Techmeme: Nadella's broad-based memo to employees lacked specifics, foreshadows organizational changes (Jean-Louis Gassée/Monday Note)

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July 14, 2014, 9:50 AM

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Jessi Hempel / Fortune:

Behind the post-acquistion evolution of Instagram, which says 25% of users use Direct monthly — Instagram is ready to take its shot — The photo-sharing social media service has a fast-growing, hyper-engaged user base that advertisers love. Now it just needs to figure out how to make money for corporate parent Facebook.

More: Daily Dot. Thanks:@uking3

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Inside Amazon's pricing war with Hachette, which is making some publishers and authors anxious — Amazon, a Friendly Giant as Long as It's Fed — Vincent Zandri hails from the future. He is a novelist from the day after tomorrow, when Amazon has remade the worlds of writing, printing …

More: AVC, Business Insider and Fortune

Tweets: @hblodget, @arhomberg, @glennf, @jacobwe, @jayrosen_nyu, @mattpeckham, @davidstreitfeld, @jason_kint, @tonyhorwitz, @om, @cdixon and @chuckwendig

See also Mediagazer

Clare Malone / Elle:

Meet Parisa Tabriz, Google's “Security Princess” in charge of handling Chrome security threats — Meet Google's Security Princess — As Google's top hacker, Parisa Tabriz thinks like a criminal—and manages the brilliant, wonky guys on her team with the courage and calm of a hostage negotiator.

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @mattcutts and @claremalone

Jean-Louis Gassée / Monday Note:

Nadella's broad-based memo to employees lacked specifics, foreshadows organizational changes — Microsoft's New CEO Needs An Editor — Satya Nadella's latest message to the troops - and to the world - is disquieting. It lacks focus, specifics, and, if not soon sharpened …

More: Cult of Mac, Gigaom Research, Stowe Boyd, BrianMadden.com and PandoDaily

Tweets: @asymco, @counternotions, @reckless, @reckless, @caseynewton, @counternotions, @edbott and @theromit

Sam Thielman / Adweek:

This Is How Your Financial Data Is Being Used to Serve You Ads — Wait, who sees my credit card bill, again? — We've done a lot of work here at Adweek on ROI data, and a few readers have asked that we explain what on earth we're talking about, because it's a somewhat scary phenomenon to consumers …

Tweets: @maxkalehoff, @howardlindzon and @shannonpareil

Benj Edwards / The Atlantic Online:

How an enthusiast is trying to rebuild Prodigy, the online service that shut down in 1999 — Rebuilding Prodigy, one screen at a time — Rebuilding Prodigy, one screen at a time — Michael Doino approached the late hours of October 1, 1999, with a lingering sense of dread.

More: Gizmodo. Tweets: @benjedwards

Economist:

Electronics companies in Japan are starting to turn themselves around, but they are a shadow of their former selves — Electronics companies in Japan are starting to turn themselves around, but they are a shadow of their former selves — FOR Sony it was a bittersweet moment.

More: Boing Boing. Tweets: @stevesi, @ambvprakash, @parislemon, @noahpinion and @asburyhoward

Kevin Roose / New York Magazine:

Does Anyone Outside Silicon Valley Even Want a Smartwatch? — Nearly every big tech company is betting on them in unison. — In the past week, I've been called “Inspector Gadget” twice, had a near-calamitous accident involving spray-on sunblock, and felt my arm vibrate so often I started treating it as a phantom limb.

Tweets: @karaswisher

Sam Byford / The Verge:

Samsung suspends business with China supplier following child labor accusation — Korean company finds evidence of “illegal hiring process” — Last week watchdog China Labor Watch published an investigation into Samsung's supply chain that found evidence of child labor at the Shinyang Electronics factory in Dongguan, China.

More: Samsung Tomorrow, BetaNews, Digital Trends, 9to5Google, InfoWorld, Gigaom, BBC, Sammy Hub, ZDNet, Ubergizmo, Reuters, CNET, SamMobile and The Next Web

Dante D'Orazio / The Verge:

Snapchat tests collaborative ‘Our Story’ feature with all users for the World Cup final — Surprise Snapchat experiment shares stories from the World Cup final — Snapchat may be best known for its “ephemeral” messaging, but the company is experimenting with a new way to share live events.

More: Wall Street Journal, PC Magazine, TechCrunch, Gotta Be Mobile, Engadget and WebProNews

Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed:

How Internet Providers Get Around War Zones — Internet disruptions wreak havoc on global economies. Avoiding them is dangerous, but lucrative. — Via dyn.com — In January 2008, something sharp — mostly likely an errant ship anchor — sliced into two underwater cables …

Tweets: @jimcowie

Reuters:

Exclusive: YouTube weighs funding efforts to boost premium content - sources — (Reuters) - YouTube has embarked on a new round of discussions with Hollywood and independent producers to fund premium content, two sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters, a move that could bolster …

More: VatorNews and Beyond Search. Tweets: @markterbeek and @pkafka

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Accuses Chinese Executive of Hacking to Mine Military Data — Man Charged With Industrial Espionage Targeting Boeing, Other Defense Contractors — WASHINGTON—The Justice Department has charged the owner of a Chinese aviation technology company with stealing reams of information …

More: Ars Technica, Washington Post, ZDNet, ABC News, Naked Security, NBC News, Engadget, The Verge, Forbes, Gizmodo, New York Times, Bloomberg, BBC, Reuters, CBC News and Fortune

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