WebProNews

Tag: personnel

  • Facebook Grabs Carsabi Co-Founders, But Not the Site

    Facebook 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.

    Here’s what Crow and Berner had to say on the Carsabi blog:

    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.

  • Larry Page Appoints Six New SVPs

    Larry Page Appoints Six New SVPs

    Whoever’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.

  • (Another) Yahoo Mergers And Acquisitions Head Leaves

    We’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.

  • Quora Hires Facebook Recruiter

    Quora Hires Facebook Recruiter

    The 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.”

  • Microsoft Search Alliance Exec Switches Sides To Yahoo

    Microsoft Search Alliance Exec Switches Sides To Yahoo

    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.”

  • Yahoo Appoints SVP Of User Experience Design

    Google’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.

    “Previously,” Swisher noted, “in the 67-ring circus that has been Yahoo’s product organization, design was widely dispersed.”

    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.

  • Facebook Hires Time Warner Media Exec

    “President of Time Warner Global Media Group” is an impressive title. “Senior Vice President of Time Warner” isn’t bad, either. But the titles (and accompanying salary) apparently weren’t enough to keep Mark D’Arcy at the organization, as Facebook’s managed to lure the high-ranking exec away.

    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.

  • Google Hires Java Creator

    A 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.

  • Facebook May Hire Former White House Press Secretary

    A 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.

    Also, compared to a more traditional PR rep, Gibbs is also sure to have connections in Washington that could be useful (and he’d fit right in with the former FTC chairman and White House economics expert Facebook has already hired).

    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.

  • Twitter Hires Former AdSense Manager

    A 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.

    @satyap
    Satya Patel    Thrilled to @jointheflock @twitter to build awesome products w/ friends & former colleagues. Will still be working w/ @batteryventures cos. 6 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    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.”

  • Jack Dorsey-Twitter Reunion Rumored

    Jack Dorsey, a cofounder of Twitter and the company’s first CEO, may soon return to it on a fulltime basis.  Multiple reports suggest Dorsey is in talks to become Twitter’s chief product officer, or even – though nothing’s been confirmed and no one’s gone on the record – reclaim the title of CEO.

    Nicholas Carlson first wrote about these possibilities yesterday after getting in touch with an anonymous source, and a return on Dorsey’s part would make more than a degree of sense.  He’s stayed on a member of Twitter’s board of directors through everything, and more recently, has served as an advisor of sorts, spending perhaps a day a week at its offices.

    Also, during Twitter’s celebration of its fifth birthday, Dorsey‘s name came up more than a few times through official channels as everyone remembered that he sent the first ever tweet (visible below).

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    inviting coworkers 1828 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Anyway, Carlson addressed one possible loose end any move would create by noting, “Current Twitter CEO Dick Costolo will stay with the company, as he is valued for his monetization expertise.”

    As for another looming question, it simply remains unknown what would happen at Square, the payments firm Dorsey founded (he serves as CEO there).  Carlson thinks COO Keith Rabois could take over, while Claire Caine Miller suggested Dorsey would stay on.

    We’ll be sure to report any updates if this story transitions from rumor to fact at some point.  Unfortunately, neither Twitter nor Square has made much an official statement on the matter at this time.

  • Groupon Hiring 100 New Employees In Palo Alto

    Groupon Hiring 100 New Employees In Palo Alto

    It must be an exciting – and confusing – time at Groupon.  Even as the company’s launching sites in foreign countries, preparing for an IPO, and watching its president and COO step down, a fresh report’s indicated it’s also looking to hire a lot of new workers, including at least 100 in Palo Alto.

    Interestingly, Groupon didn’t choose some high-tech and/or quirky method of advertising its hiring spree.  Instead, it took out a billboard, which just suggests to passersby, “Do something massive.”

    Then there’s a line about “tech jobs in Palo Alto” and the address groupon.com/techjobs, with a silver letter “G” set against a bright green background.

    As for who Groupon’s looking to hire, Alexia Tsotsis reported after speaking with a Groupon representative that developers and technologists are in the company’s sights (especially those who deal in “data, analytics, networking, mathematics and Ruby on Rails”).

