Tech Brew Ride Home - Wed. 06/30 – Facebook’s Substack Clone

Episode Date: June 30, 2021

Facebook launches its Substack clone. Emphasis on clone. Shopify joins the platform tax wars by going to zero. A truce between Microsoft and Google has just lapsed. A big raise in the drone space. And would you pay to get actual search results instead of ads? Sponsors: Cybereason.com Links: Facebook announces Bulletin, its Substack newsletter competitor (The Verge) Shopify drops its App Store commissions to 0% on developers’ first million in revenue (Tech Crunch) Google and Microsoft End Their Five-Year Cease-Fire (Bloomberg) T-Mobile is offering iPhone owners no-hassle network ‘test drives’ (The Verge) Alphabet’s Wing launches OpenSky drone airspace authorization app in US (Tech Crunch) Zipline raises $250M at $2.75B valuation to build out its instant logistics service (Tech Crunch) Inside Neeva, the ad-free, privacy-first search engine from ex-Googlers (Fast Company) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the TechMeem right home for Wednesday, June 30th, 2021. I'm Brian McCullough. Today, Facebook launches its substack clone. Emphasis on clone. Shopify joins the platform tax wars by going to zero. A truce between Microsoft and Google has just lapsed, a big raise in the drone space. And would you pay to get actual search results instead of just ads? Here's what you missed today in the world of tech. Today's going to be a day of strategery and, and, would you pay to get actual search results instead of just ads? Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Today's going to be a day of strategyry. And, news about moves on the great big tech chess board, I guess. For example, Facebook has unveiled bulletin. It's Substack newsletter competitor, but it's not accepting sign-ups for just anybody yet.

If you're not already a bulletin launch partner, you're going to have to wait your turn. If you do get picked to join the bulletin launch, yippee, because Facebook says it won't take a cut of creators' revenue for a bit, quoting the verge. The new platform, is, quote, focused on empowering independent writers, helping them reach new audiences and power their businesses. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a live audio call discussing the launch. At launch, Facebook has signed up Malcolm Gladwell, Tan France, and Aaron Andrews, among others, to cover a range of topics from sports and finance to science and medicine.

Zuckerberg says Bulletin is part of Facebook's mission to continue growing its creator monetization tools, quote, the goal here across the company is to support eventually millions of people doing creative work, he said. Bulletin isn't accepting signups yet. Facebook has brought on a number of writers for a beta period and says it will add more, quote, over time. It isn't currently adding new writers, though, end quote. Lots of chatter online about how completely the design of bulletin basically looks identical to substack. As Michael Seabull said on Twitter, you're nobody until Facebook copies you. But again, notice how Facebook took pains to make the point. again, that it's not taking a cut yet. Everybody does something similar now. You launch something new.

You announce how generous you're being to creators and to app developers, and it's free PR. You get a dig in at Apple, and, you know, someday later when no one cares, you can probably, you know, just charge the same Vig that everybody else does eventually. Or maybe you make competitive comparisons as your overall strategy in order to steal share for your platform. For example, at Shopping. Shopify's Unite 2021 conference yesterday, Shopify said it was dropping the Shopify App Store's cut to developers on its platform to zero percent on a given devs first $1 million in revenue. They also said their app developer partners have earned $233 million in 2020, more than 2018 and 2019 combined, quoting TechCrunch. Today, there are over 6,000 publicly

available apps across the Shopify App Store, and on average a merchant will use around six apps to run their business. Now, Shopify says it will drop its commissions on app developer revenue to zero percent, down from 20 percent, for developers who make less than $1 million annually on its platform. This benchmark will also reset annually, giving developers and particularly those on the cusp of $1 million, more earning potential. And when Shopify's revenue share does kick in, it will now only be 15% of marginal revenue. That means developers will pay 15% only on revenue they make. That's over the $1 million mark. The same business model will apply to Shopify's theme store, which opens to developer submissions on July 15th. As the two stores are separate entities, the $1 million

revenue share metric applies to each store individually. The new business model will begin on August 1, 2021 and will be made available to developers who register by providing their account details in their partner dashboard. Shopify says the more developer-friendly business model will mean a drop in company revenue, but says it doesn't expect this impact to be material because it will encourage greater innovation and development, end quote. As an example of developers finding success already on Shopify's platform just today, Shogun, which helps e-commerce businesses build their storefronts on platforms like Shopify, announced a $67.5 million series C, led by insight partners at a $575 million valuation. All of this is tech world war stuff, right? Circular

firing squad stuff. Everybody pointing guns at everybody else, like at the end of reservoir dogs, right? Well, to keep this analogy going almost quite literally, sources are telling Bloomberg that amid their escalating rivalry, neither Google nor Microsoft are particularly keen to renew a recently expired truce the companies had entered into to not use their lobbying firepower against one another in the court of regulatory opinion. Quote, Microsoft and Google, tech giants that compete in cloud computing web search and artificial intelligence, five years ago formally agreed to cease using their substantial lobbying firepower against one another, seeking to eliminate a pricey and distracting battle and clear the way to collaborate more. That truce, forged at a time by

