Gongol.com Archives: July 2015
July 17, 2015

That's an analysis from an expense-management software company, so it's third-party data that may not be completely accurate for the universe at large, but it does signal the threat that ride-sharing poses to conventional taxicab services. There's no doubt they've failed to capture the opportunities that the Internet placed right in front of them.

Bloomberg reports that the company "plans to turn the so-called ghost airport into a European hub for Chinese companies". China is literally buying beachheads in Europe. This will not be the last -- certainly not if China's economy is really slowing down as dramatically as it appears. A whole bunch of important signals say they're running out of places to invest internally -- and fast. And a reminder to Europe and others: Ownership matters. Once you give up ownership, you give up control. This is an immutable law of economic nature, and the consequences in the intermediate-term future are going to be huge.

The stock price took off by 16% after the company reported a nearly $4 billion profit in the second quarter of this year. They're still trying to break out of the confines of Internet search-related advertising, but the impression seems to be that the new CFO won't tolerate quite so much frivolous spending as took place in the past -- and that she's going to keep a closer eye on some of the company's "moon shot" investments.

Gawker took down a post under pressure this past week. The original story alleged that a media executive had texted an escort, and they took down the story because the public pressure "reflects a growing recognition that we all have secrets, and they are not all equally worthy of exposure", according to Gawker's founder, Nick Denton. This is the same Gawker that tastelessly manipulated a Coca-Cola promotion earlier this year. It's odd watching Internet wunderkinds realize they have to grow up.

More control for the founding family over the large and eye-poppingly complex conglomerate