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Breaking News in Tech, Search, Social, & BusinessTue, 03 Mar 2015 20:33:43 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1Facebook Grabs Carsabi Co-Founders, But Not the Sitehttp://www.webpronews.com/facebook-grabs-carsabi-co-founders-but-not-the-site-2012-10
http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-grabs-carsabi-co-founders-but-not-the-site-2012-10#commentsTue, 02 Oct 2012 15:43:41 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=195228Facebook has just added some entrepreneurial talent to their team with the hiring of Dwight Crow and Christopher Berner, the two founders of used car price comparison site Carsabi.

Facebook hasn’t acquired the site, just the personnel. As such, Carsabi is now up for sale – “so the two of us can focus on our new jobs,” say Crow and Berner.

“We are always looking for great entrepreneurs who want to have big impact, and Christopher and Dwight are exactly that. We can’t wait to welcome them both to Facebook,” the company told TechCrunch.

We created Carsabi back in Oct 2011 with the goal of easing the process of purchasing a used car, and providing a service that aims to index every automotive vehicle and connect more users to their car of choice each day.

But now it’s time for us to take a different turn. We want to take this impact to the next level – and help Facebook users connect and share. Because Facebook is not acquiring Carsabi.com, we’re looking for someone to buy the Carsabi service, so the two of us can focus on our new jobs. We can’t thank all of you that have used Carsabi enough – developing Carsabi has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and we hope we helped you think differently about how to find the perfect used car!

We want to give special thanks to our partners, customers and investors for helping us fulfill our dream.

“Help users connect and share” is a little vague, as it’s not exactly clear what Crow and Berner have been tapped to do at Facebook. But with Facebook jumping into the ecommerce arena with their new Gifts platform, it’s not exactly shocking that they would hire two successful deals-oriented entrepreneurs like Crow and Berner.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-grabs-carsabi-co-founders-but-not-the-site-2012-10/feed0Larry Page Appoints Six New SVPshttp://www.webpronews.com/larry-page-google-svps-2011-04
http://www.webpronews.com/larry-page-google-svps-2011-04#commentsFri, 08 Apr 2011 13:50:39 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=61765Whoever’s responsible for printing Googlers’ business cards now has a lot more work to do. Larry Page, exercising his newfound power as CEO in a big way, promoted five employees to the level of “senior vice president” yesterday.

In case you’re wondering: yes, Google already had six SVPs (or five if you take Jonathan Rosenberg’s recent departure into account), and it’s unclear what will happen to them. One (Alan Eustace) just got a new title. Otherwise, in the past, Page has tried to streamline Google’s management structure, not complicate it.

There’s no overlap in titles between the new SVPs and the old ones, though, and while the promotions have been confirmed through official channels, there aren’t even rumors from anonymous sources suggesting that the previous group of SVPs was or will be let go.

Here are the names and titles of the new SVPs, in any event: Alan Eustace is SVP of search, Vic Gundotra is SVP of social, Salar Kamangar is SVP of YouTube and video, Sundar Pichai is senior vice president of Chrome, Andy Rubin is SVP of mobile, and Susan Wojcicki is SVP of ads.”

You may recognize several (or all) of those names, as they’ve at times been in the spotlight before. Rubin’s had a lot to do with Android, for example, and Wojcicki’s even credited with creating AdSense.

It should be interesting to see what Page has them set out to accomplish now. We’ll also be sure to keep an eye on what happens to the old bunch of SVPs.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/larry-page-google-svps-2011-04/feed1(Another) Yahoo Mergers And Acquisitions Head Leaveshttp://www.webpronews.com/another-yahoo-mergers-and-acquisitions-head-leaves-2011-04
http://www.webpronews.com/another-yahoo-mergers-and-acquisitions-head-leaves-2011-04#commentsThu, 07 Apr 2011 20:09:11 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=61698We’re not too sure what to say here, except maybe “uh-oh” or “whoops.” Less than six months after Yahoo’s previous mergers and acquisitions head left, it seems the new guy – Taylor Barada – has also decided to quit, joining Zynga.

That sort of turnover would be less than encouraging even if the role in question was janitorial in nature. The fact that Barada and his predecessor were high-level execs charged with convincing other companies to join Yahoo makes the matter much more troubling.

Then here’s one other possible warning sign: Barada’s departure comes not long after a corporate development exec at Yahoo indicated that this would be “a very big year” in terms of acquisitions. So perhaps the acquisitions weren’t going well, and even if they were, that process could now become less smooth.

Yahoo critics may not be able to make too much of Barada’s exit, though. After all, it’s possible Zynga just threw a bunch of cash at him, and few people can say no to that. Or Barada might be anticipating a Zynga IPO, which would make a lot of employees rich.

Also, Kara Swisher, who was the first person to report this move, wasn’t able to confirm what Barada’s title will be at Zynga, so maybe there’s a promotion of some sort in the mix, as well.

