Digital Winner Microsoft $MSFT, Digital Loser Facebook $FB? (video)

2018's Most Spineless Board

L2inc.com video above published Nov 29, 2018--Scott Galloway's digital winners and losers--it's time for Facebook's Board of Directors to stand on their feet.

$MSFT

$FB

$AAPL

$AMZN

Auto-generated transcript:

00:00  A Winner: Microsoft earlier this week
00:04  Microsoft dethroned Apple even if just
00:07  for a minute as the most valuable firm
00:10  in the US boasting a market
00:11  capitalization north of 800 billion
00:15  dollars to be fair it's not that
00:16  Microsoft passed Apple but that Apple
00:19  fell below Microsoft shedding a quarter
00:21  of a trillion dollars in value as
00:23  analysts wonder if we've reached peak
00:25  iPhone what explains Microsoft success
00:28  or more specifically their staying power
00:31  two things first
00:32  diversity Microsoft maintains a diverse
00:35  revenue stream from software hardware
00:36  and cloud services meanwhile Alphabet
00:40  and Facebook are mostly ad dependent
00:42  Apple is a hardware firm and Amazon
00:44  relies mostly on product sales to
00:47  recurring revenue successful
00:49  organizations have convinced customers
00:51  to enter into a monogamous relationship
00:53  via recurring revenue streams think
00:57  Netflix Spotify and Amazon run what
01:00  Amazon Prime has done with the consumer
01:02  market Microsoft has done with the
01:04  business market visa vie their office
01:06  offering it's much easier to plan a
01:08  business against recurring revenue and
01:10  the market loves it a Loser the Facebook
01:14  Board of Directors our 2018 award for
01:17  most spineless and damaging Board of
01:19  Directors what is the role of a Board of
01:21  Directors care and duty specifically
01:24  serve as fiduciaries for stake holders
01:26  that includes teens that includes the
01:29  Commonwealth and of course shareholders
01:31  who have seen the value of their shares
01:33  shed a third of their value because of
01:36  irresponsible reckless negligent
01:39  behavior on the part of the CEO and the
01:42  CEO oh so at the end of the day what is
01:44  a board supposed to do they decide if
01:46  and when the company gets sold and to
01:48  hire and fire the CEO what has the board
01:51  done here nothing what should they do
01:54  first they should fire Sheryl Sandberg
01:57  the problem with a two-class shareholder
01:59  structure and the reason the SEC should
02:02  revisit the concept of banning all to
02:05  class companies or perhaps making it
02:08  such that when a company punched through
02:10  a hundred billion in market cap it
02:11  reverts to one class of stock
02:13  it has a ripple effect of unintended
02:16  consequences in the unintended
02:17  consequence here is that their COO that
02:20  should have been fired a year ago is
02:22  still here because quite frankly the
02:24  board does not want to be the board that
02:26  fires the woman in a sea of men in big
02:29  tech and that's a legitimate excuse
02:31  however she has made a billion dollars
02:35  and she will move on and do just fine
02:37  every day executives are fired for a
02:39  fraction of the infractions of Miss
02:42  Sandberg and the Zuck at the end of the
02:45  day the person ultimately responsible
02:47  for all of this reckless behavior that
02:49  this company is Mark Zuckerberg and he
02:52  should be removed from the CEO role he
02:55  should likely maintain his chairmanship
02:56  his DNA and programming genius is key to
03:00  retention of the value of this firm he
03:02  deserves to stick around he owned 16% of
03:05  the company however he can be fired and
03:08  this is how he could fight back he
03:11  controls 60% of the voting shares so if
03:13  he is removed from the CEO role it is
03:15  technically feasible that the next day
03:17  he removes the entire board what would
03:20  actually happen play this out the day
03:23  after he is removed from the CEO role he
03:26  fires his entire board that would be
03:29  utter chaos a five-car alarm alerting
03:33  legislators shareholder rights lawsuits
03:36  and governments globally we have to ask
03:38  would in fact the Zuck burn his castle to
03:42  save it the board should not be asking
03:44  this the board should be asking what is
03:47  the right thing to do as Emiliano Zapata
03:49  famously said it is better to die on
03:52  your feet than to live on your knees it
03:54  is time for the Board of Directors at
03:56  Facebook to stand on their feet ....

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's Full Speech Nov 28 on the US Economy

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's Full Speech on the US Economy

Video above published Nov 28, 2018: Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke Nov 28, 2018, at the Economic Club of New York  (domain: econclubny.org) on the state of the U.S. economy and the pace of interest rates.

Jerome H. Powell took office as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 5, 2018, for a four-year term. Mr. Powell also serves as Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the System's principal monetary policymaking body.