    Then the representative added, “We’re investing in Palo Alto as a tech hub.  We’re still hiring here [in Chicago] for devs, but Andrew’s always said publicly that the talent pool here is shallow, so it makes sense to invest out there.”

    The move could be a sign that Groupon is planning something altogether new.  Hiring 100 people to keep things exactly the same seems like overkill, after all.

    Or the hiring spree could relate to Groupon’s plans for massive growth.  Remember that CEO Andrew Mason wants to earn over $1 billion in revenue this year, and rumors suggest Groupon’s aiming for an IPO worth $25 billion.

    We’ll be sure to report any significant updates.

  • Groupon President And COO Leaving Company

    Groupon President And COO Leaving Company

    Almost exactly one year ago, Groupon announced that former Yahoo exec Rob Solomon had joined the organization and assumed the dual positions of president and chief operating officer.  Now, as Groupon appears to be ramping up for an IPO, word’s come that Solomon is leaving.

    This sudden change may startle some folks.  The latest news items about Groupon have all been success stories, ranging from stuff about revenue goals in excess of $1 billion to launching new sites in China and the United Arab Emirates.  There aren’t any obvious business-related reasons an exec would give up his roles the company.

    No one needs to start theorizing about behind-the-scenes problems, though, as there do appear to be a couple of more personal motives.  First, according to an internal memo Kara Swisher reprinted, Solomon intends to move his family back to California (from Groupon’s home of Chicago).

    Then the second reason just has to do with Solomon’s interests.  He told Bloomberg, “I’m not the guy who wants to run a 10,000 person company.  I’m much better at the startup and growth stage.”

    So Groupon and Solomon remain on good terms, with Groupon CEO Andrew Mason indicating that Solomon will continue to act as an advisor.  Solomon is supposed to help the company’s next COO (whoever that may be) get comfortable, as well.

    We don’t imagine Groupon will have much trouble attracting talented applicants, given that the latest round of rumors put the value of its theoretical IPO in the neighborhood of $25 billion.

  • Flickr’s Head Of Product Set To Leave

    Flickr’s Head Of Product Set To Leave

    One of Yahoo’s strongest properties will soon lose its head of product. Late yesterday, Matthew Rothenberg announced that he’s leaving Flickr after working at the organization for about five years.

    To head off speculation, this move doesn’t necessarily relate to Yahoo’s decline or any planned changes at Flickr. Rothenberg wrote in a blog post, “Against all odds (and in the oddest of places), I have met someone who having a future with is more important to me than any job could ever be. Leaving Flickr behind will allow me to focus more passionately on investing in a future with her.”

    Also, Rothenberg feels Flickr remains in capable hands. He later added, “I need to pass on the torch to the next generation of Flickreenos, all of whom have a clear mission, sense of purpose, and the drive and talent to get it done. I know that they are up for the task.”

    @mroth
    Matthew Rothenberg    Here goes: after 5 years, I will be stepping away from Flickr. Will miss working with such a talented, hard-working, and hard-drinking team. 15 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Still, this does represent a blow for Yahoo and Flickr. Rothenberg noted that he was either employee number 12 or 13 at Flickr, and he’s helped the organization in a number of important ways (including establishing partnerships with Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, and RIM).

    It’s hardly a secret that Yahoo’s been losing all sorts of key employees in recent weeks and months, either.

    Anyway, Markus Spiering, a (former) senior product manager at Flickr, will replace Rothenberg on at least a temporary basis.

  • Google Corporate Development Director Goes To Facebook

    Google’s famous for the rate at which it gobbles up smaller companies, and soon enough, Facebook may adopt similar habits.  Facebook now has an excellent deal broker onboard, anyway, as it’s hired Amin Zoufonoun, Google’s (former) director of corporate development.

    Zoufonoun was a longtime Google employee, with his LinkedIn profile indicating that he started in 2003.  That fact means Google almost certainly didn’t want to see him go, making this a significant loss for the company.

    Then there are the actual details of Zoufonoun’s position to consider.  His profile explains that he “mainly focused on strategy and deal execution, including evaluation, negotiating and executing Google’s mergers, acquisitions and investments.”