Now we’ll start keeping watch to see who takes up the mergers and acquisitions mantle at Yahoo, anyway. Hopefully he or she will last a little longer and accomplish a little more.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/another-yahoo-mergers-and-acquisitions-head-leaves-2011-04/feed0Quora Hires Facebook Recruiterhttp://www.webpronews.com/quora-facebook-recruiter-2011-04
http://www.webpronews.com/quora-facebook-recruiter-2011-04#commentsMon, 04 Apr 2011 21:23:08 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=61319The growth rate of Quora (and we mean the actual company, not just the Q&A site) may soon increase at a rapid pace. Quora has hired Andy Barton, a recruiter with an interesting resume, and presumably wants him to do more than turn away random applicants.

A quick note on the current state of Barton’s professional network: as of this moment, he has four recommendations (good) and over 500 connections (way above average) on LinkedIn.

Now let’s have a look at Barton’s background, since it’ll show the caliber of people he’s been in touch with before. Most recently, Barton spent about four and a half years working for Facebook as its manager of technical recruiting, and it doesn’t get much more impressive than that.

Yet from April of 2004 to April of 2005, Barton actually worked for Google as a recruitment consultant, which is something not a lot of people can say. It’s hard enough to collect a paycheck from the search giant, never mind be named a gatekeeper.

So Barton should be in contact with all sorts of skilled folks who are eager to work for a well-regarded tech company like Quora. And he’s almost sure to put that fact to good use as Quora’s demands and payroll allow.

Anyway, a hat tip goes to Alexia Tsotsis, who noted, “Quora currently has $11 million in funding and 21 employees but something tells me they’ll be expanding on both numbers sometime soon.”

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/quora-facebook-recruiter-2011-04/feed0Microsoft Search Alliance Exec Switches Sides To Yahoohttp://www.webpronews.com/microsoft-search-alliance-exec-yahoo-2011-04
http://www.webpronews.com/microsoft-search-alliance-exec-yahoo-2011-04#commentsMon, 04 Apr 2011 13:48:49 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=61202]]>Relations between Microsoft and Yahoo may sour as a result, but it’s a good bet Yahoo execs are going to brag a bit about a new hire. It seems a Microsoft executive charged with working on the companies’ search alliance is switching sides.

Kara Swisher reported earlier this morning, “[Brett] Wayn must have liked what he saw at the Silicon Valley Internet giant, since he is bouncing there from his job at the Redmond, Wash. software giant to run local efforts at Yahoo.”

That represents a big win for Yahoo in terms of PR alone. The organization’s of course lost a lot of execs to other corporations in recent months and years, so for it to get one from Microsoft is an interesting reversal.

Moreover, Wayn could prove to be a valuable asset to Yahoo. Before taking on the search integration role at Microsoft, he was a general manager of global programming there for most of two years.

Also, prior to that, Wayn was the president and CEO of AOL Japan, and even earlier in his career, he was the content director and CEO of AOL Australia.

It’s reasonable to expect that Wayn has a solid understanding of what it takes to make products and services work in many different languages and markets, then.

Anyway, to give a little more background on the situation, Swisher noted, “Wayn replaces Matt Idema, a longtime Yahoo exec who shuttled over to Facebook as a director of business operations, working on the local arena.”

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/microsoft-search-alliance-exec-yahoo-2011-04/feed0Yahoo Appoints SVP Of User Experience Designhttp://www.webpronews.com/yahoo-appoints-svp-user-experience-design-2011-03
http://www.webpronews.com/yahoo-appoints-svp-user-experience-design-2011-03#commentsWed, 30 Mar 2011 13:54:23 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=60710Google’s sites are famous for their clean, minimalist designs. Microsoft has managed to make Bing eye-catching through the use of amazing photos. Meanwhile, Yahoo . . . is just Yahoo. But that might soon change, as Yahoo’s appointed an SVP of User Experience Design.

That title should grant Tim Parsey the power to do more than switch a font or alter the color scheme of a single site. Kara Swisher learned in an interview with Yahoo Chief Product Officer Blake Irving that Yahoo’s “centralizing the important task” of design under Parsey, which is an important step.

Tim Parsey comes to Yahoo with an impressive resume, too. Over the years, he’s worked at Apple, Motorola, toy manufacturer Mattel, and Microsoft (among other places). That hints he’s capable of understanding how people of all ages prefer to interact with things, and has a good handle on technical matters.

As a result, it’ll be interesting to see how much things change at Yahoo under Parsey. On the one hand, he looks like a great fit for the job, and many shareholders are clamoring for something – anything – new as the stock stagnates and the search engine loses market share.

At the same time, execs won’t want to alienate the company’s large existing user base, and they already seemed pleased enough with the homepage overhaul Yahoo performed in 2009.

We’ll of course be sure to report any significant developments. Stay tuned.

Geoffrey A. Fowler broke this story by reporting that D’Arcy will join Facebook as its “director of global creative solutions to help boost the appeal of the social networking service’s ad offerings.”