The stock market reacted very favorably to Chairman Powell's speech:

AT THE CLOSE:
- Dow and S&P 500 post 2nd best day of the year
- Nasdaq has best day since October 25 pic.twitter.com/6u5GhViqJl

— CNBC's Closing Bell (@CNBCClosingBell) November 28, 2018

Tweets by EconClubNY

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Red Flags: Why Xi's China Is In Jeopardy by George Magnus (video)

Magnus On China: You Can't Use Your Spreadsheets Anymore

George Magnus, former Chief Economist at UBS and author of the recently published “Red Flags: Why Xi’s China Is in Jeopardy,” discusses the panoply of political and economic risks arrayed against China and its leader Xi Jinping: Ballooning debt, political instability, a demographic time-bomb, and the ever-looming threat of declining growth and a weakening currency. Filmed on September 27th, 2018 in London, Real Vision video above published Oct 3, 2018.

Deleveraging China will be a 'tricky challenge' for Xi Jinping

BNN Bloomberg video published Nov 14, 2018: George Magnus, author of "Red Flags: Why Xi's China Is in Jeopardy," tells BNN Bloomberg Xi Jinping will be challenged deleveraging China while simultaneously maintaining the country's pace of growth.

Additional videos:

• Red Flags: Why Xi Jinping’s China is in Jeopardy | SOAS University of London

• China's 'New Era': Progress or Jeopardy?

Author's domain: GeorgeMagnus.com excerpt below.

Xi’s bridge too far: "It looks like the world’s longest bridge will become a white elephant. The case for Xi’s bridge doesn’t add up. Before too long, Hong Kong will be just another large Chinese city"--George Magnus.

See also George Magnus talks debt, trade and the direction of China’s economy | ChinaEconomicReview.com

In his latest book, Red Flags: Why Xi’s China is in Jeopardy, veteran economist and commentator George Magnus examines the structural weaknesses in China's economy and argues how a failure to reform could stunt its long-term aspirations.https://t.co/1QJxN8v9bp

— ChinaEconomicReview (@chinaeconreview) November 23, 2018

Tweets by georgemagnus1

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Goldman Sachs Global Economic Outlook 2019 (video)

Global Economic Outlook 2019

Goldman Sachs (goldmansachs.com): the global economy looks poised to slow moderately from 3.8% in 2018 to 3.5% next year in Goldman Sachs Research’s view, led by deceleration in the US and further softening in China. But with growth still above potential in most developed economies, Goldman Sachs Research expects continued labor market tightening, gradually rising core inflation, and in many cases higher policy rates. Video above published Nov 20, 2018.

Read the Report: 

Global Economic Outlook 2019: Landing the Plane - 19 Nov 2018 | GoldmanSachs.com

Tweets by GoldmanSachs

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

AWS re:Invent Conference, Las Vegas, Nov 26-30, LIVE Feed

The seventh annual AWS re:Invent conference. Discover "deeper technical content, more hands-on learning opportunities, keynote announcements ... the best party in technology," November 26 – November 30, 2018, Las Vegas. Agenda here.

Register for the Keynote LIVEstreams: https://reinvent.awsevents.com/learn/livestreams/

• Monday, Nov. 26  7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PT Monday Night Live -- Peter DeSantis VP, Global Infrastructure and Customer Support, AWS
• Tuesday, Nov. 27  8:30 AM - 10:30 AM PT Global Partner Keynote Terry Wise VP, Global Alliances and Channels, AWS
• Wednesday, Nov. 28   8:00 AM - 11:00 AM PT Keynote Andy Jassy CEO, AWS
• Thursday, Nov. 29   8:30 AM - 10:30 AM PT Keynote Werner Vogels CTO, Amazon.com

Also https://www.twitch.tv/aws: non-stop action with overviews and demos of new products, live Q&A with expert guests, and launch announcements from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM PT each day. Tune in at twitch.tv/aws. Date and Time & Details:

• Tuesday, Nov. 27 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM PT AWS Launchpad Day 1
• Wednesday, Nov. 28 11:00 AM - 6:30 PM PT AWS Launchpad Day 2
• Thursday, Nov. 29 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM PT AWS Launchpad Day 3

Also AWS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AmazonWebServices.

Tweets by AWSreInvent

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

News Review | Internet Governance: Macron's Call for a New Multilateralism

Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2018-11-25 with analysis and opinion: Features •  1) IGF2019: What Is Internet Governance? Macron's Call for a New Multilateralism, 2) ICANN news: a. EPDP Initial Report, Webinar Nov 29, and EPDP Meeting Nov 27, b. Verisign & .COM, c. Public Comment, d. GNSO projects,  e. DCA Trust vs ICANN re: .AFRICA, 3) Names, Domains ... Akram Atallah, 4) ICYMI: EU Link Tax, and more, 5) Readership Stats.

