GroupMe turns to advertising, sort of

The group messaging startup will offer slickly branded groups promoting bands, TV shows, and concerts. In other words: sponsors. Will users love or loathe the idea?

By Daniel Roberts, reporter

At the SXSW Interactive conference in Austin this month, while speaking about the recent heavy influx of platforms that offer group text messaging, Ted Livingston, CEO of KIK, told CNNmoney, "The four big [companies] that all the blogs talk about is us, MORE

Why U.S. patents are now less valuable

A stunning decision in a Microsoft patent infringement case may have made patent royalties more fair, but also made them much more unpredictable.

By Russell L. Parr and George Hovanec , guest contributors

A January decision by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had a sweeping effect:  it dropped the value of US patents. Just how much the value has been reduced, overall, is not yet known. Part of the MORE

Can I get out of my T-mobile contract?

Now that it's set to become part of AT&T, many T-Mobile customers are wondering, "Will they let me get out of my contract?" It's the question T-Mobile doesn't want to answer yet.

By Daniel Roberts, reporter

It seems anyone with a cell phone contract has had the thought, whether due to owning an antiquated phone, moving to an area with no service, or dealing with an umpteenth dropped call: "When is my MORE

Twitter, Groupon, and how to manage an army of clones

The two companies have inspired two huge networks of imitators. So why is the one you'd least expect now intent on rubbing out the competition?

By Chadwick Matlin, contributor

FORTUNE -- Another week, another Groupon clone. And this time, it's Facebook. Last week, the company confirmed to Bloomberg that it was going to start competing for coupon revenue in earnest. Mark Zuckerberg and company began putting ads for a "Facebook Deals" feature MORE

Is the new HP just an IBM clone?

Léo Apotheker's vision for Hewlett Packard is a familiar shade of Big Blue.

By Kevin Kelleher, contributor

Behold the new HP. After a series of scandals, a change in CEOs and a rebuilding of its board, the tech giant revealed the new HP to the world: It's still very much a company that wants to be another company -- IBM.

Watching CEO Léo Apotheker and other HP (HPQ) executives present their vision last MORE

Economics of dissent: How Twitter and Facebook tipped the revolutionary equation

Perhaps it is time to update the phrase "The pen is mightier than the sword" to "The Internet is mightier than dictators."

By Othman Laraki, contributor

While the above statement is made tongue-in-cheek, it is undeniable that we are living through a time of accelerated change. Suddenly, we are witnessing decades-long regimes being challenged by oppressed populations. It is not entirely clear what has changed, but the advent of the Social Internet seems MORE

SXSW 2011: Going corporate, selling out?

With a huge attendance boost this year, big businesses from GM to Microsoft continued the trend of coming to Austin to get in front of hip influencers.

By Elisabeth Long, contributor

Now in its 15th year, the South by Southwest Interactive conference has taken off like the handle of the ubiquitous hockey-stick growth model that startups at the conference aspire to. The 2011 conference saw a spike in attendance – up about MORE

Titles and promotions

It's not silly formalism. Startups that don't develop a consistent approach to job titles and promotions do so at their own peril.

By Ben Horowitz, contributor

"Hmmmmmmm . . . now what's a title to fit me? a champ like Tyson, a captain like Kirk, no Employee of the Month 'cause yo, I do work" -Big Daddy Kane

Often when I meet with startups, the employees have no job titles. This makes sense, because everybody MORE

Oracle's Catz says businesses need $1 trillion tax holiday

Oracle's reclusive president continues to make the case that U.S. companies should be allowed to help the economy by brining overseas earnings home, nearly tax-free.

By Dan Mitchell, contributor

There is a big difference, says Oracle President Safra Catz, between the $800 billion federal stimulus package and the "repatriation" of $1 trillion in foreign corporate holdings that she advocates. Unlike the stimulus, "my money has already been printed," she said Friday, drawing MORE

Your smartphone will be your new computer and bank. China's, too.

Sure, smartphones are booming, but here's how banking, enterprise and OS battles are really going to play out on the sleek gadget in your pocket.

By Mitch Cline, guest contributor

Wireless handsets have been around for decades, but this market has perhaps never had a more promising future than it does now in terms of potential market penetration, consumer demand, and global significance. Take mobile handset penetration: Globally, we're talking big-time numbers MORE