Mark Zuckerberg: The evolution of a remarkable CEO

Mark Zuckerberg: The evolution of a remarkable CEO

About six months ago, critics pummeled Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

He’d made questionable management decisions, or so it appeared from the outside. He’d fumbled the site’s redesign and botched the company’s terms of service agreement — moves that whipped up negative publicity and user… Continue Reading

Roundup: Amazon’s ‘ham-fisted’ error, Facebook’s baseball surge and more

Roundup: Amazon’s ‘ham-fisted’ error, Facebook’s baseball surge and more

Here’s the latest action:

Gay books disappear from Amazon’s sales rankings
— What caused the incident now known as “amazonfail”? The online retailer first blamed a glitch, and is now saying a “ham-fisted” cataloging error is at fault. Meanwhile, a hacker claims to be responsible.

With the start… Continue Reading

Q&A with Jim Breyer: Maven Networks, online video opportunities and Facebook

Q&A with Jim Breyer: Maven Networks, online video opportunities and Facebook

It’s official: Maven Networks, a video platform services provider, has sold to Yahoo for around $160 million. I covered the deal in some detail, when news of it leaked a couple of weeks ago.

Maven, which provides video hosting and video ad distribution software to large… Continue Reading

Etsy: Online market for handmade goods funded, fighting mass production

Etsy: Online market for handmade goods funded, fighting mass production

Etsy, a site for buying and selling hand-made crafts, has raised $27 million in a round led by Accel Partners, with Accel’s Jim Breyer joining the company’s board of directors.

Think eBay’s e-commerce site, but for arts and crafts, and also more tastefully designed. Etsy’s crafts… Continue Reading

Accel Partners, Facebook backer, raises new fund

Accel Partners, Facebook backer, raises new fund

Accel Partners, the Silicon Valley firm that backed Facebook two years ago and expects to make a major profit from that company, has raised a new $520 million fund.

The new fund comes at a time of considerable momentum for the firm. Over the past year,… Continue Reading

In history revision, Microsoft now a friend of the valley

In history revision, Microsoft now a friend of the valley

updated
There’s a remarkable revision occurring in Silicon Valley, with the old business lore being edited so that Microsoft suddenly emerges as a friend — even after decades of being outcast as an aggressive bully.

Microsoft has long been known for its predatory behavior: It would strike… Continue Reading

Battery Ventures’ mistake on Facebook

Battery Ventures’ mistake on Facebook

There’s a notable piece at Boston.com today about how Battery Ventures partner Scott Tobin (pictured left) decided not to invest in Facebook when Mark Zuckerberg pitched him three years ago in Boston.

Tension between the firm’s East and West Coast offices contributed to the firm’s rejection… Continue Reading