1) IGF2019: What Is Internet Governance? Macron's Call for a New Multilateralism

"What rules apply to the internet? Who governs it? Internet governance is no longer just for technical experts, as it deals with political questions about the future of the internet – matters that affect everyone"--igf2019.berlin. 

Editor's note: The Internet Governance Forum was established in 2006 by the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), to serve in an advisory capacity although there have been recent calls (see quote below) to expand its role. Having most recently been convened in Geneva (2017) and Paris (2018), the 14th Annual Meeting will be held on 25-29 November 2019 at the Estrel Congress Centre in Berlin, Germany.

"... The Internet, the depth of data and knowledge hosted by it, and the essential services it gives access to, are collective treasures that we need to manage together in order precisely to pass them on to future generations. And so it is here that we need to invent a new multilateralism both suited to the reality of cyber space and effective. That is why I am here today to propose a new collegial method. The Internet Governance Forum has now been around for 12 years, and the quality of the discussions here is renowned everywhere. But this Forum now needs to produce more than just debate and reflection. It needs to reform, to become a body producing tangible proposals. I will strongly support all initiatives in this direction. That is why France, with the assistance of the host country that preceded it – Switzerland – and ahead of the Forum that will meet in Berlin in 2019, would precisely like to promote this movement of reform. Starting this year and in the spirit of the approach tried in Geneva last year, we will gather the main conclusions of the discussions. But it will then be up to you, afterwards, to define the terms of production and recommendations for public policies – which is what the mandate of the Forum has invited you to do since its creation in 2005. I am also very in favour – this is a suggestion – of the Internet Governance Forum now being directly attached to the United Nations Secretary-General and for it to have its own Secretariat. Dear António Guterres, I will leave these various points to you, but I know how committed you are to the issue .... In Europe, we have already begun working hand in hand ... with the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is the best demonstration that, far from restricting innovation, regulation builds the user trust that businesses need so much. And this regulation came at a moment when, across the oceans, other scandals were emerging, demonstrating the sensitivity and the importance of this issue of access to data. In that respect, this regulation is on the way to becoming a global standard, but work is not finished in this area, even in Europe, and we need to go further. I have in mind, for example, the idea of establishing a common European framework for class actions as regards violations of personal data rights, enabling all European users to obtain compensation in accordance with a harmonized framework .... we need to invent – innovate – new forms of multilateral cooperation that involve not only states, but also all of the stakeholders you represent. This is what I want for us; this is what I want us to work towards. These issues are a huge responsibility for the Internet community, for you and for us. For this reason, I do not doubt that we will be able to follow in the footsteps of our founding fathers and rise to the challenge."--excerpts from IGF 2018 Speech by French President Emmanuel Macron (emphasis added).

2) ICANN News

29 Nov 2018 EPDP Initial Report Webinar slides:

a. UPDATE: EPDP Initial Report Webinar: Adobe Connect Replay, slides above, MP3, chat transcript (pdf).

EPDP Initial Report published (pdf) Wednesday, Nov 21. 2018. Public comment period ends December 21, 2018. ICANN blog post here.  ICANN webinar planned for Thursday,  Nov 29, 2018, at 14:00 UTC (9 am EST in US), sign up for the webinar: send an email to gnso-secs@icann.org. Editor's note: I'll have more to say in next week's News Review.

EPDP meeting Tuesday Nov 27 starting 14:00 UTC (9am EST). Observers use  Adobe Connect, or audio cast (browser or app). Tuesday's agenda (with docs and links), items (pdf) remaining to be discussed, and draft letter to the EDPB (pdf) (European Data Protection Board).

UPDATE: EPDP Meeting Nov 27 Adobe Connect replay, Chat transcript (pdf),  MP3 audio, action items. Next meeting Tuesday, Dec 4, 14:00 UTC 9am EST (US). Also below the CPH (Registrars and Registry Operators) feedback on the draft letter to the EDPB (referenced above):

See also GNSO Council EPDP page and updates. Links to all EPDP meetings' transcripts and recordings are on the GNSO calendar. Other EPDP links: wiki, mail list, action items, Temp Spec, EPDP Charter (pdf), Data Elements Workbooks (pdf).

b. Verisign & .COM: Letter (pdf) Nov 16, 2018, to ICANN from Zak Muscovitch, Internet Commerce Association, re: .COM. Editor's note: for background see last week's News Review 3) d.

c. ICANN Public Comment Periods closing in December (subject to change by ICANN org):

• Draft Final Report of The Second Security and Stability Advisory Committee Review (SSAC2) 3 Dec 2018 23:59 UTC

• Supplemental Initial Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process (Overarching Issues & Work Tracks 1-4) 12 Dec 2018 23:59 UTC

