Chapter 12

Question 1

Referring to “acquiring” a firm as a way to “hire” talent.

Answer 1

acqui-hire

Question 2

Short selling is an attempt to profit from a falling stock price. Short sellers sell shares they don’t own with an obligation of later repayment. They do so in the hope that the price of sold shares will fall. They then repay share debt with shares purchased at a lower price and pocket the difference (spread) between initial share price and repayment price.

Answer 2

short

Question 3

Initial public stock offering, the first time a firm makes shares available via a public stock exchange, also known as “going public.”

Answer 3

IPO

Question 4

Systems distributed throughout the Internet (or other network) that help to improve the delivery (and hence loading) speeds of Web pages and other media, typically by spreading access across multiple sites located closer to users. Akamai is the largest CDN, helping firms like CNN and MTV quickly deliver photos, video, and other media worldwide.

Answer 4

content delivery networks (CDN)

Question 5

Software that is free and whose code can be accessed and potentially modified by anyone.

Answer 5

open source software (OSS)

Question 6

Internet content that can’t be indexed by Google and other search engines.

Answer 6

deep Web

Question 7

Also known as Metcalfe’s Law, or network externalities. When the value of a product or service increases as its number of users expands.

Answer 7

network effects

Question 8

The global mapping of users and organizations and how they are connected.

Answer 8

social graph

Question 9

A strategy whereby a firm with a significant customer base adds a feature to an existing product or service and eliminates the need for any rival, stand-alone platforms. Think Apple adding video to cameras, crushing the market for the Flip cam.

Answer 9

envelopment

Question 10

The cost a consumer incurs when moving from one product to another. It can involve actual money spent (e.g., buying a new product) as well as investments in time, any data loss, and so forth.

Answer 10

switching cost

Question 11

A collection of resources available for access over the Internet.

Answer 11

cloud

Question 12

A closed network or single set of services controlled by one dominant firm.

Answer 12

colossal walled garden

Question 13

Concern that an advertisement will run near offensive material, embarrassing an advertiser and/or degrading its products or brands.

Answer 13

content adjacency

Question 14

Cost per thousand impressions—the amount charged every time an ad appears 1,000 times (M is the roman numeral for 1,000).

Answer 14

CPM

Question 15

Adapting products and services for different languages and regional differences.

Answer 15

localization