    And more specifically, Zoufonoun “[l]ed a number of Google’s key strategic acquisitions and investments both in the U.S. and internationally, including On2, Grandcentral (Google Voice), Metaweb, Widevine, Feedburner, Simplify Media, and several others.”

    So this move is almost sure to boost Facebook’s ability to buy companies.  It might hurt Google’s ability, too, although other Googlers and the company’s $184 billion market cap should ensure the damage is minimal.

    Hat tip goes to Alexei Oreskovic, who was tipped off about the (since-confirmed) development by a source familiar with the situation.

  • AOL Layoffs Hit Again

    This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows of the Huffington Post acquisition (and particularly to anyone who’s been watching headlines for the past week or so), but AOL’s laying off employees again.  The total number of affected individuals is close to 1,000.

    Leena Rao, who actually works for AOL now that it’s been bought TechCrunch, confirmed some rough figures earlier this morning.  She wrote, “AOL will be letting go a little over 200 U.S. employees, around 120 of which are editorial staffers.  The remaining employees that are being let go also work in AOL’s media business but in other operations (technology, product).”

    Then, as rumors suggested, it turns out that the other employees targeted by these layoffs live in India.  Rao reported, “In total, India’s casualties are above 700 employees.  In India, AOL will be letting go around 400 employees and transitioning around approximately 300 employees to become contractors.”

    Let’s hope that last detail softens the blow a bit.

    Anyway, all this activity seems to have impressed investors.  At the moment, AOL’s stock is up 0.41 percent, even as the Dow is down 1.31 percent and the Nasdaq is down 1.52 percent.

    The latest round of layoffs may make AOL a more profitable company (and safer place to work) as intended, then.

  • Yahoo Shuffles Sales Force Leadership

    Yahoo Shuffles Sales Force Leadership

    Yesterday, LivingSocial announced that it had hired a high-ranking Yahoo sales exec (“Vice President of North American Field Sales”).  Now, although the timing has to be a coincidence, Yahoo’s made two personnel changes that should help strengthen its sales organization.

    Wayne Powers, who is himself somewhat new to Yahoo, explained the adjustments in an internal memo obtained by Kara Swisher.  Carol Bartz, Ross Levinsohn, Blake Irving, Elisa Steele, and Tim Morse were all on the “Cc” list, by the way.

    At any rate, Powers wrote, “I am pleased to announce that Liz Ritzcovan will be joining Yahoo! as vice president of Marketing Solutions, leading our Sales Development organization.  I am equally excited to announce the promotion of long time Yahoo!, Andrea Morokutti, to vice president of Sales Operations and Strategy.”

    Later, he added, “Both Liz and Andrea will report directly to me. Frank Weishaupt will continue to lead our North America Region Ad Marketplaces organization.  And I’d like to thank him for his leadership of the Sales Development and Operations organizations over the last nine months.”

    Ritzcovan comes to Yahoo from Time, where she dealt in corporate sales and marketing.  Morokutti, meanwhile, was most recently a VP of ops finance.

    So this development should give Yahoo one sales exec who has experience at a big, successful media entity and another who has plenty of knowledge regarding the company’s inner workings.

  • LivingSocial Hires High-Ranking Yahoo Sales Exec

    Yahoo’s ad sales in the U.S. (along with the rest of the continent) may be in for a rough patch.  LivingSocial, the group deals site that competes with Groupon, has managed to poach Mitch Spolan, whose title was “Vice President of North American Field Sales.”

    There’s an interesting bit of symmetry in this move, considering that Yahoo and Google have been rivals for so long and Google showed so much interest in Groupon (supposedly trying to acquire it for $6 billion).

    Anyway, Spolan will now act as senior vice president of national sales at LivingSocial, and he seems well-prepared for the position.  Spolan spent over 12 years in sales at Yahoo, working his way up the ranks after starting with small clients in the southeast, meaning he has loads of experience.

    It’s likely Spolan collected tons of useful contacts, too.

    Eric Eichmann, LivingSocial’s COO, stated in response, “We are very excited to have Mitch join the senior executive team.  Mitch’s extensive experience developing new online advertising opportunities and working with top marketers will help accelerate national brands’ adoption of the powerful LivingSocial platform.  His hands-on approach, creativity and technological know-how will play an integral role in helping LivingSocial build upon its leadership position in the local commerce space.”