• Proposed Consensus Policy Concerning the Names of the Red Cross International Movement and Red Cross National Societies 14 Dec 2018 23:59 UTC

• Initial Report of the Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data Team 21 Dec 2018 23:59 UTC

• Policy Status Report: Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) 24 Dec 2018 23:59 UTC

d. ICANN GNSO Active Projects List (pdf) updated Nov 19, 2018.

e. DCA Trust vs ICANN re: new gTLD .AFRICA

"NATURE OF PROCEEDINGS: Intervenor ZA Central Registery NPC's ex parte application to order plaintiff DCA to cooperate with the court-ordered in-person settlement meeting; The Court considers the moving documents and opposition and rules as follows:

"On November 19, 2018, defendant ZA Central Registry, NPC (“ZACR”) filed an Ex Parte Application to Order Plaintiff DCA to Cooperate with the Court-Ordered In-Person Settlement Meeting (“Ex Parte Application”). Plaintiff DotConnectAfrica Trust filed an opposition to the Ex Parte Application. The court finds that ZACR has not met its burden to show good cause to grant the relief requested in its Ex Parte Application. At the September 25, 2018 Trial Setting Conference, the court ordered the parties and their counsel to hold a settlement meeting in person to discuss and try to settle all disputed issues in the case no later than January 18, 2019. (September 25, 2018 minute order.) The court expects the parties’ counsel to meet and confer in good faith to schedule a mutually convenient date and place for that settlement meeting, so as to minimize the burden on all parties and their counsel. The court orders that, if the parties cannot agree on the place where the settlement meeting is going to be held, then it shall take place in Los Angeles, California. The court orders the ZACR to give notice of this order." (source)

Docket schedule:

3) Names, Domains & Trademarks

Akram Atallah at ICANN53

Trust those who are greedy for money a thousand times more than those who are greedy for credentials.--Nassim Taleb

Akram Atallah starting a new adventure...

• Kirkland, Washington
• Current: Donuts Inc.
• Previous: ICANN, CoreObjects, Conexant
• Education: Harvard Business School 

Editor's note: does everyone lie about their qualifications today, or just former ICANN executives? Akram was never an undergraduate nor graduate student at Harvard Business School, much less graduate from there. He apparently did receive an "HBS Executive Education program certificate of completion" which is supposed to be listed on a LinkedIn profile or C.V. like this.

For more background read News Review | Fadi, Akram & Donuts, ICANN Conflicts of Interest.

4) ICYMI Internet Domain News 

• EU Link Tax: Google News may shut down over EU plans to charge a "link tax" which Google is lobbying hard to stop. The purported reason for the tax is to compensate news publishers--TheGuardian.com.

• Surveillance Kills Freedom By Killing Experimentation--Bruce Schneier in wired.com.

• Internet Freedom in Asia--the region is a driving force behind annual declines in internet freedom at the global level--thediplomat.com.

• India Leads The World In The Number Of Internet Shutdowns--forbes.com. 

5) Domain Mondo's Readership Stats

Top 4 Countries for the week and month: 

1. United States
2. China
3. Germany
4. France 

Most read this past week:

1. News Review | EPDP Initial Report: ICANN GDPR Train Wreck #2

2. Tech Review: 1) Apple's Core Problems, 2) High Tech Wars of the Future

3. Peter Chernin On The Future of Digital Entertainment (video)

4. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and the Evolution of a Tech Entrepreneur

-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo 

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Tech Review: 1) Apple's Core Problems, 2) High Tech Wars of the Future

Tech Review (TR 2018-11-24)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news with commentary, analysis and opinion: Features • 1) Apple's Core Problems,  2) High Tech Wars of the Future, 3) Investing: The Week, Investing Notes,  4) ICYMI Tech News.

1) Tech Share Rout: Apple's Core Problems

The iPhone maker, Apple (apple.com) $AAPL, has been hit as investors worry over sales and US-China tensions. Financial Times (ft.com) video above published Nov 21, 2018.

NASDAQ: AAPL:

2) High Tech Wars of the Future

U.S. scientists prepare for high-tech wars of the future: the U.S. is investing in robotics and artificial intelligence as it races against China to develop the weapons of the future. The FT.com’s US foreign policy and defense correspondent Katrina Manson visits the US Army Research Lab to meet the scientists working on the latest tech developments. Financial Times (ft.com) video above published Nov 16, 2018.

