Author: Ben Parr

Congratulations, You Just Won the Lottery! How Not to Be An Asshole With Your New Wealth

Congratulations are in order! After some completely appropriate late afternoon drinking at the bar with the love of your life who has friendzone’d you to hell, you stumbled into a convenience store to buy a pity cigarette, but instead bought a lottery ticket that is now worth $650 million! Now that you’re wealthy beyond your… Continue reading Congratulations, You Just Won the Lottery! How Not to Be An Asshole With Your New Wealth

Snapchat and the Logic of Turning Down $3 Billion

In July 2006, a two-year-old company received the offer of a lifetime: a $1 billion acquisition offer from Yahoo. While its board was ready to accept the offer, its founder and CEO instantly dismissed the offer. “I don’t know what I could do with the money,” the CEO said. “I’d just start another social networking… Continue reading Snapchat and the Logic of Turning Down $3 Billion

My Thoughts on BlackBerry’s Dismal Future on CNBC [VIDEO]

It’s no secret that I am a bear on BlackBerry. Maybe that’s why we let the fireworks fly while on CNBC today. On CNBC’s Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo, I fought with John Spallanzani of GFI Group on whether Fairfax would be able to raise the billions needed to take the company private and the… Continue reading My Thoughts on BlackBerry’s Dismal Future on CNBC [VIDEO]

The PandoDaily Problem: Why the AllThingsD Team Needs to Avoid Tech Investors

By early next year, two high-quality technology news publications are going to make their debut. And if the owners of these publications are smart, they will turn their backs on the tech investors that are likely lining up outside their doors. As some of you may have heard, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, two of… Continue reading The PandoDaily Problem: Why the AllThingsD Team Needs to Avoid Tech Investors

Microsoft & Nokia Can Carve a Niche in Mobile, But Wearables Is the Next Battleground

Microsoft + Nokia still has room to grow in the smartphone market, but perhaps the software giant should focus on the future of mobile: wearables. Originally, I intended to write a thought piece bashing the Microsoft-Nokia deal. On the surface, Windows Phone feels much like BlackBerry, whose moves I correctly predicted were too little, too… Continue reading Microsoft & Nokia Can Carve a Niche in Mobile, But Wearables Is the Next Battleground

NSA’s PRISM: This Isn’t Over, So Can We Please Breathe Before We Jump to Conclusions?

The dropped a bombshell last night — the government is spying on you! And it’s in cahoots with the world’s most popular Internet companies to do it! If that isn’t a recipe for a shitstorm, I don’t know what is. But are Google, Yahoo, AOL, Facebook and the other tech giants willingly sending the NSA… Continue reading NSA’s PRISM: This Isn’t Over, So Can We Please Breathe Before We Jump to Conclusions?