
conference in Camden, Maine (October 21-24), two "master makers" will set up shop in a
community storefront. Using old electronic and other items purchased through the eBay
marketplace, the team will create new, useful items.
Consistent with the theme of showcasing inspiration for reuse, the ebay.com/greenteam
site will have exclusive, behind-the-scenes content from the PopTech event, along with
instructions for creating unique masterpieces from reused items, inspired by the
"makers." During this phase, eBay will donate $1 for every new and returning eBay
Green Team member to RAFT - Resource Area for Teaching - an organization that
provides creative materials for teachers, a large portion of which are donated and reused
items. eBay Green Team members will once again be eligible for a $5,000 pre-owned
shopping experience on eBay.
Ecofabulousness
The third and final phase of the fall campaign drives home the fact that reuse is coolespecially the "sexy, sustainable stuff" curated by creative DIY maven Zem Joaquin,
ecofabulous.com's founder and editor-in-chief. From November 4 - 19, the eBay Green
Team will hold a Creative Reuse Competition, a national call for the best examples of
DIY projects - made from reused items - from around the country. Members and fans will
vote on their favorite, and the winner-to be juried by Zem and eBay-will be featured as a
Creative Reuse Expert for eBay, winning a $1,000 shopping experience with Zem on
eBay and gaining international exposure on the web site, not to mention possible media
opportunities. For the duration of the collaboration, ebay.com/greenteam will feature
custom content from Zem to serve as inspiration and will reward new and returning eBay
Green Team members with $1 donated on their behalf to Global Green USA, the
American affiliate of President Gorbachev's Green Cross International, a leading
environmental organization focused on fostering a global value shift to reconnect
humanity with the environment by creating healthy, affordable green homes, schools and
communities.
Oct 7, 2009
eBay Invests Big in Small Businesses
eBay awards $120,000 in cash grants to help foster and encourage online
entrepreneurship
San Jose, Calif. -- eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, today announced the four entrepreneurs
who were selected as winners of the eBay Sellers Challenge, a contest designed to spark the
entrepreneurial spirit among eBay sellers. These entrepreneurs have each been awarded $25,000 from
eBay to bring their business plans to life, and will also receive free marketing advice and support from the
company. An additional four runners up were also awarded $5,000 each to pursue their plans for starting or
growing a business on eBay.
Sponsored jointly with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the world's largest foundation devoted to
entrepreneurship, the eBay Sellers Challenge asked existing and aspiring eBay sellers to submit their best
ideas for growing their presence in the online marketplace. Following a business plan review by the
Kauffman Foundation, eBay members selected the winners across four categories which represent the
diverse base of more than 25 million eBay sellers:
First-time Sellers on eBay: Tori Nichel, a first-time eBay seller who will use the site as a way to establish an ecommerce presence for her growing Brooklyn-based fashion apparel business
Part-time Sellers on eBay: Ryan Pugh, a longtime eBay member who recently decided to make her Las Vegasbased eBay business a full-time job, selling products she believes help people to "live clean"
Full-time Sellers on eBay: Janell Anderson-Ehrke, a full-time eBay seller who helps low-income artisans and
micro-entrepreneurs in Nebraska to connect with a community of buyers on eBay
U.S. Veterans and Service Members: Thomas Costello, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
and Chicago-based eBay seller who uses eBay to take advantage of a growing market for used computer
equipment
"eBay presents a wonderful opportunity for a small business owner like me to become locally accessible to
customers throughout the world," said Tori Nichel, women's fashion designer and winner of the eBay Sellers
Challenge for a first-time seller. "As I work to bring my boutique online, this grant will go a long way in
helping me achieve my goals of growing my customer base and reaching a more diverse group of
consumers."
Runners up in each category include:
First-time Sellers on eBay: Sam Widman, Albany, Ga.
Part-time Sellers on eBay: Silas Martine and family, Lakewood, Calif.
Full-time Sellers on eBay: John Eastman, Wells, Me.
U.S. Veterans and Service Members: Jesse Carmona, Whittier, Calif.
"Entrepreneurial spirit is deeply embedded in eBay's history and culture, which is why we're so committed to
supporting emerging entrepreneurs with the tools they need to build and grow a successful business," said
Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay Marketplaces. "The passion, dedication and hard work of the
exceptional sellers who participated in the Challenge truly embody this entrepreneurial spirit. We are proud
to recognize and support their ventures, and hope their success encourages other would-be entrepreneurs
to take the steps towards starting their own businesses."
"It's encouraging to see companies like eBay work to inspire individuals from all walks of life to realize their
entrepreneurial calling," said Thom Ruhe, director of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation. "Indeed,
entrepreneurship is central to the economic welfare of the United States. We are proud to work in
partnership with organizations like eBay that share our commitment to entrepreneurship."
More information about the eBay Sellers Challenge and the winners, along with resources, tips and advice
for starting and growing a small business online can be found at the Sellers Challenge Web site at
sellerschallenge.ebay.com.
Sep 21, 2009
eBay Inc. Commits to 15% Corporate Emissions Reduction Target by 2012
Focuses on a long-term commitment to energy efficiency, investments in renewable
energy and promoting greener employee behavior through its Green Team initiative
eBay Inc., the world's leading online marketplace, today announced its first greenhouse
gas emissions reduction target through the Carbon Disclosure Project, an independent
not-for-profit organization holding the largest database of corporate climate change
information in the world. By 2012, eBay has committed to reduce its corporate
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 15% over a 2008 baseline.
The target will be achieved through an ongoing commitment to energy efficiency and
conservation, continuing investments in renewable energy and by promoting more
sustainable behavior - such as travel habits and personal energy use - among its global
workforce of 15,000 employees.
"eBay continues to demonstrate our long-term commitment to responsible energy use and
environmental leadership with our first greenhouse gas emissions reduction target," said
eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe. "As a company whose business continues to
grow year over year, we recognize that the goal is ambitious, but we're confident that it is
achievable."
In 2007, 2008 and 2009, eBay Inc. worked with leading environmental consultant ICF
International to prepare a GHG emissions inventory. While eBay reported on these
efforts qualitatively in 2007 and 2008, the company elected to disclose GHG figures
quantitatively in 2009 to the Carbon Disclosure Project, becoming one of the first
Internet companies to do so.