3) Investing

The Week: NASDAQ Composite -4.3% | S&P 500 Index -2.8% | DJIA -4.4%

Headwinds   ©2018 DomainMondo.com

Investing Notes:

The forward 12-month P/E ratio for $SPX is 15.6. This P/E ratio is below the 5-year average (16.4) but above the 10-year average (14.5). https://t.co/7jjo6kg2yS pic.twitter.com/Sn372WU04z

— FactSet (@FactSet) November 19, 2018

• Jim Chanos's Kynikos Associates LP buys Vanguard S&P 500, Vanguard Value, iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth--gurufocus.com
• EU troubles: Eurozone, Italy, Immigration, and Brexit--Editor's note: why invest in someone else's mess?
• China: more nations voice concerns over Chinese investment--'here, borrow some money from us'--chinaeconomicreview.com. Editor's note: a/k/a the Chinese "Extortionate Debt Trap."
• Bitcoin hit its lowest level in more than a year on Monday, falling under $5,000, while the entire cryptocurrency market cap lost about $40 Billion in the prior week--cnbc.com. Editor's note: until such time as Bitcoin, or some other crypto, becomes "legal tender" in a respected jurisdiction (sorry Venezuela doesn't qualify), the entire market is pure speculation subject to multiple scams. The U.S. government (CFTC) treats cryptocurrencies as commodities and the IRS taxes them as "property" Have you reported your crypto holdings and transactions, paid applicable property taxes on your holdings, and applicable income taxes? Oh, and by the way, the U.S. government does not accept any crypto as payment for taxes.

4) ICYMI Tech News:

Not All Clouds Are Equal: Key findings of the 2018 ThousandEyes Public Cloud Performance Benchmark Report: "Architectural differences between providers impacts service delivery: AWS (Amazon) sends traffic over the Internet for the majority of the service delivery path, whereas GCP (Google) and Azure (Microsoft) do not, instead using their own backbone networks. Increased exposure to the Internet means there is greater operational risk and impact on performance predictability ..." Learn more: Download the 2018 ThousandEyes Public Cloud Performance Benchmark Report; also Register for the webinar, "Cloud Wars: Performance Benchmarking AWS, GCP and Azure," taking place December 6, 2018 at 10:00 AM PST.

Apple CEO Tim Cook: new regulations on the tech industry ‘inevitable’--"Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of regulation," Cook told Axios on HBO. "I'm a big believer in the free market, but we have to admit when the free market is not working. And it hasn't worked here." See also Washington pummels Facebook: ‘Big tech can no longer be trusted’--recode.net.

US-based Kroger and UK-based Ocado to build first robotic warehouse in Cincinnati in a joint effort to dominate the U.S. grocery delivery business--reuters.com.

US tops world in internet development, with China in second place, said China's Academy of Cyberspace Studies, an institute affiliated with the Cyberspace Administration of China, in its second annual World Internet Development Report. According to the report, the US leads in innovation, industry development and security. Also four U.S. companies, Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft and Qualcomm, were the only non-Chinese companies receiving special mentions at China's recent World Internet Conference 2018 in Wuzhen, along with eleven Chinese companies--scmp.com.  

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

FAO Schwarz Reopens at Rockefeller Center in New York City

FAO Schwarz Makes a Comeback

FAO Schwarz reopens at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Domain: faoschwarz.com

FAO Schwarz And Its Piano Are Back In NYC

CNBC.com video above published Nov 19, 2018: Iconic toy retailer FAO Schwarz is making its return to New York City after shutting its famed flagship store on Fifth Avenue in 2015, when the brand was still owned by Toys R Us. Now under a new owner, FAO Schwarz will bring its plush stuffed animals and walk-on piano keyboard — featured in the 1988 movie "Big" with Tom Hanks — back to life, and just in time for the 2018 holiday season. 

The store is at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan. FAO Schwarz, meanwhile, has already embarked on expanding around the globe. The goal is to make the space "experiential" and one that can "deliver theater and can drive customers," David Conn, CEO of FAO Schwarz's parent company ThreeSixty Group, told CNBC last month. Brands featured in the 20,000-square-foot 30 Rock store include two of those also owned by ThreeSixty — electronics from The Sharper Image and toys from Melissa & Doug. There are walls of Barbie dolls, a Build-A-Bear Workshop station, a racetrack for kids to play with cars, a space where a magician will teach tricks, a candy shop and so much more for visitors to do there, beyond shopping. And, of course, FAO Schwarz brought back its iconic keyboard on the floor. (This time it's also on the ceiling, in bright lights, to spark the curiosity of those walking by.) The massive clock tower is there too, along with a new centerpiece, a rocket ship. 

