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NN 164: #IndiaTechLash; Super Bowl Roundup; Slack IPO; Golden Retrievers Sledding

2019 02 12 building

Hi, friends. Welcome to the latest edition of Newley’s Notes.

⚠️ Last week I wrote a story about a trend I’ve mentioned before: India’s government pushing back against U.S. tech titans. Maybe I’ll call it #IndiaTechLash. (Got a better phrase? Hit me up.)

The hedline of a story Tues. I wrote with a colleague: Amazon, Facebook and Walmart Need to Watch Their Backs in India.” The lede:

Hoping to match China’s success at protecting and promoting homegrown tech titans, India has plans to continue tightening restrictions on Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc., Facebook Inc. and other foreign firms that have come to dominate the country’s budding internet economy.

⚡ And it contained this scoop (scooplet?):

The secretary of India’s Telecommunications Department, Aruna Sundararajan, last week told a gathering of Indian startups in a closed-door meeting in the tech hub of Bangalore that the government will introduce a “national champion” policy “very soon” to encourage the rise of Indian companies, according to a person familiar with the matter. She said Indian policy makers had noted the success of China’s internet giants, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. , the person said. She didn’t immediately respond to a request for more details on the program or its timing.

Meanwhile, remember the new e-commerce regulations I’ve written about? Well, they’ve come into effect. The hed on a story by a colleague Fri.: Products Yanked from Amazon in India to Comply With New E-Commerce Rules.

🔮 As they say: Watch this space.

Here are ten items worth your time this week:

💬 1) Slack Files to Go Public With Direct Listing [WSJ]

“The workplace-messaging company’s IPO could come as soon as this spring, people familiar with the matter have said. By the time it debuts, Slack could be valued well above $7 billion, the level at which it recently raised money. ”

🔍 2) Huawei Sting Offers Rare Glimpse of the U.S. Targeting a Chinese Giant [Bloomberg BusinessWeek]

“Like all inventors, Khan was paranoid about knockoffs. Even so, he was caught by surprise when Huawei, a potential customer, began to behave suspiciously after receiving the meticulously packed sample.”

🏈 3) New England Patriots Win Super Bowl LIII [WSJ]

“Tom Brady did not have a signature game. New England did not light up the scoreboard. But the Patriots, a dynasty of nearly two decades that has revolutionized football as much as they have changed with it, beat the L.A. Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII in a different type of barnburner that, despite a dearth of points, provided a nail-biting finish to the year.”

📺 4) The Super Bowl ads you will remember [CNN]

“The most memorable spots of the night are ones for brands like Budweiser and Bumble that do not just peddle products, but also sent powerful messages about issues like diversity and women’s empowerment, which are top of mind for many Americans.”

🔻 5) Super Bowl viewership sinks after a solid NFL season [Axios]

“By all accounts, Super Bowl LIII was a snoozer, and its ratings appear to reflect this.”

👪 6) Two Sisters Bought DNA Kits. The Results Blew Apart Their Family. [WSJ]

“Sonny and Brina Hurwitz raised a family in Boston. They both died with secrets.

🎤 7) Fortnite’s Marshmello concert was a bizarre and exciting glimpse of the future [The Verge]

“Even if you’re not a huge fan of electronic music or have never heard of the EDM producer Marshmello, Fortnite’s live in-game concert was still a shockingly stunning sight to behold — it was also an unprecedented moment in gaming.”

✒ 8) A Suspense Novelist’s Trail of Deceptions [New Yorker]

“I recently called a senior editor at a New York publishing company to discuss the experience of working with Mallory. ‘My God,’ the editor said, with a laugh. ‘I knew I’d get this call. I didn’t know if it would be you or the F.B.I.‘”

📲 9) This is the most brilliant iPhone app grouping I’ve ever seen… [Twitter: @arampell]

❄ 10) Dog video of the week: This should make your day a little happier [Twitter: @MGSniper]

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