Energy Efficient Operations and Data Management
As an ecommerce company, eBay has a relatively small carbon footprint with a majority
of the company's environmental impact coming from the energy consumed by its data
centers. The company's approach to data management and infrastructure will be a key
efficiency driver. In 2010, eBay will unveil a new state-of-the-art green data center that
will house more than a third of its global data infrastructure. The site, which is being built
to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) Gold standards in South Jordan, Utah, will deliver state-of-the-art efficiencies in
cooling and power management, as well as in IT infrastructure and software.
eBay also operates on a two-year tech refresh system that allows the company to process
more transactions per watt. While this system drives energy efficiency in its operations, it
comes with environmental collateral damage in the form of e-waste. To address this,
eBay has undertaken new initiatives in the past year to actively repurpose and extend the
useful life of hardware.
An example of the company's commitment to reuse can be found in its recent donation of
old servers to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The server donation initiative not
only puts old eBay servers to work in Notre Dame's research labs to power AIDS and
cancer research, but leverages the heat generated from those servers to warm a
greenhouse that sits adjacent to the laboratory.
Investments in Renewable Energy
eBay continues to support the use of renewable energy to green its operations. The
company opened a 197,000 square foot office building in San Jose last year, which
features a 650 kW solar installation and has also been LEED Gold certified - with
dimming systems and the use of recycled materials throughout. Following that, eBay is
installing a new 100kW solar installation at the company's offices in Denver, Colorado. A
fuel cell strategy is also under way - to be announced in early 2010.
eBay Green Team - Driving Greener Behavior
A final key component of eBay's carbon reduction strategy comes from encouraging
more sustainable behavior among its global workforce of more than 15,000 employees.
These actions are largely driven by the company's Green Team - a group of more than
2,000 employees in 23 countries who are committed to making eBay a greener company.
The Green Team, incubated in a company with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and an
ethos of individual empowerment, has taken on projects of all sizes, all over the world.
Some of these projects include:
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Under the leadership of employee Kasey Hesse, PayPal's Omaha Green Team
started a community garden project in the Spring of 2009 - one of the first
community gardens of its kind. PayPal's La Vista campus offers 20 10' x 10'
garden plots for PayPal employees to grow fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers.
Led by CS Product Manager June Rouine, the Dublin Green Team is eBay's
largest in Europe, with nearly 100 members. In 2009, the team engaged in a
variety of initiatives to inspire employees and green the office environment, like
participating in local organic markets and National Cycle to Work week.
At eBay headquarters this summer, the San Jose Green Team co-hosted an
electronics recycling drive to benefit the Blind Center of Nevada, a nonprofit and
eBay PowerSeller that refurbishes and resells donated items on eBay to provide
meaningful employment to blind and visually impaired individuals. Hundreds of
employees participated, donating more than 8,200 pounds of personal electronic
equipment-keeping nearly four tons of dangerous materials out of landfills.
Sep 2, 2009
eBay Teams with Community of 88 Million Users to Create Positive Social Change
First-Ever eBay Initiative Highlights the Power of the Individual to Make a Difference on
eBay – and Rewards Them for Participating!
SAN JOSE, CALIF. – September 2, 2009 – eBay, the world’s leading online
marketplace, today announced the launch of the eBay Give. Good. Green. campaign,
social-media focused initiative designed to inspire their community of 88 million buyers
and sellers – and any individual that is inspired to join – to make a difference through a
variety of activities on eBay.
Rooted in eBay’s belief in the power of the individual to make a difference, the
campaign is the first of its kind to link all of five of the company’s pro-social initiatives –
eBay Foundation, eBay Giving Works, MicroPlace, WorldofGood.com by eBay, and the
eBay Green Team – together to create collective, lasting, and scalable social good.
“eBay Inc. was founded on the belief that people are basically good,” says Robert
Chatwani, Head of eBay Global Citizenship. “Over the years, we experimented with a
variety of ways to empower our users to not only be good – but do good when they use
our products and services. Today, we have a strong portfolio of five powerful programs,
each unique in their social mission and purpose, but bound by a common trust in the
power of every individual to make a difference. It’s our hope that the Give. Good. Green.
campaign sheds some light on how eBay and our community can promote more
sustainable commerce.”
How it Works
Anyone interested in participating can do so via the campaign website at
www.ebaygivegoodgreen.com. From there, individuals are given a menu of ways to take
action on eBay – from investing on MicroPlace, to joining the eBay Green Team, to
buying on WorldofGood.com – each of which is rewarded with an entry into a
sweepstakes to win one of a whole list of amazing prizes: including an exclusive $20,000
Tazzari ZERO electric car!
Additionally, for every person who uploads their photo to the Give. Good. Green.
community page, eBay Foundation will donate a dollar to one of three charities (Oxfam
America, HandsOn Network, and the Environmental Defense Fund), showcasing how
eBay continues to partner with its community to make a difference in the world.
The eBay Global Citizenship Initiatives
eBay Foundation contributes to the economic and social well-being of local communities
by engaging our employees and everyone through charitable giving and volunteerism.
eBay Giving Works offers consumers many convenient and trusted ways to give to more
than 19,000 nonprofits while they buy or sell on eBay.
WorldofGood.com connects consumers with ethically sourced and eco-friendly goods.
Independent organizations called Trust Providers verify the positive impact of every
product on people and our planet.
MicroPlace enables individuals to extend their budget to make a difference in the fight
against poverty by making investments that fund loans to the world’s working poor.
eBay Green Team connects thousands of eBay buyers and sellers, who are committed to
helping the world buy, sell, and think green every day. The Green Team is reducing,
reusing, and recycling to make a big difference for the planet.
Fast Facts
 More than $2,000 worth of goods are traded every second on eBay
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Every 18 seconds, someone makes a difference on eBay
Since inception, eBay Foundation has invested more than $19 million in nonprofit
organizations
The eBay community has raised more than $165 million for charity to date
WorldofGood.com by eBay empowers impoverished artisans in over 85 countries
around the world
More than 30,000 microloans have been funded by investments through
MicroPlace since its inception
In the last three years, buying pre-owned handbags on eBay had the same effect
as planting more than two million trees
Sep 1, 2009
Skype
eBay Inc. Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell Skype in Deal Valuing Communications
Business at $2.75 Billion
eBay to Receive Approximately $1.9 Billion in Cash; Retain Approximately 35 Percent Stake
SAN JOSE, California, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) today announced it has signed a definitive
agreement to sell its Skype communications unit in a deal valuing the business at $2.75 billion.