Without Toys R Us now that it's bankrupt, there is a huge share of the toy market left up for grabs, giving FAO Schwarz the chance to make a name for itself again. FAO Schwarz will also be selling its own branded items inside other retailers including Kohl's and Hudson's Bay this holiday season. Back at 30 Rock, FAO Schwarz will offer everything from hot items like Hatchimals to the brands older generations of consumers grew up with, like Steiff teddy bears. Its goal is to be a store that customers remember and keep coming back to. The experience is the key. It's a strategy many retailers are employing to lure consumers out of their homes and into the stores — but it's also part of FAO Schwarz's heritage. The fun of going to the old store is a memory for many generations, but today's shoppers may find many "Instagrammable" moments inside the walls of the new store.

Tweets by FAOSchwarz

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Chobani Founder Hamdi Ulukaya on Creating the Culture of Chobani (video)

Hamdi Ulukaya: Creating the Culture of Chobani

Goldman Sachs video above published Nov 14, 2018: In this episode of Talks at GS, filmed at Goldman Sachs’ Builders + Innovators Summit, Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya discusses how his own immigrant story has helped build the culture of the yogurt company from the products to the people.

Chobani  LLC
Domain: chobani.com
Tweets by Chobani

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and the Evolution of a Tech Entrepreneur

Drew Houston: Dropbox and the Evolution of a Tech Entrepreneur

Goldman Sachs video above published Nov 12, 2018: In this episode of Talks at GS, filmed at Goldman Sachs’ Builders + Innovators Summit, Dropbox (dropbox.com) co-founder and CEO Drew Houston discusses what he has learned as he continues to grow the cloud computing company into one of the biggest disruptors in Silicon Valley.
NASDAQ: DBX

$DBX

 Tweets by Dropbox

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Peter Chernin On The Future of Digital Entertainment (video)

Peter Chernin: The Future of Digital Entertainment

In an episode of Talks at GS, filmed at Goldman Sachs’ Builders + Innovators Summit, media executive Peter Chernin discussed the evolution of digital entertainment and how the business continues to adapt for a changing consumer. Goldman Sachs (goldmansachs.com) video above published Nov 9, 2018 (via YouTube.com).

Competition for Consumers: “I’m a big believer in try[ing] to think about where consumers are being underserved.… I think there’s one huge chokepoint in the whole thing right now, which is curation, recommendation. I think there is so much stuff out there and I think consumers are wildly underserved…. It’s not money that’s the scarce commodity in that sense, because Netflix is a great bargain. It’s time. It’s how do you figure out what is worth my two hours tonight?”

Brand identity in a digital world: “Branding is certainly enormously important.  I think that… the really interesting challenge from… a digital perspective right now is the balance between customer acquisition, marketing dollars and brand marketing dollars. In general, I think most certainly nascent digital brands are better off spending most of their money on customer acquisition marketing…. So, the brand is hugely important, but I’m not sure I would be marketing it.”

See also:

• Netflix will get ads, predicts The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green--Reed Hastings wants to compete with YouTube overseas, and the only way it can do that is by offering a free-with-ads option, says Green. 

• The Best Video Streaming Services of 2018 | pcmag.com;

• The convergence of TV and digital: How broadcasters are building for success | Google.com (pdf).

One streaming service (of many): Hulu (domain: hulu.com):
Tweets by hulu

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Technology in the World: End of the Beginning, What's Next? (video)

The End of the Beginning

a16z.com video above published Nov 16, 2018: In his now annual state-of-innovation talk at the a16z Summit in November 2018, Andreessen Horowitz’ Benedict Evans walks through where we are now in software eating the world... and how things may continue to change over the next 10 years.

What's the state of not just "the world of tech", but tech in the world? The access story is now coming to an end, observes Evans, but the use story is just beginning: Most of the people are now online, but most of the money is still not. If we think we're in a period of disruption right now, how will the next big platform shifts -- like machine learning -- impact huge swathes of retail, manufacturing, marketing, fintech, healthcare, entertainment, and more? Especially as technology begins to tackle bigger problems, in harder markets, at deeper (and more structural) levels?

Transcript:

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

News Review | EPDP Initial Report: ICANN GDPR Train Wreck #2

Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2018-11-18 with analysis and opinion: Features • 1) EPDP Initial Report: ICANN GDPR Train Wreck #2,  2) Other ICANN news: a. Afilias & .WEB, b. More New gTLDs' Dysfunction,  c.ICANN in Paris, 3) Names, Domains & Trademarks: Cybersquatting?, Tucows $TCX, GoDaddy $GDDY, ICYMI re: .COM, 4) ICYMI Internet Duopoly: US & China, and more,  5) Most Read.

UPDATE Nov 21-22, 2018: ICANN has published the EPDP Initial Report (pdf) now open for comment by anyone until comments close Dec 21, 2018, 23:59 UTC.  A webinar is planned for Thursday 29 November at 14.00 UTC (more info at the link).

This will be the only opportunity for public comment, "speak now or forever hold your peace!" Read also the blog post by EPDP leadership Kurt Pritz and Rafik Dammak.