two new CEOs wanting a fresh start on a formerly acrimonious relationship, expired in April Even before the deal was allowed to lapse, the non-aggression pact had been fraying. The company's feuded publicly over a proposal to force Google to pay news publishers for content, and squabbled more quietly over technology for selling search ads. Neither company is eager to extend or renew the alliance, according to people familiar with each company's thinking, who weren't authorized to discuss confidential relationships. As the two draw further apart and the business rivalry between them escalates. Microsoft and Alphabet's Google may be drawn back into a persistent battle of behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts and public complaints to regulators who are eager to impose new limits on the power

of the biggest technology companies. From Microsoft's side, the disputes are about giving marketers equal access to search engines when they organize campaigns with Google's technology, and creating a robust ecosystem for content creators to get paid. Google believes Microsoft is objecting because it regards Google as a threat to Microsoft's Azure cloud computing and office productivity businesses. At a time when regulators are training their guns on the whole industry, Microsoft and Google handing them ammo against each other may backfire, leaving both companies and their peers subject to even more scrutiny, end quote. This is something that was news to me. Like, if this has been possible all along,

why hasn't this been a common practice all along? Want to test out? One of test out. what T-Mobile's coverage is like? Well, if you have an e-sim-compatible iPhone, you can. You can try out T-Mobile's cell network with a 30-day free trial just by installing an app. No billing info is even required. Just download the app and try out the network, quoting the verge. There's no change to your current carrier plan or phone number, but you'll be using T-Mobile data on your device. The test drive program has been around in one form or another since 2014, with the The most recent iteration, though, which is still available to those who can't use the e-sim feature, T-Mobile will send you a free Wi-Fi hotspot you can connect with your current phone to try out the network.

This new ESIM version offers the same kind of trial, 30 days or 30 gigabytes, whichever you reach first, with less hassle. T-Mobile says the ESM option is a pilot program that it introduced last week. Currently, it only works with unlocked iPhone starting with the 10S and newer devices that are running iOS 14.5. or higher. If you have an iPhone 12th gen device, you'll also have access to T-Mobile's 5G network during your trial. We gave it a shot, and it actually is as easy as it looks. You just follow the setup prompts, and you're good to go. It definitely beats visiting a store or carrying a Wi-Fi hotspot. It is, of course, particularly beneficial for T-Mobile, too. The carrier is looking to flex its relatively strong 5G spectrum holdings before Verizon and AT&T start catching up later this

year with newly acquired C-band frequencies. Getting more customers to try the network and convert now would help T-Mobile make the most of its 5G lead, end quote. Alphabet's wing has launched OpenSkyi in the U.S. on Android and iOS. OpenS. Open Sky is an app that lets drone owners find the nearest open airspace for their drones, quoting TechCrunch. Knowing precisely where the nearest open airspace is can get tricky, particularly. in large cities like New York. Today, Alphabet's drone delivery subsidiary wing announced that it's launching its Open Sky app in the U.S. on Google Play and the iOS App Store. The app was launched in Australia back in 2019 for both hobbyists and commercial drone pilots with help from the

Civil Aviation Safety Authority. The U.S. version was created with input from the FAA for operation in low-altitude authorization and notification capability airspace. Using the app, drone drone operators can request approval to operate in spaces, expediting a process that would traditionally take days or weeks to go through. Why is a drone delivery company investing in an operator app? Wing asks rhetorically in a blog post, because with nearly two million registered drones in the U.S. already, regulatory compliance of all drones will allow them to share the sky safely. Moreover, compliance will ultimately expand the uses and benefits of drones, among them emergency response, commercial inspections, and contactless delivery to more people, end quote.

Speaking of, here's an interesting raise in the drone industry. Dron delivery startup Zipline has raised $250 million at a $2.75 billion valuation to further its expansion in Africa, as well as the U.S. Zipline actually got its start by delivering medical supplies across Africa, and now it's become one of the biggest unicorns in the drone space. space, quoting TechCrunch. Zipline made a name for itself first in Rwanda and then in Ghana, where it delivered blood, vaccines, life-saving medications, and other essential supplies using autonomous electric drones. The company which launched in 2014 is vertically integrated, meaning it designs and

manufactures the unmanned drones it uses, the logistics software, and the accompanying launch and landing system. Zipline CEO Keller Renaudu told TechCrunch that this was more by necessity than design, noting that when the company first started developing its drone tech, it quickly realized that off-the-shelf components weren't reliable or didn't integrate well. Renaudu stressed that Zipline doesn't think of itself as a drone company, but rather an instant logistics provider. And while the company iteratively improves its autonomous drone model,