The buyer, who will control an approximately 65 percent stake, is an investor group led by Silver
Lake and includes Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
Investment Board. eBay is expected to receive approximately $1.9 billion in cash upon the
completion of the sale and a note from the buyer in the principal amount of $125 million. The
company will retain an approximately 35 percent equity investment in Skype. The transaction,
which is not subject to a financing condition, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.
"This is a great deal, unlocking both immediate and long-term value for eBay and tremendous
potential for Skype," said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe. "We've acted decisively
on a deal that delivers a high valuation, gives us significant cash up-front and lets us retain a
meaningful minority stake with talented partners. Skype is a strong standalone business, but it
does not have synergies with our e-commerce and online payments businesses. As a separate
company, we believe that Skype will have the focus required to compete effectively in online
voice and video communications and accelerate its growth momentum."
Commenting on the deal, Egon Durban, managing director at Silver Lake, said: "Skype is an
innovative, next-generation company that has changed how people and businesses communicate
with each other. This transaction benefits all parties involved and will allow Skype the
opportunity to accelerate the growth of its business by harnessing the deep technological and
company development expertise that resides within the investor group. Josh Silverman has done a
strong job leading the company and we look forward to working with Josh and his team to grow
the Skype franchise."
In April 2009, eBay announced plans to separate Skype from the company, beginning with an
IPO in 2010. The decision followed a year-long review of Skype within eBay's portfolio. As it
prepared for an IPO, the company said it would naturally consider bids for Skype that offered an
attractive valuation. Donahoe said the deal offered by the investor group achieved that.
"This deal achieves our goal of delivering short- and long-term value to eBay and its
stockholders, without the possible delays and market risk of an IPO," Donahoe said. "Selling
Skype now at this great valuation, while retaining an equity stake, makes sense for the company.
And it allows us to focus all of our energies on the opportunities in front of PayPal and eBay."
Acquired by eBay in 2005, Skype has strengthened considerably since early 2008 when Donahoe
was named eBay's CEO and tapped company executive Josh Silverman to lead Skype. Silverman
has driven strong momentum while building a new management team and delivering a series of
Skype innovations such as software upgrades with dramatically improved video and calling
quality, the widely popular Skype iPhone app and mobile partnerships with companies such as
Nokia and Hutchison. In 2008, Skype generated revenues of $551 million, a 44 percent increase
compared to 2007. Total eBay Inc. revenues for 2008 were $8.5 billion. Registered Skype users
reached 405 million by the end of 2008, a 47 percent increase from 2007. Skype is attracting
hundreds of thousands of new users each week.
About eBay Inc.
Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects hundreds of millions of people around
the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay
does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce, payments and
communications. Since its inception, eBay has expanded to include some of the strongest brands
in the world, including eBay, PayPal, Skype, StubHub, Shopping.com, and others. eBay is
headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit www.ebay.com.
About Skype
Skype is software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses
use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other
Skype users. Every day, people everywhere also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines
and mobiles.
About Silver Lake
Silver Lake is the leading investment firm focused on large scale investments in technology,
technology-enabled, and related growth industries. Silver Lake's mission is to function as a valueadded partner to the management teams of the world's leading technology franchises. Its portfolio
includes or has included technology industry leaders such as Ameritrade, Avago, Business
Objects, Gartner, Instinet, Intelsat, NASDAQ, Sabre / Travelocity, Seagate Technology, SunGard
Data Systems and UGS. For more information, please visit www.silverlake.com.
About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a leading European venture capital firm active in technology, biotech and clean
tech venture investing since 1996. The firm is dedicated to helping top entrepreneurial teams in
the Information Technology and Life Science sectors build their companies into market defining
global leaders. The firm has offices in Geneva, London and Jersey and focuses on investments
from seed through growth stage companies. Index's portfolio includes Lehigh Technologies Inc.,
Playfish and Weatherbill and exits of note include MySQL (the world's most popular open source
database recently acquired by Sun), Last.fm (the world's largest social music platform, recently
acquired by CBS) and BioXell (BIOX, floated on the SWX in 2007). Index Ventures was one of
the original venture capital backers and owners of Skype. For more information, please visit
www.indexventures.com.
About Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz was established in June 2009 by entrepreneurs and engineers Marc
Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, based on their vision for a new, modern VC firm designed to
support today's entrepreneurs. Andreessen and Horowitz have a track record of investing in,
building and scaling highly successful businesses. Andreessen Horowitz is based on Sand Hill
Road in Menlo Park, California. Mr. Andreessen is a member of eBay's board of directors.
About Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board
The CPP Investment Board is a professional investment management organization that invests the
funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million
Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets,
the CPP Investment Board invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked
bonds, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in
London and Hong Kong, the CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of
the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At June 30, 2009, the CPP Fund
totaled $116.6 billion. For more information about the CPP Investment Board, please visit
www.cppib.ca.
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to eBay's future performance
that are based on its current expectations, forecasts and assumptions. Those statements involve
risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed. Factors that
could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the receipt and timing
of regulatory approval for the transaction; the possibility that the transaction may not close; the
reaction of Skype's users and commercial partners to the transaction; the reaction of competitors
to the transaction; the anticipated continuation of Skype's growth; and the potential longer-term
value of Skype.
More information about factors that could affect eBay's operating results can be found in the
company's most recent annual report on its Form 10-K and its subsequent quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q (available at http://investor.ebay.com). All forward-looking statements are based on
information available to eBay on the date hereof, and eBay assumes no obligation to update such
statements.
Aug 17, 2009
eBay / Marketplaces
eBay Sellers Access 3rd-Party Applications within My eBay for the First Time Selling
Manager Applications Now Available to help eBay Sellers Improve Efficiency, Grow
their Business, Streamline Operation
San Jose, Calif.—August 17, 2009— eBay today made it easy for sellers to find and
subscribe to third-party applications that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their
eBay businesses. Available immediately through My eBay (my.ebay.com) for subscribers
of Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro are about a dozen applications that have
been pre-approved by eBay to be embedded on eBay.com. eBay anticipates steady
growth in the number of tools available through the Selling Manager Applications
platform to address specific needs of eBay sellers including: shipping, inventory
management, sales tracking and customer support.
All Selling Manager applications are free to try. An app store for eBay sellers, third-party
applications are subscribed to at My eBay (my.ebay.com) with eBay managing billing on
behalf of third-party developers. In April, eBay announced that it would no longer charge
sellers to subscribe to Selling Manager, turning it into an open platform where third-party
developers could embed their applications into my.ebay.com, allowing them to connect
with sellers directly.
More than 96,000 third-party developers have already built more than 13,000 live
applications that consume eBay's Web services. These developers – along with new
applicants – form the base of a vibrant developer community and expanding application
marketplace.
Today's announcement is also the latest milestone in eBay's commitment to making it
easier for sellers of any size to start, grow and maintain their business on eBay. In July,
eBay rolled out enhancements for search relevancy, the automation and speed of the
resolution process for unpaid items, new bulk editing tools, and an update to its highly
regarded Seller Dashboard. These changes were part of the launch of the company's Toprated seller status, which is awarded to sellers that are ranked highly by their buyers
through eBay's detailed seller-ratings feedback system.
Sellers can access the applications directory for Selling Manager and Selling Manager
Pro by simply pointing their Web browsers to http://applications.ebay.com/. eBay's
Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro currently have 270,000 active subscribers in
the U.S. and the tools can be accessed at http://pages.ebay.com/selling_manager and
http://pages.ebay.com/selling_manager_pro.
Quotes
Dinesh Lathi, VP of eBay Seller Experience
"eBay's Selling Manager Applications Platform is an app store for eBay sellers that
makes it easy to find and subscribe to tools that can help our customers increase the
efficiency and velocity of their businesses on eBay."
Kumar Kandaswamy, Senior Manager, eBay Platform
"eBay's API platform already attracts 96,000 developers who have built more than 13,000
live applications. Selling Manager Applications addresses the need of developers to more
readily connect eBay sellers who are seeking useful tools for their eBay businesses.
Under the eBay Selling Manager Applications revenue sharing agreement, applications
that pass eBay's rigorous approval process will be put in front of an active audience of
more than 270,000 professional eBay sellers. By managing the billing on behalf of
developers, we are simplifying the process for both eBay sellers and third-party
developers."
Andrew E.R. Sukow, Co-Founder, CTO, Terapeak
"The ability to embed our application inside My eBay gives us an opportunity to both
reach sellers in an entirely new, more personalized way and also capture revenue streams.
We'll also get a much better sense of the needs of sellers as we think about creating new
applications."
Video Overview
A video overview of the eBay Selling Manager Applications platform:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20090401005446/en/1778299
June 16, 2009
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ebay/754927507x0x301361/5b0d2ba4-38da-4aab-80af1f172a148db5/EBAY_News_2009_6_16_General.pdf
eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, today launched its five free insertion fees pricing for
sellers. The new money-saving offering allows consumers to receive free insertion fees on five
auction-style listings every 30 days."eBay is the fastest and safest way to showcase your items to
millions of potential shoppers worldwide with just a few clicks," said Lorrie Norrington,
president of eBay Marketplaces."By eliminating the upfront costs of selling on eBay, we hope
this new structure will encourage all sellers - new, occasional or experienced - to use the offering
as a cost-effective way to sell on our site and earn a little extra cash."
eBay provides selling tips for users to familiarize themselves with the process, from suggesting
how to price an item to recommending free shipping. Now, with five free listings, sellers have an
opportunity to "get their feet wet" or try new selling techniques. For further information, visit
http://www.ebay.com/List5Free. Millions of consumers from coast to coast use eBay everyday to
sell new and used products, from top tech toys to the latest fashions. Since its inception, eBay has
been dedicated to providing the tools and know-how to help improve the selling process and make
selling most effective. The company's online Sellers Resource offers everything from easy-to-follow
how-to guides for
first-time sellers to expert advice for at-home businesses. For more information about the new pricing
structure, please visit http://www.ebay.com/List5Free.
hi5
October 14, 2009
hi5 Launches New Social Entertainment User Interface Featuring hi5 Stars™ 3D Avatars
New 3D engine serves as the basis for new revenue streams and a more game-like user
experience San Francisco, CA; October 14, 2009 — Global social entertainment site, hi5,
today unveiled an entirely re-designed user interface, focused on games, virtual goods,
direct user payments and high-fidelity interactivity. Featuring a streamlined, high-energy
look, the new hi5 is the first major social site to introduce animated, 3-dimensional
avatars, called hi5 Stars™, on every user's profile page - providing a compelling medium
for interactivity and self-expression.
The new hi5.com is available in public beta at http://new.hi5.com and begins going live
globally to hi5's millions of users worldwide this week. Highlights of the new hi5 user
experience include:
 Re-designed, high-fidelity user profile page, featuring hi5 Stars 3D avatars
 hi5 Stars designer tool for customizing avatars as a fun, supplemental
representation of users on the site
 Simplified top-level navigation, highlighting the hi5 Games channel and hi5
Coins virtual currency, with mouse-over secondary navigation to other popular
pages
 New corporate identity, emphasizing hi5's social entertainment value proposition
around gaming, friends, and fun.
"hi5 Stars provide a new level of self-expression and interactivity to the hi5 user
experience," said Andrew Sheppard, executive producer, hi5. "We designed our avatars
to be an integral part of the hi5 user's online experience and a natural extension of their
real-world persona - complete with moods, motions, and status updates. Stars serve as the
basis for extending game-like mechanics into the online social experience."
With the launch of Stars, hi5 is pioneering a new level of fidelity for social sites. The
customizable, fully-animated characters are powered by a breakthrough 3D rendering
engine, developed by hi5. This framework is built on top of the Adobe® Flash® Player
from Adobe Systems, which enables engaging, interactive animations directly in a web
browser with no additional download or plug-in required. hi5's 3D engine will form the
basis for future development of even more immersive animated features on the site.
"hi5 Stars are a compelling example of an interactive, 3D user experience that is
delivered entirely within a standard Web browser running Adobe Flash Player 10, with
no additional download," said Tom Barclay, senior product marketing manager for Flash
Player at Adobe. "The 3D engine hi5 has built to run on Flash Player is a great example
of the type of next-generation, immersive online experiences that the Adobe Flash
Platform enables across the Web."
In addition to forming a foundation for a more interactive and immersive user experience,
hi5 Stars represent a new monetization opportunity for hi5. In Q4, hi5 will extend the
current virtual goods store on the site to include premium merchandise for hi5 Stars.
Payments will be made using hi5 Coins, the site-wide virtual currency. Avatar
merchandise also presents a new promotional opportunity for hi5's advertising partners.
"Our new user experience featuring hi5 Stars further delivers on our distinct social
entertainment value proposition," said Bill Gossman, CEO, hi5. "In addition to games
and virtual gifts, avatars are a third key pillar in our strategy of driving revenue from
direct user payments. Micro-transactions using our virtual currency, hi5 Coins, already
account for over 15 percent of our overall revenue, and we expect premium items for hi5
Stars to further spur that growth."
The new hi5.com site has been in private beta since August. Adoption and enthusiasm
around the look of the new site, and hi5 Stars in particularly, has been significant during
the beta program. Average page views per session in the new version is nearly double
previous levels, and average minutes per session has also increased. The new site began
deploying worldwide this week.
August 6, 2009
OLX Adds hi5 to its International Social Networking Partners
OLX, one of the largest classifieds sites in the world, is joining forces with hi5, a fellow
global powerhouse. Already providing services to many social networks such as
Friendster, MySpace Latin America, Fotolog and Sonico, OLX's new partnership with
hi5 has immense potential to benefit both companies by providing additional exposure to
the international audiences that each targets. The partnership makes the 70 million unique
visitors each month across 90 countries on OLX available to hi5's global user base of
over 60 million monthly unique visitors worldwide. Joining forces, OLX and hi5 aim to
strengthen their hold on the Latin American market, and accelerate their growth in the
rest of the world.
"Like OLX, hi5 has a strong and growing global presence. We're excited about this new
partnership because it will bring some great new features to loyal users of each site. It
provides more social promotion features to OLX users and it provides a new classifieds
platform for hi5 users." says Fabrice Grinda, Co-CEO of OLX. "We expect it to also
attract new users, who will find a better social networking and online classifieds
experience than they can get anywhere else."
hi5 will now have OLX features that include the ability to display ads on a user's profile
page and to see hi5 friends' ads, as well as a feature to tell friends about your own ads.
OLX also allows users to include videos and pictures in listings, comment on listings,
post/view listings in over 39 languages and 90 countries, and access the site from a
mobile phone-making it an ideal fit for hi5's global user base.
"Classified listings are a valuable service for our users, and a promising incremental
revenue stream for our business," said Peter Foster, Chief Advertising Officer at hi5.
"OLX's global prominence, broad language support, and localized listings made them a
logical choice to serve our diverse global audience."
OLX is the largest 100% free classifieds site in the world with over 70 million unique
visitors each month and provides a simple solution to the complications involved in
selling, buying, trading, discussing, organizing, and meeting people across the globe. hi5
is one of the largest web sites in the world, with over 60 million monthly unique visitors
from over 200 countries. Both companies are at the top of the Spanish-language markets,
are internationally-known, and expect their deal to increase their presence both in the
United States and around the world.
About OLX
OLX is an internet company based in New York, NY and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The
OLX website hosts free user-generated classified advertisements for urban communities
around the world and provides discussion forums sorted by various topics. . The company
was co-founded in March 2006 by Internet entrepreneurs Fabrice Grinda and Alec
Oxenford. Fabrice previously founded Zingy, a mobile ringtones company that sold to
For-Side for $80 million in May 2004. Alec previously founded DeRemate, a leading
online auction website in Latin America. DeRemate sold to MercadoLibre.com, an eBay
affiliate, in November 2005. Alec is also a member of the World Economic Forum's List
of Young Global Leaders. As of January 2009, OLX is available in 90 countries and 39
languages. For more information and to explore the site, visit: www.olx.com
July 14, 2009
hi5 Expands its Social Entertainment Offering with Downloadable Games from
RealNetworks
Distribution of 1,500 Titles Creates New Revenue Stream for Both Companies
hi5, the leading social entertainment web site, expanded its successful online games
offering today with the launch of an extensive downloadable games portal, powered by
RealNetworks®, Inc. Distributing over 1,500 RealGames titles, the deal creates a new
revenue stream for hi5 while expanding Real's global distribution reach.
hi5 users can download popular games from among nearly 20 different gaming genres.
The catalog includes popular titles from leading publishers, ranging from classic casual
games to core gaming hits. Prices are determined by the game publisher and range from
free trial versions of select games to more than $50.00 per title. hi5's downloadable
games store is live today on www.hi5.com.
"Adding downloadable games expands our overall value proposition to gamers and
presents a promising new revenue stream for our social entertainment business," said
Ramu Yalamanchi, founder and chief product officer of hi5. "This partnership allows us
to address a broader range of entertainment interests for our millions of active users, from
casual gamers to core gamers, with many of the top PC game titles."
Initially launched in February 2009, hi5 Games has rapidly become one of the most
popular areas of the hi5 site - driving over 3 million game plays per day. In just five
months, hi5 Games has grown to nearly 5 million monthly unique visitors, which, if it
were a stand-alone site, would already place it among the top 50 online gaming sites.
The entry of hi5 into the downloadable games category complements the company's
existing online gaming channel, hi5 Games, located at http://games.hi5.com. The
popularity of these gaming categories - online games and downloadable games - have
been largely responsible for the resurgence of the PC as the leading platform for games,
ahead of all three major game consoles combined. According to gaming analyst firm
DFC Intelligence, PC online game revenue, not including retail sale, is projected to grow
from $7 billion in 2007 to $19 billion by 2013.
Tencent
August 28, 2009
China's First Postdoctoral Research Base for Internet Intellectual
Property Lands in Tencent
On August 28 2009, Tencent and Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law, a wellknown institution of higher education for intellectual property teaching and research in
China jointly announced that they would set up the 'Intellectual Property Postdoctoral
Research Base of Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law' and the 'Innovation Base
for Postgraduate Students of the School of Intellectual Property of Zhongnan University
Of Economics & Law' at Tencent to conduct research on Internet intellectual property
protection in China. It is also the first postdoctoral research base for Internet intellectual
property in China.
The Intellectual Property Research Center of Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law
is one of the earliest institutions engaged in intellectual property teaching and research in
China. Undertaking comprehensive academic research, exchanges and talent training
since its founding, the Center has provided the government with policy research and
consultancy services concerning intellectual property protection and trained a large
number of intellectual property professionals.
In the future, Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law will dispatch outstanding
postdoctoral researchers to Tencent each year to conduct research in the fields of Internet
law, media law and intellectual property law. In 2009, the two sides will focus on the four
major topics of online intangible property, use and protection of personal information on
the Internet, new trends of software protection in the Internet era and new digital media
and copyright permit. In addition to providing necessary funding support for relevant
research, Tencent will offer researchers with assistance in social practice through its rich
and comprehensive product lines in the Internet field.
Chen Yidan, one of Tencent Group's founders and Chief Administration Officer (CAO)
said that Tencent has long been taking core competency building through independent
intellectual property innovations as its strategic direction, and established a compound
intellectual property protection system that covers domain names, copyright, trademarks
and patents. Currently, Tencent has made more than 2,000 patent applications with over
400 already granted, enabling it one of the enterprises with the biggest number of Internet
patents in the world. In addition, it has obtained more than 500 trademarks. Its QQ
Trademark has been certified by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as
a well-known trademark. The Internet is both a virtual and a real space where technology
progress is integrated into, runs into conflict with and adapts to the social, cultural and
ecology environment. Profoundly innovating the way of social production and life, the
Internet, as a fertile ground for intellectual property education and research, has brought a
wide range of new thoughts and topics.
Professor Wu Handong, President of Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law said
that the joint postdoctoral research base which his university has co-founded with
Tencent embodies a new thinking for cooperation of universities, industries and research
institutions. He noted that this pioneering move is good for helping the whole society to
pay more attention to the intellectual property protection and will greatly push forward
the maturity and improvement of relevant legislations in China.
MySpace
July 13, 2009
MySpace and Fox International Channels (FIC) Announce Multi-Territory Advertising
Partnership
LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2009 - MySpace and Fox International Channels (FIC) today
announced a multi-territory partnership under which FIC will manage local advertising,
marketing, and promotion across a number of territories. MySpace advertising and local
sites in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Poland, Mexico, and Turkey will remain active
through the partnership.
“The new partnership with FIC allows MySpace to reduce operational costs and better
leverage our local knowledge and relationships,” said Owen Van Natta, Chief Executive
Officer of MySpace. “This initiative, which is the first result of our international
operational review, will allow MySpace to continue serving the needs of our users,
partners and advertisers across some of our fastest growing territories.”
Starting today, FIC - which operates 170 linear and non-linear television services, their
respective websites and an international online advertising business – will manage
marketing and advertising sales for MySpace in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Poland,
Mexico, and Turkey, effectively expanding the local reach of MySpace with advertisers
in these territories.
“We’re delighted to work with MySpace’s international operations across Europe and
Latin America. We look forward to jointly leveraging our Internet and advertising
expertise to create meaningful experiences for MySpace’s international audience and its
many global advertisers and affiliates,” said Hernan Lopez, Chief Operating Officer, FIC
August 19, 2009
MySpace To Acquire iLike
LOS ANGELES, August 19, 2009 - MySpace today announced an agreement to acquire
iLike, a leading social music discovery service. The acquisition brings together two
companies who share a common vision revolving around social discovery and
distribution of quality content.
“The iLike acquisition advances our relentless pursuit of innovation and the need to
create new distributed social experiences in music and beyond,” said Owen Van Natta,
Chief Executive Officer of MySpace. “We are deeply committed to bringing world class
talent into all areas of the company and this acquisition demonstrates our focus on this
objective.”
Brothers Ali and Hadi Partovi founded iLike in 2006, and in just two years made it the
largest music application across all social networks with 55 million total users and 1.5
billion monthly impressions. The entire iLike team will stay intact including, CEO Ali
Partovi, President Hadi Partovi and CTO Nat Brown. All three are seasoned
entrepreneurs who’ve held executive positions at both start-ups and Fortune 100
companies. Prior to iLike, Ali Partovi founded and sold LinkExchange to Microsoft and
Hadi Partovi independently co-founded and sold TellMe Networks, also to Microsoft.
Hadi Partovi also incubated Start.com (now Live.com). Brown has a deep and respected
history as an early architect at Microsoft, and he was involved in the creation the first
Xbox, .NET/CLR, and ActiveX/COM/OLE.
“MySpace’s strengths have been a long-time source of inspiration for iLike,” said Hadi
Partovi, President of iLike. “Combining MySpace’s existing platform, reach and
resources with iLike’s syndication network and social discovery tools creates the
potential for truly exciting innovation and commerce across any vertical entertainment
category -- our combined assets now span all the major social networks. I'm enthusiastic
about what this combination will mean for our users, artists, advertisers, and our
staff. We are beginning an exciting new journey together.”
iLike users and the artist community should expect the iLike experience to be unaffected
by the acquisition. iLike will remain headquartered in Seattle.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not released.
October 1, 2009
MySpace today announced the official launch of the new MySpace Music platform in
Australia. As the first territory in a global rollout, MySpace Music brings to Australia all
of the functionality currently available to United States based users including an evergrowing catalogue of fully licensed audio tracks, user-friendly e-commerce solutions,
personal music players and user and artist playlisting, in addition to monetisation
opportunities for all artists.
MySpace Music is a joint venture among MySpace, EMI Music, Sony Music, Universal
Music Group and Warner Music Group, MySpace Music not only offers users in
Australia access to content from the four major music labels, but also access to The
Orchard and IODA catalogues as well: two of the largest independent digital music
aggregators.
