Why Microsoft and Yahoo had to do a deal
As messy as their hard-fought search deal was in coming, it had to happen. Find out why in Pattie Sellers' Postcards column.
Top 10 quotes from Brainstorm Tech
From Pattie Sellers' Postcards column: Our 10 favorites from the mouths of media moguls, tech titans, Tweeters and more.
Virality is virility
by Patricia Sellers
On Tuesday night, during a dinner conversation about the growth of Facebook and the potential of Twitter, I tossed out a phrase that I can”t get out of my head these past three days at FortuneBrainstorm Tech in California. The conversation was with a dozen or so Silicon Valley execs, from companies like Google (GOOG) and eBay (EBAY) and Palm (PALM), and they were noting that Twitter hasn’t invested much in talent — given its global prominence as a communications platform and its need to become a sustainable profit-making company.
So what, it doesn’t matter, said one smart executive at the dinner, contending that “virality” will propel Twitter’s success, at least for a while. “Virality is virility,” I replied. More in Pattie Sellers’ Postcards blog.
Behind Ning’s $750 million play
Ning CEO Gina Bianchini is getting lots of curious looks and occasional “Congratulations!” at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech. The news leaked this week that her start-up raised $15 million at a company valuation of $750 million.
You can read the whole story here in Pattie Sellers' Postcards column.