much of its success over the past five years have been related to building out its logistics network. After what Renaudu described as a challenging first year of operations in Rwanda in 2016, the company has since partnered with logistics company UPS in that East African country, the Toyota Group in Japan, and it started working with Nigeria's Kaduna and Cross River States. Here in the United States, the company has partnered with Novent Health to deliver medical equipment and personal protective gear in North Carolina, and notably with retail giant Walmart delivering health and wellness products. Unlike many companies that suffered during the pandemic, for Zipline, there was an obvious opportunity to further accelerate its operations, not only deliver

personal protective equipment, but also COVID-19 vaccines. The company says it is planning to deliver 2.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year. Zipline sees an additional opportunity in delivering health care items such as pharmaceutical prescriptions directly to people's homes. Hospitals really see instant logistics as the other half of telepresence, Renaudu says. If you can have someone quickly pull out their phone and talk to a doctor, then the other half of the equation is, can we get you what you need? End quote. The company's currently currently working with the Federal Aviation Administration to move from operating under an emergency waiver, granted by regulators during the pandemic, to a full commercial operating certification.

One advantage Zipline may have over competitors in the FAA's certification process is that it has many thousands of hours of safe flight data to show that its system is sound. It would be the first drone delivery company to receive such a certification. In the long run, Zipline may start to focus on other industries, but for now it's laser-focused on health care, Renaudu said. He noted that in the last few months alone, the company has signed service contracts for five new distribution centers in Nigeria and four in Ghana, as well as multiple new service contracts with hospital systems in the U.S. This latest funding round led by Bally Gifford, and with support from returning investors, Temasek and Catalyst Ventures and new investors,

Fidelity, Intercore, and emerging capital partners, will be used to build out the infrastructure for these new contracts. Renaudu said the aim is for Zipline to serve the majority of sales. single-family detached homes across the United States over the coming three years or so. The fact that so many big companies like Toyota and Walmart are starting to make big bets in this instant logistics space, I think is a pretty clear sign that people realize this is coming, Renaudu said. There's a tidal wave of transformation coming. The exciting thing about it is that it's going to totally transform the way that health care systems work. It's going to totally transform the way that economic systems work, and it's going to make it possible for logistics to serve people equally,

end quote. Finally today, not an interesting raise, but certainly an interesting launch. Neva, that ad-free search engine, started by two prominent ex-Google executives, has officially launched, offering actual pure search results for $4.95 a month, quoting Fast Company. Neva is indeed a new search engine, officially launching today, that carries a subscription fee. Though it's extremely similar to Google in many respects with a few twists of its own, it dumps the web giant's venerable ad-based business model in the interest of avoiding distractions, privacy quandaries, and other compromises. It's free for three months, long enough for users to grow accustomed to it without obligation, and $4.95 a month thereafter. Apps for iPhones and iPads and

browser search extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Brave are also part of the deal. Neva may have a certain whiff of improbability about it, but its co-founders, Sridar Ramoswamy and Vivek Ragu Nathan are among the furthest thing from being searched naive. The two longtime Google executives have more than a quarter century of experience at the web giant between them. They have an insider's understanding of how Google operates. Moreover, about 30% of the roughly 60-person staff they've assembled at Neva consists of ex-Gouglers, including Hall of Famers such as Udi Manbur, a former head of Google Search, and Darren Fisher, one of the inventors of Chrome. They've also secured $77.5 million in funding,

including investments from venture capital Titans, Greylock, and Sequoia. At its highest level, Neva represents a bet that the way Google monetizes search and other services through advertising, as it's done for more than two decades to wildly profitable effect, has hampered its user experience, thereby opening up an opportunity. I tell people that Neva is as much a social experiment as it is a technological experiment, says Ramoswamy, the company's CEO, it's looking for the answer to the question, if there was a high-quality product that clearly benefits you in multiple ways, would you pay for it as opposed to having it be free supported by ads, end quote. Whatever the answer to that question, Neva's creators understand what they're getting into.

Quote, Sridar and Vivek, with their depth of knowledge on everything from technology to what people actually need and do, are probably the only people in the world where I would go, okay, I'll go on this journey with you because you know how to go. on this journey, says Greylock partner and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. With no ads to serve up, Neva shouldn't leave privacy-conscious types feeling like they're being monitored for ulterior purposes. By default, Neva does hold on to your searches for 90 days to improve the quality of features such as auto suggestions, but you can erase this log or tell the service that you don't want it to keep it in the first place. In another break from search engine tradition, Neva says that it will turn

at least 20% of its top line revenue over to publishing partners, including the first two that's announced, Quora and Medium. Though the details of where this could lead remain vague, it's another attempt to set Neva apart from Google, which has often been accused of benefiting from media outlets' content without adequate compensation, a long, simmering dispute that has led to lawsuits and legislation, end quote. Tonight, 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific,

join Chris Messina and I on a Twitter space. Alex Cantorwitz is going to join us, to help us try to unpack this whole Facebook antitrust ruling, and a bunch more, of course. So see you there. Talk to you tomorrow.