TechCrunch
Surface 2: Repeat Or Redemption?
Myself and the inimitable Chris Velazco took to the TechCrunch TV screens to dig into the new Surface hardware that Microsoft announced today. Chris and I are both long-time Surface owners and users, so we speak with a bit experience and fondness.
The hardware, we surmise, is great, but we remain a bit unsure about the software that Microsoft has compiled for its tablet hybrids. Can the Windows Store provide enough application density and depth to allow for the Surface 2 to avoid the sins of its predecessor, the Surface RT? It remains an open question.
For more on the new Microsoft hardware, head here. And if you want a behind-the-scenes talk with the creators of Surface, I wrote this just for you.
Source: Cella Irvine Is No Longer CEO At Vibrant Media
Cella Irvine has stepped down as CEO of ad tech company Vibrant Media, according to a source with knowledge of the company.
I emailed and called Vibrant earlier this evening, but I haven’t heard back yet. (I did manage to speak to someone at Vibrant for a few seconds, but they immediately transferred me to a spokesperson who didn’t pick up.)
Irvine joined the company in October 2011. She previously served as the CEO at the New York Times’ About Group (The Times later sold About.com to IAC) and as Chief Administrative Officer at ad agency Digitas.
When Irvine took on the role, she was replacing co-founder Doug Stevenson, who had stepped down. According to a report in AdAge last fall, Vibrant has been profitable for several years with revenue of more than $100 million.
My source told that revenue has actually fallen below $100 million, though it has held relatively steady after the initial dip. The board has apparently been frustrated by the lack of growth and perhaps the fact that Vibrant hasn’t gone public (which Stevenson was hinting at back in 2010).
Is that actually Irvine’s fault? Maybe not. These could be the inherent difficulties facing an ad company that isn’t exactly young anymore (Vibrant, which remains best-known for those online in-text ads that appear when you mouse over certain words, was founded in 2000). And the company seemed to be pretty active while Irvine was in charge, acquiring startup Image Space Media and it also launching a number of new ad units, including its first aimed specifically at smartphones and tablets.
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