1) EPDP Initial Report: ICANN GDPR Train Wreck #2

Definition of "train wreck" -- a chaotic or disastrous situation that holds a peculiar fascination for observers.

UPDATE Nov 20: The EPDP working group's "initial report" will be published for public comment tomorrow, Nov 21, or next week. Latest version here (pdf).

UPDATE Nov 19: Editor's note: I removed the "?" from this post's title after the EPDP group spent the first 50 minutes of its call Monday, Nov 19, 2018, discussing what would actually be in the "initial report," and when it would be published--for more "color" review the Adobe recording, meeting transcript (pdf), and chat transcript. The Initial Report (pdf) "latest version." Timeline updates below. Monday's call was also notable in that EPDP Chair Kurt Pritz dropped off the call early, leaving ICANN staff member Marika Konings to chair the rest of the meeting. More info on the Monday meeting wiki page and action items.

EPDP meeting Tuesday Nov 20 (wiki page, docs, chat transcript, Adobe recording), 14:00 UTC (9am EST). See also GNSO Council EPDP page and updates. Links to all EPDP meetings' transcripts and recordings are on the GNSO calendar. Other EPDP links: wiki, mail list, action items, Temp Spec, EPDP Charter (pdf), Data Elements Workbooks (pdf).

EPDP Current Target Dates (updated since EPDP Chair's letter):

• 19 Nov 2018  21 Nov Publish Initial Report & Public Comment (30 days)
• ‌19 Dec 2018  21 Dec Public Comment period close on the Initial Report
• 1 Feb 2019 Submission of Final Report to the GNSO Council

EPDP meetings this week scheduled for Monday Nov 19 and Tuesday Nov 20 starting at 14:00 UTC (9am EST). "Sneak Peek"--as of Friday, Nov 16, 2018, the ‘hopefully almost final’ version of the EPDP Initial Report: Redline version (pdf) and Clean version (pdf).

Last week's (ending Nov 16) EPDP highlights:

Re: Report of small team on Roles & Responsibilities of ICANN and Contracted Parties (Registrars, Registry Operators) [Editor's note: Rickert controllers memo (pdf), ICANN org feedback (pdf)]

On Nov 13, 2018, Alan Woods (RySG) wrote: "Thank you Thomas [Rickert], and furthermore thank you for your very balanced approach to the very surprising and frustrating events of last night's call. I think you have hit the nail on the head here, and I echo your sentiments in the last paragraph. I got the distinct impression (however far from the truth that may be) that ICANN Org were holding their cards close to their chest, and although having been at the table of the ePDP, appear to be open to rejecting the work of the ePDP. These are discussions which should have been had day 1, openly and transparently, and in fact this proves the fundamental importance of the ePDP actually having substantive discussion of the roles and responsibilities prior to the interim report publication.

"To echo Thomas, and indeed Diane, who I also recall made the point very well during the meeting, the hopes and wishes of the parties as to the allocation of roles and responsibilities are irrelevant; such matters are decided with reference alone to the legal reality and legal facts as to the roles held in the processing situation. I would further note that a statement made last night, (with the stated proviso that my audio dropped and I rejoined just as this utterance occurred therefore I will need to recheck the transcript for both context and accuracy), that ICANN Org is not a controller as it does not itself perform actual processing of the data; this concept of controllership is simply incorrect. I also heard this statement in Abu Dhabi from ICANN and indeed from the same person, and I also then raised my objection in an attempt to clarify. To hear it repeated again, last night, was worrisome (to put it mildly)."

"I personally think, receipt of the memo, in its entirety, and not a mere summary, as was promised in the dying moments of the meeting, is now hugely necessary. I furthermore think at this point the question of independent outside counsel for the eDPD is now, moreso than ever, a required step."

Stephanie Perrin (NCSG): "I agree with Alan.  Somehow, every time we go back to the EPDP as a whole, it seems we become less precise and the summary is that everything is hunky dory.  It is not.  Yesterday's small team call was extremely important; many thanks to Thomas [Rickert] for his excellent chairmanship of that call.  I appear to be in the minority in supporting a delay in the release of our report, but I think it is extremely important to at least sketch out the implications of this evident failure to agree on the basic premises of data controllership and accountability." (source)

Re: Legal vs Natural Persons (Registrants):

Stephanie Perrin (NCSG): "Given that Cherine Chalaby has just written to Keith Drazek (GNSO Council Chair) to express worry over whether we are going to finish this thing on time, perhaps we ought to stick to what is within scope. It is not clear to me how a new policy requiring that a distinction be made between legal and natural persons is within scope. Further to this general remark, I do not see any way a registrar or registry can evade responsibility for "accidentally" collecting personal information. Consent has to be meaningful and informed. On accuracy....read the RDS reveiw Team II report which is doubling down on accuracy. I would certainly not sign on to this one, if I were a registrar." (source)

More on last week's EPDP meetings (ending Nov 16) on last week's News Review. Also note:

• Advocates draw battle lines over national (US) Privacy Law--TheHill.com.

