SOCIAL MEDIA

When Will Twitter Leave Its Nest?

Without Twitter we wouldn’t have Bernie memes, dogecoin at record highs, or something to do while “watching” TV. But, as the company’s earnings report revealed yesterday, it still has a long way to go to compete with the giants of social media from a business standpoint. 

Twitter recorded quarterly revenue of more than $1 billion for the second time in Q4, up 28% from last year. Daily active users jumped 27% to 192 million (slightly short of expectations). 

So Twitter’s growing...but it’s still tiny

With a market valuation of ~$48 billion, Twitter is worth 6% of Facebook, which pulled in about 28x as much revenue as Twitter last quarter. And while Twitter pays the bills exclusively through advertising, it accounts for just 0.8% of the global digital advertising market. 

Writing in New York Magazine, Big Tech critic Prof. Scott Galloway made the case for booting CEO Jack Dorsey and overhauling Twitter, which he called a “terribly run company.” 

• The day it IPO’d in 2013, Twitter’s stock price closed at $44.90; it closed at $59.87 yesterday. That’s not something you brag about with a “How it started…” post. 

But there are signs of life

Long criticized for failing to innovate on its product experience, Twitter has recently...tried to innovate. It launched an audio-based platform called Spaces (which will compete with Clubhouse), and acquired Revue, a company in the most booming industry of all: newsletters.

Even spicier, it’s reportedly building a highly anticipated subscription service to diversify away from its purely advertising-based revenue model. One paid approach may allow users to “tip” people they follow for access to exclusive content.  

Zoom out: Almost one year ago, Twitter reached a deal with activist investors who wanted to oust Dorsey from his position. Dorsey’s still here...but he has a lot to prove. 

PUBLIC HEALTH

Covid Around the World

It's been 334 days since we last wore jeans. What's the latest news on Covid-19?

Virus: The WHO team probing the coronavirus's origins said it was "extremely unlikely" the virus leaked from a lab, and more likely that it jumped from an animal species to humans.

Vaccines: The number of US adults willing to get vaccinated rose from September to December...but was still <50%, the CDC reported. Yesterday, a Walgreens exec said ~60% of nursing home staff and 20% of residents have declined shots. 

Births: In China, registered births fell 15% last year, according to government data. Although Beijing dropped its one-child policy in 2015, births have continued falling since then and additional declines from the pandemic could place more stress on China's workforce and healthcare and pension systems down the line. 

• The US is also projected to have a "birth bust" of 300,000 fewer babies this year.

Travel: To keep highly contagious variants out, Britain will require international travelers arriving from countries on its watch list to pay $2,400 for a 10-day hotel quarantine. Lying or breaking the rules could incur fines up to $14,000 or 10 years in prison. 

SPACE

Mars Braces for Holiday Weekend Traffic

Yesterday morning, the United Arab Emirates's spacecraft, al-Amal (meaning "Hope"), entered a stable orbit around our galactic neighbor, Mars. China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft is expected to join it today, and the US's Perseverance rover is slated for a Feb. 18 touchdown on the planet's surface. 

The nifty science-museum details: From its equatorial orbit, the UAE's satellite will scan the entire surface of Mars every nine days, per mission officials. To reach orbit, the SUV-sized spacecraft used onboard autonomous computers, since the 22-minute time-lag between it and Earth means ground control is impossible. 

The geopolitical backstory: The satellite is part of the UAE's effort to transition its economy away from oil and toward science and tech, in case oil prices top out. 

Big picture: Space is where countries project what IR majors call "soft power"—showing off their technological abilities as a means of juicing their standing among allies and rivals. 

SPONSORED BY TYPEFORM

Au Contraire, Mon Form Frère

The other day, we were chatting with a pal who told us he thought “all forms were boring.” After we spat out our coffee, we looked that chap right in the eye and told him how wrong he was. 

“My friend,” we said, “you have clearly never interacted with Typeform, the insanely versatile form builder that helps your biz create forms which scoff at the very concept of ‘boring.’”

“We are trying not to lose our temper at your ignorance of Typeform’s glory, but we are flabbergasted that you’ve never encountered Typeform’s beautiful customizable interface, which allows you to fully customize your form to match your brand.

“Kind sir, there’s almost nothing you can’t do with Typeform. Feedback. Lead gen. Market research. Surveys. Event sign-up. Heck, you can sell stuff. And every Typeform gives your user a people-friendly, conversational experience.”

That’s when our friend looked at us, a twinkle in his eye, and said, “I’ll start using Typeform right away.”

EXPLAINER

Reader Question: Fed vs. Treasury

Every Wednesday, we answer a reader-submitted question about business and the economy. Got something to ask us? Click here.

From Judy B. in Boston: Please explain the difference between the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. 

The Brew's answer: Thanks for asking so politely. Generally speaking, the Treasury enacts fiscal policy (i.e., taxation and spending policies set by Congress), while the Fed handles monetary policy (which affects the money supply). 

Let's start with the Treasury, which manages the US' finances. It collects taxes, print money, enforce finance laws, manage public debt, oversee national banks, and even regulate the alcohol industry. 

• The department is headed by Secretary Janet Yellen, who is an important economic advisor to the president and has accomplished enough to get her own Hamilton-style rap.

The Treasury in action: When Congress passed the CARES Act, the Treasury was responsible for sending direct payments to individuals, doling out PPP funds, providing rental assistance, and helping out struggling state and local governments.

Now do the Fed 

Chaired by Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve has a "dual mandate" to pursue maximum employment and price stability. It can do that by setting interest rates, buying/selling government bonds, and changing how much money banks must keep in their reserves. 

The Fed in action: To keep markets stable during Covid, the Fed bought a lot of government bonds and mortgage-backed securities to inject cash into the economy. It lowered interest rates to near-zero to reduce borrowing costs for households and businesses, and even set up limited emergency lending programs.

Hope that helps! Feel free to ask more questions here.

SPORTS

Network Execs Looking at Super Bowl Ratings

This year's Super Bowl viewing numbers were much like Patrick Mahomes: incredibly impressive in general, but bested by older peers. Including both traditional TV and streaming platforms, about 96 million people watched the game, per CBS, which is a 5.5% drop from last year and the smallest Super Bowl audience since 2007. 

Why? Closed bars and restaurants, plus smaller gatherings, meant fewer "passive viewers," or people who watch the Super Bowl for the wings and dip, rather than for the football. 

• Plus...for networks as well as the rest of us, it's annoying that Tom Brady is as good as he is. With Brady's Bucs already ahead by 15 points at halftime, the game wasn't particularly close, which drags on ratings. 

One bright spot: The streaming audience was up 65% from last year at 5.7 million viewers per minute. 

Zoom out: Each year, broadcast networks CBS, NBC, and Fox pass the big game around like a profit-printing pigskin. By carrying the first—and hopefully only—Covid-era Super Bowl, CBS pulled the short straw. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Eli Lilly's CFO resigned after an investigation uncovered "inappropriate personal communications" with more than one employee.
• GameStop stock continued to tumble, falling to about $50 a share. At its intraday peak Jan. 28, it hit $483. 
• Colin Kaepernick has a SPAC.
• Lyft’s revenue declined 35% last year but it narrowed its losses due to aggressive cost-cutting. Shares gained 10% after its earnings report.
• Rebecca Black's "Friday" turns 10 today. She's releasing a remix to mark the anniversary. 

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Viral videos: We simply have to include these for your viewing pleasure: 1) a cat filter gone terribly wrong and 2) really, really, really bad nachos

Planet Earth: It's pretty cute.

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GAMES

You Get What You Give

The Chronicle of Philanthropy published a report on America’s biggest donors of 2020, who collectively gave $24.7 billion to nonprofits last year. We’ll give you their rankings and initials...can you name the donors? 

1. JB 
2. MS 
3. MB  
5. JD  
13. BG + MG
15. SS 
31. MJ 

ANSWER

JB - Jeff Bezos
MS - MacKenzie Scott
MB - Michael Bloomberg 
JD - Jack Dorsey 
BG + MG - Bill and Melinda Gates
SS - Sheryl Sandberg
MJ - Michael Jordan