MySpace Music also offers users in Australia the opportunity to purchase and download
single songs and full albums on iTunes. Additional products and functionality include:
 MySpace Music Product Overview
 Free and unlimited ad-supported, full-length audio streaming of single songs and
albums
 Free and unlimited ability to create and share playlists with easy addition of tracks
to playlists via drag-and-drop functionality
 Access to MySpace Music’s vast catalogue of content from EMI Music, Sony
Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, The Orchard and IODA
artists and more
 The ability to purchase and download music on iTunes
 The My Music personal music management toolset allows users to create and
edit their playlists, discover what their friends, favourite bands and celebrities are
listening to, as well as browse and search for songs
The Artist Activity Feed in the pop-up player provides users with constant updates from
their favorite artists, including new songs added to player, blog entries, recent uploaded
photos and updates to their playlists
Ringtones powered by Fox Mobile
MySpace Music launches today with featured playlists from high profile Aussies
including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Missy Higgins, The Veronicas, The Leader of the
Opposition Malcolm Turnbull, Environment Minister Peter Garrett Deputy Leader of the
Opposition Julie Bishop and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey.
“The nature of music consumption globally has changed, and MySpace Music is
delighted to be part of that evolution,” said Rebekah Horne, MySpace’s Managing
Director and SVP of International. “MySpace pioneered an open and social model which
encourages the discovery of artists and music, and enables distribution of music and
content worldwide. We’re excited to bring this experience to our Australian users whilst
offering millions of artists on MySpace an unparalleled opportunity to connect and stay
in touch with music fans.”
An ad-supported platform, MySpace Music will launch with a range of unique programs
from inaugural Australian sponsors Toyota and KFC. Toyota’s sponsorship includes a
MySpace branded community The Pulse [www.myspace.com/thepulse] presented by
Toyota Yaris. A destination for music enthusiasts, The Pulse will showcase two celebrity
playlists each month and will also give Australian MySpace users the opportunity to win
a range of exclusive prizes, including two tickets to the ARIA Awards and After Party in
Sydney as well as a brand new Toyota Yaris.]
As KFC’s first ever online sponsorship venture, MySpace will create a new branded
community called MySpace Music Real Bitz presented by KFC Krushers
[www.myspace.com/realbitz]. The MySpace Music Real Bitz brand community will act
as a hub for premium video content and will showcase short interviews with artists
backstage at major music festivals across the nation.
Since officially launching in the United States in September 2008, MySpace Music has
seen 1,017% growth in annual page traffic (according to Neilsen). This increase translates
to a substantial user growth from 4.2 million unique visitors at launch to 20 million
unique visitors in September 2009 (according to comScore).
Kiwi music fans will also have immediate to access MySpace Music, with the product
also launching in New Zealand today.
MySpace Music hosts more than 5 million major, indie, and unsigned artist profiles,
providing a vast artist-powered collection of songs, music videos, tour dates, blogs, and
photos. MySpace’s deep, long-standing ties to the music community, has delivered
numerous exclusive releases from some of the most popular and respected musicians in
the world. The company’s new music product and marketing initiatives will greatly
enhance the existing MySpace Music offline concert franchises including Secret Shows.
October 21, 2009
LOS ANGELES (BUSINESS WIRE), October 21, 2009 - MySpace today announced the next
phase of the company’s music offering with a wave of new products and tools now available to
artists and fans. Today MySpace begins the global rollout of a new comprehensive MySpace
Music Video experience, the MySpace Artist Dashboard - a free data and analytics tool for artists
globally - and the ability for users to purchase music on iTunes.
“Artist Dashboard and Music Videos are an important step forward in our mission to define the
future of how content is socialized on the Web,” said Owen Van Natta, CEO of MySpace. “We’ll
continue to build publishing tools, social tools and bring more content onto the MySpace platform
to help us achieve our goal of being an important content distribution platform.”
“People want to experience content with others and the experience we’ve created in MySpace
Music will be our spring board for how we socialize content site-wide.”
The launch of MySpace Music Videos offers fans one of the most comprehensive online
collections of music videos available anywhere. MySpace’s Music Video catalogue includes fully
licensed music video content from all of the company’s major and independent label partners.
Product functionality of MySpace Music Videos includes:
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New Music Video hub within MySpace Music
Music Video recommendations based on what your friends are watching
Browse via A-Z Video search for easy consumption, discovery, and sharing
New Video player with dynamically targeted “Buy” buttons provided as part of
Auditude’s video ad management platform
Entire artist Music Video catalogues available in artist music players (alongside
“Albums” tab)
iLike now features MySpace’s Music Video catalogue within all partner websites
Also today, MySpace Music introduced the MySpace Artist Dashboard in beta - a free,
comprehensive data dashboard for all artists and labels globally which unlocks detailed analytics
about their content within the MySpace community. Every global artist with a MySpace profile
will have free access to the Artist Dashboard starting today.
Product functionality of the new MySpace Artist Dashboard includes:
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Unlimited access to charts, graphs, and snapshots of MySpace Music data for all
global artists
Data includes fan geography, song plays, profile views, friend count, and profile
visitors
Trending data available for 7 day and 30 day glances
iLike integration into MySpace Artist Dashboard provides top-level data from iLike’s
partner networks
Artist Dashboard is available in 17 languages in over 20 territories
“We had the chance to look under the hood of the new artist dashboard prior to launch and we’re
very excited about this and other exciting changes at MySpace and MySpace Music. Creative
marketing tools like these are valuable to bands at every level – from Pearl Jam-sized to the DIY
indie artist looking to grow their followers on the web,” said Tim Bierman, Manager of Pearl Jam
Ten Club.
Additionally, MySpace Music users can now purchase and download music on iTunes in addition
to Amazon MP3, and MP3 ringtones via Jamster.
“Whether you're a small town garage band, an emerging indie, or a well-established act, our
ultimate goal is to provide the right mix of tools and real time data to help you gain a deep
understanding of who your fans are and how best to reach them,” said Courtney Holt, President of
MySpace Music. “We're committed to providing the most comprehensive ecosystem of services
for artists in an effort to deepen their connection with the most important influencers – their
fans.”
Facebook
May 26, 2009
Facebook Receives Investment from Digital Sky Technologies
Facebook today announced that Digital Sky Technologies (DST), one of the leading
internet investment groups globally with significant stakes in Eastern European and
Russian internet businesses, has made a $200 million investment in Facebook in
exchange for preferred stock, representing a 1.96 percent equity stake at a $10 billion
valuation.
In addition, DST has indicated that it is planning to offer to purchase at least $100 million
of Facebook common stock from existing common stockholders that would facilitate
liquidity for current and former employees’ vested shares in the company. The details of
the plan are expected to be announced to eligible participants during the summer.