• Facebook Failed to Police How Its Partners Handled User Data--NYTimes.com.

2) Other ICANN News

a. Afilias IRP Filing Deadline re .WEB 27 Nov 2018. CEP / IRP Status Update 13 Nov 2018 (pdf): Cooperative Engagement Process (CEP) and Independent Review Processs (IRP) No active IRPs,
Active CEPs:

b. More ICANN New gTLDs' Dysfunction: ICANN's Next Round of unwanted, unneeded new gTLDs that "fail to work as expected on the internet" and ripoff consumers (registrants):

GNSO Council: " ... The New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PolicyDevelopment Process Working Group is currently developing policy that may ultimately instruct PTI to place new gTLDs into the root. However, it is not anticipated that delegations would occur in FY20 [ending June 30, 2020]."

source: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/langdon-orr-neuman-to-nguyen-06nov18-en.pdf

Editor's note: Jeff Neuman SOI. See also this.

c.  ICANN in Paris: What Happens When A Non-Profit Has Too Much Money? Among other things, this.

3) Names, Domains & Trademarks

a. Smoothie maker alleges domain name shakedown--MarketWatch.com:

“It is not cybersquatting when someone comes along and decides to adopt your domain name as a trademark. There is a secondary market in domain names. People buy and sell domain names every day.”--Attorney John Berryhill.

Editor's note: also never adopt a hyphenated .COM domain name for your business without getting the exact match .com domain with no hyphen, e.g., tmobile.com redirects to T-Mobile.com.

b. Tucows $TCX  Q3 2018 Question and Answer Transcript (pdf)

c. GoDaddy $GDDY Vice President of Investor Relations & Strategy, Sam Kemp, will host meetings at the Barclays Global TMT Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, December 5, 2018. GoDaddy's most recent investor presentation will be available on its investor relations website at https://investors.godaddy.net.

d. ICYMI re: .COM, NTIA, Verisign, & ICANN: Verisign's Attempt to Increase its Fees Still Unjustified Despite Diversionary Tactic | circleid.com including the comment, and including mine:

"Good article Zak, until you got to "the [ICANN] Board can fulfill its responsibilities as the owner of the [.COM] registry"--WRONG! Notwithstanding ICANN's corrupt and misguided efforts to turn all gTLDs (new and legacy) into privately owned "assets"--no one "owns" the top-level domain .COM, it is still a global public resource as originally promulgated, and delineated in RFC 1591:

"These designated authorities [e.g., Verisign] are trustees for the delegated domain [.COM], and have a duty to serve the community. The designated manager [e.g., Verisign] is the trustee of the top-level domain for ... the global Internet community. Concerns about "rights" and "ownership" of domains are inappropriate. It is appropriate to be concerned about "responsibilities" and "service" to the community."

"Anyone could justifiably argue that ICANN "trashed" the concept of "gTLD trusteeship" for all of those gTLDs ICANN created after 1998, and obviously neither the ICANN Board, ICANN org, nor its so-called "ICANN community" have ever acted like a responsible "owner" or "steward" or even "trustee" of ANY gTLD, with the possible exception of the legacy gTLD .INT, which is why your argument is naive that the ICANN Board would now reform itself and recognize the "global public interest" in not only selecting a "trustee" for .COM, but also limiting that trustee's fees. ICANN is incompetent, corrupt, unfit (pdf) see p.12 and exhibits. Thankfully, the U.S. government is still exercising its historic "stewardship" role over .COM via the Cooperative Agreement notwithstanding our disappointment with the pricing "giveaway." If the U.S. government ever steps away from its historic stewardship role re: .COM, .COM and its registrants will be exploited for their "maximum profit potential" by ICANN and Verisign and .COM will be ruined just like ICANN and Verisign are now doing with .NET."

4) ICYMI Internet Domain News 

Internet Duopoly: "If I may be politically incorrect, there are two kinds of internet emerging: Californian cyberspace and Chinese cyberspace"--French president Macron at IGF2018--see also  Chair's Summary (draft) (pdf).

Internet Freedom: "Moroccan Internet Users Are ‘Partially’ Free"--moroccoworldnews.com.

ITU Plenipot ended Nov 16, 2018, in Dubai, more here.

5) Most Read this past week on DomainMondo.com: 

#1 News Review | GDPR & ICANN EPDP Draft Initial Report Dysfunction

-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo 

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER