This week on Tech on Tap, Michael, Laura and Rick Smith talk about the most important tech news that you need to know over the last month.

  1. Apple cracks down on Facebook for data sucking app
    This story comes to us by way of Rick Smith and details the infighting with 2 of the worlds largest and most influential tech companies. Facebook got caught with its hand in the cookie jar, again putting users information at risk and skirting the app approval processes set in place by Apple. Facebook was collecting data on its users by paying them through the download and usage of an app that was previously banned by Apple. though Facebook has not been banned from the App Store as a whole, the internal app is no longer available and Android users are still susceptible to Facebook’s less than upfront practices.
  2. Layoffs hit media groups at Verizon, Buzzfeed – Layoffs hit Huffington Post – Vice slashes jobs
    Not only are legacy media companies suffering the cost of the digital age, but new media companies are beginning to feel the weight of shifting industries and markets. Without definitive streams of revenue and subscription-based models not living up to the desired hype, digital media companies like Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, Vice, and Verizon are laying off employees to make up the difference. Even with acquisitions like that of AOL and Yahoo by Verizon, companies are having a hard time competing in the diversified landscape of digital journalism.
  3. Netflix raising prices for 58M US subscribers as costs rise
    In the thick of award season, Netflix is not slowing down and with the success of movies like Birdbox and Roma, the cord cutters alternative to entertainment is raising their prices again. This ultimately bodes well for their high visibility but also continues to support the slower growth in the US markets over the course of Q4.

Inside TechWire – Rick Smith (TechWire Editor) talks to Laura and Michael about what is really going on with Apple and separates fact from fiction concerning the location of their next headquarters. Rick also looks ahead to stories that he is intrigued by going forward this year and their cross section with the national and local economy.

Johnson Automotive Group – Front Seat of Innovation honoree:
Sports Tank Innovation Studio