Consistent with Facebook’s practice with other recent investors, DST will not be
represented on the Facebook board or hold special observer rights.
“This investment demonstrates Facebook’s ongoing success at creating a global network
for people to share and connect,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “We’ve worked
hard to bring more than 200 million people – 70 percent outside of the U.S. – onto
Facebook to share with friends, family and co-workers. A number of firms approached
us, but DST stood out because of the global perspective they bring – backed up by the
impressive growth and financial achievements of their internet investments. We’re
looking forward to working with the DST team.”
“Our investment experience in other regions reveals the tremendous value social
networking companies create as they redefine how people communicate and interact,”
said Yuri Milner, chief executive of DST. “By every important metric – user growth and
engagement, technological innovation and financial performance – Facebook is on a
similar trajectory, though on a much more global scale. We’re delighted to invest in
Facebook, Mark and his management team as they make the world more open and
connected.”
Based in London and Moscow, DST is a well-respected investor in a number of
successful internet companies, holding significant interests in Russia and Eastern Europe,
such as Mail.ru, Forticom and vKontakte. DST’s main assets account for over 70 percent
of all page views in the Russian-speaking internet and its social networks are the market
leaders in more than 13 countries, addressing a combined population of more than 350
million.
DST is run by its three partners who have complementary backgrounds in operations,
investments and finance: Yuri Milner, previously CEO of Mail.ru, the #1 Russian
language website; Gregory Finger, previously head of the Moscow office of NCH, a
multi-billion dollar hedge fund; and Alexander Tamas, previously co-head of internet and
software coverage in EMEA for the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs.
With its advanced understanding of opportunities in technology and social media, DST is
a good fit for Facebook and an insightful partner that can help unlock additional growth
opportunities.
August 10, 2009
Facebook Agrees to Acquire Sharing Service FriendFeed
Facebook today announced that it has agreed to acquire FriendFeed, the innovative
service for sharing online. As part of the agreement, all FriendFeed employees will join
Facebook and FriendFeed’s four founders will hold senior roles on Facebook’s
engineering and product teams.
“Facebook and FriendFeed share a common vision of giving people tools to share and
connect with their friends,” said Bret Taylor, a FriendFeed co-founder and, previously,
the group product manager who launched Google Maps. “We can’t wait to join the team
and bring many of the innovations we’ve developed at FriendFeed to Facebook’s 250
million users around the world.”
“As we spent time with Mark and his leadership team, we were impressed by the open,
creative culture they’ve built and their desire to have us contribute to it,” said Paul
Buchheit, another FriendFeed co-founders. Buchheit, the Google engineer behind Gmail
and the originator of Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto, added, “It was immediately
obvious to us how passionate Facebook’s engineers are about creating simple, groundbreaking ways for people to share, and we are extremely excited to join such a likeminded group.”
Taylor and Buchheit founded FriendFeed along with Jim Norris and Sanjeev Singh in
October 2007 after all four played key roles at Google for products like Gmail and
Google Maps. At FriendFeed, they’ve brought together a world-class team of engineers
and designers.
“Since I first tried FriendFeed, I’ve admired their team for creating such a simple and
elegant service for people to share information,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
founder and CEO. "As this shows, our culture continues to make Facebook a place where
the best engineers come to build things quickly that lots of people will use."
FriendFeed is based in Mountain View, Calif. and has 12 employees. FriendFeed.com
will continue to operate normally for the time being as the teams determine the longer
term plans for the product.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not released.
August 27, 2009
Facebook Announces Privacy Improvements in Response to Recommendations by
Canadian Privacy Commissioner
Facebook today announced plans to further improve people’s control over their
information and enable them to make more informed choices about their privacy. These
improvements will include new notifications, additions to Facebook’s Privacy Policy, and
technical changes designed to give people more transparency and control over the
information they provide to third-party applications.
The changes announced are a result of the company’s work with the Office of the Privacy
Commissioner of Canada, which has spent more than a year reviewing Facebook’s
privacy policies and controls. In their report, The Office of the Privacy Commissioner
gratefully acknowledged Facebook’s cooperation in the course of the investigation and
commended Facebook for providing its users with extensive privacy settings. The
Commissioner also made a number of recommendations, to which Facebook has
responded with commitments for significant enhancements that will be implemented over
the next 12 months. The Commissioner has reviewed these proposals and is satisfied with
the commitments Facebook has made.
“Our productive and constructive dialogue with the Commissioner’s office has given us
an opportunity to improve our policies and practices in a way that will provide even
greater transparency and control for Facebook users,” said Elliot Schrage, Vice-President
of Global Communications and Public Policy at Facebook. “We believe that these
changes are not only great for our users and address all of the Commissioners'
outstanding concerns, but they also set a new standard for the industry.”
Specific changes Facebook will be making:
• Updating the Privacy Policy to better describe a number of practices, including the
reasons for the collection of date of birth, account memorialization for deceased users,
the distinction between account deactivation and deletion, and how its advertising
programs work.
• Encouraging users to review their privacy settings to make sure the defaults and
selections reflect the user’s preferences.
• Increasing the understanding and control a user has over the information accessed by
third-party applications. Specifically, Facebook will introduce a new permissions model
that will require applications to specify the categories of information they wish to access
and obtain express consent from the user before any data is shared. In addition, the user
will also have to specifically approve any access to their friends’ information, which
would still be subject to the friend’s privacy and application settings.
Work on the planned changes will begin immediately. However, some changes will take
some time before they are visible. For example, updates to the Privacy Policy will require
a notice and comment period for users. In addition, the changes to how users share
information with third-party applications will require significant time and resources, both
for the updating and testing of the new Facebook API, and for third-party application
developers to reprogram and test their applications. Facebook anticipates this entire
process will take approximately 12 months.
“We strongly believe that the changes to the permission model for third-party
applications will give users more confidence in Platform and will, thus, help ensure the
long-term health and vitality of the ecosystem that has grown around Platform,” said
Ethan Beard, Director of Platform Product Marketing at Facebook. “We will be
communicating regularly with developers about the changes and we’re going to take our
time to make sure the outcome is something users understand and that developers have
ample time and notice to adapt.