CEO of Pandora Web Radio on Facebook Privacy, the Mobile Boom
Earlier this year, Internet-radio operator Pandora was one of three services selected by Facebook to offer instant personalization of its site to users based on information from their Facebook account. The selection briefly ensnared the music service in a privacy controversy involving an Internet giant before Facebook backtracked on some of the changes and made it easier to opt out of the personalization. But Facebook’s choice of Pandora also was an indicator of the radio service’s popularity.
Pandora recently had its first profitable quarter and is capitalizing on the ubiquity of smart phones to boost its business. A recent Wall Street Journal report identified it as one of the 50 most promising start-ups in the U.S.
Pandora’s founder Tim Westergren spoke with Digits about privacy, advertising and the rise of mobile computing. His responses are summarized below.
Did the controversy around Facebook’s privacy changes hit Pandora at all?
Yes, there were some users who were really upset….They would say things like, “How dare you. I didn’t give you permission to do this.”
We thought a lot about that when working with Facebook. Even if it’s public information [already, through Facebook], it’s something that is important to people. But we found that as soon as you start talking with people, the amount of tension goes down. It’s really very limited information–just artists [you’re a fan of] and a thumbnail picture.