    Spolan then added, “LivingSocial has created a new medium where both marketers and consumers are big winners. I look forward to continuing to innovate on this incredibly powerful marketing platform as LivingSocial continues to dominate the local commerce space.”

  • YouTube Hires Paramount EVP/GM

    YouTube Hires Paramount EVP/GM

    Less than a month ago, a rumor indicated that YouTube would begin paying celebrities big money in order to create custom content.  Now, a piece of the organization’s Hollywood-related plans seems to be falling into place, as YouTube’s hired a key Paramount Pictures exec.

    At Paramount, Alex Carloss held the title “EVP & GM, WW Distribution.”  At YouTube, he’ll be a member of the content acquisition team, according to Peter Kafka, who broke the story.

    Carloss’s impressive employment history should come in handy there.  Over the years, he’s worked at Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Electronic Arts, Real Networks, and Metro Goldwyn Mayer, presumably making contacts all the way.

    That could provide YouTube with a good “in” or two with respect to making deals.

    Of course, at the same time, people at Google and YouTube probably appreciate the fact that this move will annoy Viacom, which owns Paramount.

    Anyway, Kafka wrote, “[Carloss will] work with Robert Kyncl, the Netflix veteran Google hired last year to figure out its strategy for working with Hollywood and other professional content-makers, which have yet to give the giant site all the video it wants.”

  • AOL Layoff Rumors Resurface Again

    AOL Layoff Rumors Resurface Again

    Today’s workday may be another tough eight hours for AOL employees.  CEO Tim Armstrong himself has confirmed that more layoffs will occur due to the acquisition of the Huffington Post, and while the timing remains uncertain, tensions are sure to run high as rumors suggest people could start losing their jobs any time.

    To first discuss who’s supposed to be safe: employees of Engadget and TechCrunch should all be left alone, as Arianna Huffington said in an interview with Beet.TV that she “won’t mess” with them.

    Tim ArmstrongAlso, if it’s of any comfort to anyone, Armstrong, who said at the PaidContent 2011 Conference that his father had once been laid off, did at least promise, “[W]e’ll do it thoughtfully.”

    As for some of the people who could be at greatest risk, the Times of India reported this morning, “There is a buzz that AOL India is about to lay off people.  Some say the scale of layoffs would be substantial.”

    Not much else is known for sure.  AOL’s supposed to see $20 million in savings thanks to the acquisition, but the company hasn’t discussed the details of where all that money will come from.

    If we can confirm how many people or which departments will be affected, we’ll be sure to report those facts later.

  • Microsoft-Facebook Legal Clash Over Personnel Possible

    Tech companies poach each other’s employees on a regular basis; a week rarely goes by without something alone the lines of a Yahoo-to-Google or Zynga-to-Twitter transfer occurring.  Only it seems Microsoft’s getting more than a little tired of losing employees to Facebook, and may unleash a few lawyers in an effort to keep one person from changing sides.

    Kara Swisher, who broke news of this possibility late yesterday, reported, "Microsoft – furious over a recent talent grab of its top advertising exec by Facebook – has been considering a wide range of options, including legal action to block the move, according to sources close to the situation."

    Then Swisher continued, "Lawyer[s] at both companies have been in back-and-forth talks in recent days after the hiring of Microsoft’s global ad sales head Carolyn Everson by the Silicon Valley social networking powerhouse to be its VP of global sales."

    That’s not to say a lawsuit is inevitable.  However some people at Microsoft may feel about this personnel issue, Facebook continues to be an important partner, letting Bing offer special features (such as Liked Results) that Google and other search engines can’t match.

    Also, Facebook’s in Microsoft’s debt to some degree, considering the larger corporation invested $240 million (at a valuation of $15 billion) when such a move was thought to be somewhere between laughable and insane.

    So we’ll see what happens.  An agreement that would let Everson switch jobs but prevent her from stealing Microsoft’s advertisers is one possible compromise, according to Swisher.

    Facebook and Microsoft will just have to be careful that they don’t anger the Department of Justice, which wrapped up an investigation into an Apple, Adobe, Google, Intel, Intuit, and Pixar "no poaching" agreement last year.