Then Fowler continued, “In the newly created role that he will begin in early May, Mr. D’Arcy will be responsible for leading a team charged with developing ideas for how advertisers can use Facebook in their marketing campaigns.”

That’s a smart move on Facebook’s part. After all, in a general sense, most marketers now accept that brands should have a presence on the social network, and many do. Only organizations tend to run out of steam after setting up a Facebook Page, just making the occasional update about a sale or changed hours of operation.

Also, more specifically, D’Arcy should be a good person to give pointers. His Time Warner bio states that he “spent 15 years as an award-winning writer and creative director in advertising.” Also, he’s “a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, serves on the Ad Council’s creative review committee and the Board of Trustees for the Museum of the City of New York and the Independent Filmmaker Project.”

D’Arcy will remain in New York rather than move closer to Facebook’s headquarters in Palo Alto.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-hires-time-warner-media-exec-2011-03/feed0Google Hires Java Creatorhttp://www.webpronews.com/google-hires-java-creator-2011-03
http://www.webpronews.com/google-hires-java-creator-2011-03#commentsMon, 28 Mar 2011 16:27:37 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=60410A new employee at Google may need little introduction to other members of the team. Indeed, depending on how much they love Java, it’s even possible he’ll get asked to sign a few autographs. That’s because Google has hired James Gosling, the creator of Java.

Gosling left Sun Microsystems in 2010 after working there for about 16 years, and has presumably received all sorts of job offers since. He acknowledged in a blog post today, “I had a hard time saying ‘no’ to a bunch of other excellent possibilities.”

But Google apparently won out in the end, which says a lot for the company’s appeal. Gosling also complimented the organization by writing, “I find it odd that this time I’m taking the road more travelled by, but it looks like interesting fun with huge leverage.”

That said, even Gosling doesn’t seem to know what his new job title or focus will be. It’s possible Google will just let him do whatever he wants, at least for a while. He wrote, “I don’t know what I’ll be working on. I expect it’ll be a bit of everything, seasoned with a large dose of grumpy curmudgeon.”

A few other interesting tidbits about Gosling: he’s earned degrees from the University of Calgary and Carnegie Mellon. Furthermore, according to his Wikipedia profile, he was elected to the United States National Academy of Engineering, and in 2007, made an officer of the Order of Canada.

This marks Gosling’s first day working at Google, and a hat tip goes to Stephen Shankland.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/google-hires-java-creator-2011-03/feed0Facebook May Hire Former White House Press Secretaryhttp://www.webpronews.com/facebook-former-white-house-press-secretary-2011-03
http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-former-white-house-press-secretary-2011-03#commentsMon, 28 Mar 2011 13:53:25 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=60352A man who’s fielded questions about wars and the economy on an international stage might soon start to help a certain social network present itself in a more positive light. Word is that Facebook would like to hire former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

Andrew Ross Sorkin broke the story late last night, reporting, “Facebook is in talks to hire Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s former White House press secretary, for a senior role in helping to manage the company’s communications, people briefed on the negotiations said.”

Then the report continued, “The talks are still at an early stage and no formal offer has been made, these people said, adding it remained possible that the discussions could collapse.”

That would be unfortunate for Facebook, given what a valuable addition to the team Gibbs would represent. It’s a rare person who can claim to have as much experience dealing with tough questions, after all, and the sort of questions a social network may face should be simple next to matters of national security.

So we’ll see what happens. According to Sorkin, Facebook’s ready to make Gibbs a rich man (remember that an IPO is approaching), but it’s possible Gibbs will turn down a position there in order to work on Obama’s reelection campaign.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-former-white-house-press-secretary-2011-03/feed1Twitter Hires Former AdSense Managerhttp://www.webpronews.com/twitter-hires-former-adsense-manager-2011-03
http://www.webpronews.com/twitter-hires-former-adsense-manager-2011-03#commentsThu, 24 Mar 2011 21:19:40 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=60151A man with an interesting history of making money for high-tech organizations may now try his hand at doing the same for Twitter. Today, Twitter announced that Satya Patel, who worked on AdSense for about six years, is joining it as a director of product management.

We should note that Twitter didn’t steal Patel directly from Google. Or from his current employer, for that matter. Patel’s actually worked at venture capital firm Battery Ventures since 2007, specializing in matters related to software, digital media, and the consumer-oriented Internet, and he’ll still have some sort of role there in the future.

It was from 2003 to 2007 that Patel worked at Google (with the title “Senior Product Manager”), and before that, he spent a couple of years at DoubleClick.

Patel may know all sorts of things about both advertising and smallish companies that are going to make it big, then. Bhavesh Mehta, a director of engineering at Google, even wrote on his LinkedIn profile, “He is one of the best product managers and business people I have worked with in my long career. We really miss him at Google.”

Patel will start at Twitter on April 4th, so keep an eye out for his hand in any interesting things that occur sometime after that. And in case you didn’t hear, all of this is happening at the same time that widespread rumors suggest Twitter cofounder and former CEO Jack Dorsey will rejoin the company with a title something like “Chief Product Officer.”