Business & Tech

Investors Slam Google; Evernote Leaves for Redwood City

A look at the ways Mountain View tech companies have made the news this week.

Every week, Mountain View makes news with technology developments, discoveries and sometimes controversies.

In the weekly “Bits and Bytes” column we’ll relay the past week’s news highlights from our backyard giants, start-ups and small businesses alike.

Google's stock dipped 4.1 percent to $624.60 on Friday, the largest decrease since Jan. 20. Analysts suggest the fall is due partly to the decline in Google's charges for advertising on a cost-per-click basis and lagging sales growth. Another factor is a move to give shareholders a non-voting share for every share they own. All this despite a of 2012 and $49.3 bilion cash on hand.

In efforts to boost its ads and marketing revenue, LinkedIn launched two new tools Friday: targeted updates and follower statistics. Both aid companies and marketers to track their followers through targeting criteria such as seniority, job function, company size and geography. Similar to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn recently unveiled a "Follow" button that allows users to also track their companies they are interested in.

Advance Placement exams loom around the corner for high-school students, and Shmoop is helping them prepare for the big test day. The digital curriculum and test prep company launched AP Spanish and AP Spanish Literature software that helps students break down the sections of both exams through practice essay writing, hands-on examples, and to-do lists.

Productivity app maker Evernote will moved further up the Peninsula and relocate from Mountain View to Redwood City. There, the company—which has grown from 50 to 160 employees in a year—will open its new 90,000-square-foot headquarters at 305 Walnut St.

We’ve almost all heard of a smartphone, but have you heard of a smartwatch? Pebble Technology, which relocated from Canada to Mountain View last June, just raised $2 million to for these watches that work alongside smartphones. They can display distance and speed for runners, control a smartphone’s music, and show email, messages and reminders.

Ooyala has boosted viewer engagement by four times with a new tool that lets users tailor an online video feed to their tastes. The video recommendation engine supplies its services to the likes of ESPN, Victoria’s Secret, and Telegraph Media Group.

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