1. Facebook CEO Asked to Step Down
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO and chairman, is being put to a vote by shareholders to step down as their chairman. Their intentions for this shocking request lie in his current divided attention and the board of directors’ lack of faith in his ability to uphold both positions and do well. The vote—set to take place on May 31—will ultimately determine Zuckerberg’s future at the company. There are several other reasons for the push of his step-down including the emphasis on his excessive amount of power. According to BBC news, the former security chief Alex Stamos argued that “he has too much power” and “when you are building something like Facebook, which is unprecedented in the world, there are things that you are going to mess up.” Many are urging him to consider examples like Bill Gates of Microsoft and Larry Page of Alphabet to attest to their success with a separate chairman from their roles as CEO. However, Zuckerberg is likely to keep his seat because he has 60% of the voting power. Regardless of whether he wins or loses, the rest of the voter’s percentage will be the ultimate testament to their faith in him as a leader.
(Source: BBC News)
2. Google Says No to Cannabis
Until today, THC-based cannabis vendors were permitted to sell or facilitate the delivery of cannabis on the Google Play platform. However, due to a recent change in federal policy, Google is taking precautions and removing apps associated with the sale of cannabis from its app store. The Silicon Valley titan stated that they are “regularly subject to… government investigations.” They chose to follow Facebook’s example to shut down any promotion of Cannabis on their platform.
So what happens to all those people relying on the app store?
Google’s decision to initiate this shut down sparked controversy on the cannabis vendors’ end. They complained that Google’s lack of support will only encourage those who sell illegally and while cannabis is legal in ten states, it is still illegal under federal law. This is the reason so many are hesitant to do business with cannabis vendors, and the tech giants prove that they are not willing to risk associating with the industry until the SAFE Banking Act comes into full effect, protecting them from federal law. So for now, all we can do is wait.
(Source: Forbes)
3. Pay Celebs to Give You a ‘Shoutout’
People have gone crazy for the platform that brings them one step closer to their favorite celebrities. Cameo was created for the Tina Belchers of the world to request personalized messages from their beloved celebrities ranging from YouTube influencers to Hollywood Actors. Founder Steven Galanis launched the company in 2017 with the vision that super-fans could pay to get shout-outs from celebrities. The prices range from $50 to $2.5K to get the likes of Caitlyn Jenner to acknowledge a fan and, in return, the company gets a 25% cut of what the artists request for their time. Cameo is currently finalizing a new funding round that will value the company at more than $300M. According to Axios, their exponential growth can be attributed to their strong management handle on both consumer behavior and the talent side of the ledger as well as their competitive edge which lead to high growth.
(Sources: The Hustle, Axios)
