Blind TL;DR Edition No. 13: Week Ended Feb. 4, 2022
Blind TL;DR helps you stay on top of what shaped the tech industry this week in about 3 minutes. Keep tabs on the latest with insights straight from the newsmakers—technologists like you.
Is this peak Facebook?
Mark Zuckerberg wants all hands on deck at the Big Blue App, as Facebook lost daily users for the first time. Meta, which owns Facebook, reported disappointing earnings Wednesday because of increased competition from TikTok and $3.3 billion of losses last quarter in its metaverse unit.
Meta’s stock dropped 26% after its earnings call, a loss of more than $250 billion in market value. Some technologists think this is the beginning of the end for Facebook.
We’re all living in the ‘Joe Rogan Experience’
This week, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek surprised employees in an all-hands when he said the streaming company wouldn’t directly manage or edit the infamous podcast host Joe Rogan.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” drew controversy after featuring guests that shared perspectives some people believed were pandemic misinformation. Some music artists, including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, pulled their music from the platform in response.
Find out on Blind why Spotify might be sticking behind Joe.
The console wars are here
Master Chief is moving over to Sony. The Japanese electronics kingpin is acquiring “Halo” maker Bungie for $3.6 billion in response to Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard last month.
This week, Bungie’s leadership had to calm employees and confirm there would be “absolutely no layoffs” or restructuring because of the deal. Check out how much Bungie employees might make from the deal—only on Blind.
Lower startup valuations are coming
Wall Street has punished tech IPOs lately, and startup investors are taking note. Major startup investors, including heavyweight Tiger Global Management, have been renegotiating down startup valuations in recent investment rounds.
Here’s the industry that might be affected more than others, according to professionals on Blind.
Beantown is Techtown
Boston startups raised a combined $1.2 billion in venture capital in January, with most of the money getting scooped up in biotech. With so many world-class universities nearby, it’s no wonder the companies focusing on drug development, gene-editing and RNA editing are finding it easy to raise.
Still, some professionals on Blind aren’t sure if Boston is a tech hub. Find out why.
The Draconian practice?
A software engineer’s post on LinkedIn went viral this week after the developer explained how their manager put them on a PIP after requesting an internal team change.
Once an acronym only known by HR pros, PIPs or personal improvement plans are now in the spotlight. We break down everything you might want to know about PIPs.
Be a newsmaker
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