Kevin Weil Leaving Twitter; Google Pays High Price For Apple Users

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Twitter Paroxysm

Product head Kevin Weil will exit Twitter as part of a new shakeout, Re/code reports. Weil made a name for himself as head of Twitter’s revenue (i.e., advertising) products, but his big project – Twitter Moments – appeared to fall flat with users. Says Re/code: “In general, it has been a very hard time for all top execs there, as Twitter has struggled to regain its growth among users and momentum with investors.” And advertisers. Head of media Katie Jacobs will also exit. Read it. Bonus: Watch AdExchanger’s Allison Schiff interview Twitter’s Ameet Ranadive at last week’s Industry Preview conference.

Apple’s Search Revenue

Google’s deal with Apple to kick back a portion of revenue from its search bar on iOS is worth about $1 billion annually, according to court transcripts from an Oracle/Google copyright dispute. According to Bloomberg, the deal “reveals the lengths Google must go to keep people using its search tool on mobile devices.” The arrangement also undercuts a certain moral superiority Apple maintains toward “Google’s advertising-based business model that CEO Tim Cook has criticized as an intrusion of privacy.” More.

New App Wave

Quartz, a site launched by Atlantic Media that was an early leader in branded editorial content and mobile formatting, will hit the market soon with an iOS app, per a Nieman Lab Q&A with publisher Jay Lauf. Lauf says the rationale includes push notifications. The Wall Street Journal is also debuting three new apps (it already has a primary app) in specific verticals – which creates an opportunity for flexible offers like free apps versus subscription apps, and cross-channel ad products.

Thunder Clap

Barron’s considers a prediction from analyst Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities research that major tech companies will lay off 333,000 in the coming year. Chowdry names Microsoft, Oracle, Yahoo, Yelp, IBM and Cisco as companies that could see 20-30 percent reductions. But! ”Unaddressed in Chowdhry’s missive is what sort of hiring might replace such layoffs, if they were to occur. In some cases, companies have replaced some layoffs with new hires, as they seek to emphasize new skill areas at the expense of others.” More. Sunnier take: The Wall Street Journal suggests tech incumbents may discover “an opportunity to buy cash-poor upstarts that have been eating away at their business.” Read that.

But Wait, There’s More!