CNET Networks

Exclusive: Yahoo Nabs Jai Singh From AOL's HuffPo as Editor-in-Chief

Kara Swisher in Media on May 2, 2011 at 7:28 pm PT

According to sources close to the situation, Yahoo has grabbed one of Huffington Post’s top editors, Jai Singh, to become its editor-in chief. Before moving to the HuffPo as managing editor in 2009, which is now the key content unit of AOL, Singh ran CNET.

Neil Ashe Talks About Departure From CBS Interactive

Kara Swisher in News on December 8, 2010 at 4:10 pm PT

After BoomTown broke the news earlier today that CBS Interactive President Neil Ashe was stepping down from his job, we had a little chitchat as to why and what’s next. Apparently, a little breathing of some fresh air.

Chegg's Dan Rosensweig Talks About the Next Wave of Online Textbook Rentals and More!

Kara Swisher in News on August 19, 2010 at 12:58 pm PT

Earlier this week, BoomTown went down to Santa Clara, Calif. to the offices of Chegg, the online textbook rental leader, to pay a visit on longtime Silicon Valley exec Dan Rosensweig. Today, in a bid to expand its offerings beyond books, Chegg said it had acquired Courserank, a Mountain View, Calif. start-up that helps students “share their course schedule, take classes with their friends, read and write reviews on classes and professors as well as find out how professors grade.” Here’s the video.

Rosensweig to Leave Guitar Hero; Takes Over as CEO of Online Textbook Rental Start-Up Chegg

Kara Swisher in News on February 2, 2010 at 11:00 am PT

Longtime Silicon Valley exec Dan Rosensweig is stepping down as president and CEO of the Guitar Hero division of Activision Blizzard to take a new job as CEO of Chegg, the top online textbook rental start-up. The move is unexpected given that the former Yahoo COO landed the job running the top gaming franchise in March of last year.

Guitar Hero's Dan Rosensweig Speaks!

Kara Swisher in News on September 1, 2009 at 7:25 am PT

Yesterday, BoomTown did a tour of the Mountain View, Calif., HQ of Guitar Hero, which is poised for a series of launches, including the fifth version of Guitar Hero and new music games Band Hero and DJ Hero. While there, I interviewed CEO Dan Rosensweig, the well-known Silicon Valley exec who was once COO of Yahoo and who took over the high-profile division of Activision Blizzard in May in what was a bit of a surprise move into the music gaming industry. Here’s a video of an interview I did with him about it all.

Arianna Huffington Talks About New Managing Editor Singh!

Kara Swisher in News on April 28, 2009 at 5:12 pm PT

While in Los Angeles today at the AlwaysOn OnHollywood conference, BoomTown ran smack into blogging empress Arianna Huffington. She was there to give a speech called “Video Killed the Radio Star…But Can the Web Actually Save Journalism?” Her answer was a decided yes, especially with great journalists working online, such as the new managing editor of the Huffington Post the mega-blog has just hired. That would be former CNET Networks Editor-in-Chief Jai Singh, who quit the company last year after a dozen-year run.

Meet Peter Currie, Facebook's New Money Man (For Now)

Kara Swisher in News on April 1, 2009 at 7:11 am PT

Back in the heyday, Peter Currie was the money man to see in Silicon Valley. As CFO of Netscape Communications, he led the famed browser start-up into history, as the first great Internet rocket ship, when it went public on Aug. 9, 1995. Rising to insane levels, the stock was ground zero of the Internet gold rush, despite the fact that it had no profits to speak of. But it did have a 23-year-old co-founder and tech wunderkind in Marc Andreessen and a growth trajectory that was astounding. If you think it sounds somewhat similar to Facebook today–where Currie will now help out as temporary financial adviser after the social-networking site parted ways with its CFO, Gideon Yu, yesterday–you are correct.

Exclusive: Dan Rosensweig Steps Up to Take His Licks as Guitar Hero Frontman

Kara Swisher in News on March 22, 2009 at 6:54 pm PT

Former Yahoo COO and current Quadrangle Group partner Dan Rosensweig will take over as CEO and president of Activision Blizzard’s powerful Guitar Hero franchise, according to sources close to the situation. Rosensweig will run the hot gaming company’s division, located in Silicon Valley, for Activision head Bobby Kotick. The pair know each other well, since Kotick served on Yahoo’s board for many years when Rosensweig was a key exec there. He’s also just the kind of consumer Web exec that Kotick has been looking for to turbocharge the largely retail Guitar Hero business online.

Sure, the CBS-CNET Deal Seems Crazy–But Maybe in a Good Way

Kara Swisher in News on July 18, 2008 at 7:02 am PT

A lot of people have been piling on CBS for its deal to buy Web site operator CNET Networks for $1.8 billion in cash. Not BoomTown. And it is not because newly crowned CBS Interactive CEO Quincy Smith is the ever-amusing Energizer Bunny of the Internet. Okay, CBS paid too much and that makes the whole thing suspect. But is it the wrong direction?