The Guardian tried to tell us Oakland was cooler than San Francisco a few weeks ago, and now Fast Company is selling folks on the idea that Oakland is where it's at for starting a business too. They note the presence of thriving startups like Pandora and the proximity of engineering talent at UC Berkeley. And they note that the office market over there is a lot cheaper than over here, and it's currently ranked the seventh best office market in the country by Grubb & Ellis, and No. 3 for industrial space. more ›

Darian Shirazi — a former front-end software developer for Facebook who now runs Radius, a small-to-medium business sales intelligence company located here in San Francisco — talked to Bloomberg West recently. During the interview, the young CEO called Facebook (that social media doohickey with which you may be familiar) "the most important company of our lifetime." And you know what? He's probably right. How so? Well, Shirazi goes on to point out that it's "integrated into every almost application," adding that Facebook might even be "more important than Google." more ›

In celebration of Equal Pay Day, which is today — the day that marks when women finally catch up to what men made, on average, in the previous calendar year, we begin the first column in a series dedicated to particular hot button issues in the lives of women. more ›

The fine folks at Berkeley-based Annie's are enjoying a huge jump after their trading debut this morning. Annie's makes a slew of organic treats, including the superior-to-Pepperidge-Farm-Goldfish (debate amongst yourselves in the comments, please) Cheddar Bunnies. The IPO price valued Annie's somewhere near the $316.3-million mark.That's... a lot of cheddar. (Sorry.) more ›

The fine folks at Twitter—specifically, the benevolent Isaac Hepworth—sent SFist images of their new 10th and Market headquarters now in progress. Among the many niceties the larger, Tenderloin-adjacent office will boast? A garden, stellar views from reception, and more space for the growing social media giant. While still in its skeletal stage, the new offices will be a boon to the area. more ›

Although it's sponsored by American Express, and supported by large corporations such as Amazon, Google, Clear Channel and countless others, the 2nd Annual Small Business Saturday will provide the antidote to Black Friday madness. Over 2.5 million have "liked" the event nationwide on Facebook, pledging to get out to support their local businesses. Groovy, yes? more ›

Employing "reclaimed" buzzword gobbledygook as a selling point, Starbucks wants to put another damn spore in the Castro, a few blocks away from the bear-frequented Starbucks at 18th and Castro. With takeover plans zeroed in at 2201 Market (at 15th Street), here's what the coffee mammoth would like to do: more ›

Former Vice President Dick Cheney will appear in San Francisco today to speak at the fourth annual CLSA AsiaUSA Forum at The Palace Hotel. The event, according to Politico, "involves more than 200 CEOS and CFOs huddling with 500 institutional investors from 14 countries for more than 1,300 hours of presentations, workshops and private meetings." Cheney is slated to speak at around noon-ish. more ›

As SFist mentioned yesterday, Hewlett-Packard went ahead and hired former Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman as their new CEO. The HP board went ahead and fired Leo Apotheker after just 11 months on the job. Prior a disastrous bid for California--she wasted "a record breaking $43 per voter to lose the California gubernatorial election," notes Ryan Tate--Whitman was once the CEO at eBay. She also once famously (and allegedly) shoved one of her employees. more ›

Oh joy, this should be fun. Former gubernatorial candidate and EBay ruler Meg Whitman might (might!) land a new gig as Hewlett-Packard's CEO. The company's board will soon meet to discuss whether or not to oust Leo Apotheker as chief executive officer. And Whitman, it seems, is a possible successor! more ›

Businesses at Pier 38, the most expensive waterfront Class-A office space in San Francisco, rushed to find new homes after the city red tagged the waterfront space. Notices appeared on Pier 38 businesses last week, claiming that the area was unsafe for operation. WordPress, blogging company Automattic Inc., Dogpatch Labs, 99 Designs, Maritime Recreation Center, and a slew of others have until September 30 to vacate. To make matters shadier, the city even built a fence around some of the boats so that people can't access them. more ›

Fast on the heels of the news that front-page editor/vice president Liz Lufkin got a pink slip yesterday from Yahoo!, blogger All Things D (who clearly has an inside source) reports that CEO Carol Bartz has been fired as well. It sounds like investors have been impatient with Yahoo's stagnant stock price, and their ongoing failure to relive the glory days of 1999. more ›

Mobile Spinach, a Groupon-like site based in San Francisco, offers restaurant deals that seems too good to be true. Which just might be the case. Grub Street reports that the coupon site offers half-off deals at such feted places like Boulevard, Delfina, and Mama's, just to name a few. Turns out none of those restaurants agreed to such an offer. more ›

There must be something in the air between artists and cafes these days. SFist spotted this flyer the other day, which was plastered on every block in the Tenderloin/Tendernob area. Apparently, a 3 x 4-foot painting was stolen from an art exhibit at Cafe Royale (800 Post) in May, and the artist/curator, Emilia, would like everyone to know that she was not paid her alleged curating fee of $400 from January through May for organizing the show. (Incidentally, that sounds like an awfully large sum of money for a cafe to fork over.) more ›

Your days of enjoying a combo plan of getting a disc or two via those red envelopes in the mail and streaming content from California-based Netflix are numbered, kids. Starting September 1, the popular site is implementing separate plans for streaming and physical disc borrowing. more ›

A new law requiring online retailers to collect California sales tax from shoppers has stirred up controversy, and now Amazon.com Inc. is saying they are looking for voters to take the matter to the ballot. more ›

Way back in the 1990s, San Francisco was revered (sort of) as a city with which to be reckoned. Why? Because we had a stock exchange, that's why. Back in 1997, you see, people had jobs, money was made, and jerks flipped off cameras. (The latter was a Kurt-Cobainian phenomenon that, until duck face became all the rage, would sully Polaroids for years to come.) While the Pacific Exchange ceased most of its operations in 2001 -- a trading floor still operates on the second floor of the Mills Building -- many still harbor fond memories of the Pacific Exchange and all that it represented. more ›

The city's happening -- yes, happening -- Divis/NOPA/Western Addition arrondissement must wait to get their hands on artisan Bi-Rite products. Why? Because they're delaying their Divisaadero store's opening date to 2012, that's why. Haighteration has the scoop: "Bi-Rite, which first announced plans to open a market at 550 Divisadero a full year ago, is pushing back the location’s opening from September of this year to January of 2012." Until then, we strongly urge starving resident to head over to Popeye's Chicken and/or NOPA, located right across the street from one another at 599 Divisadero and 560 Divisadero, respectively. [Haighteration] more ›

It is done. A new victor emerges from the ashes of our modern day Catholics v. Protestant war. After a bloody feud spanning decades, Apple has now proven victorious over Microsoft, profit-wise. TechCrunch reports: "Microsoft has just announced their Q3 2011 results. The numbers appear to be good, beating analysts’ expectations. But with net income now at $5.23 billion, Microsoft now comes in well behind Apple, which had a net income of $5.99 billion last quarter." This comes after Apple beat Microsoft in market cap last year and in revenues in October. All hail the king and queen. more ›

Funky, fresh Lower Haight boutique P-Kok will close shop at the end of May. Haighteration has the scoop: "Owner Pat Pkok tells Haighteration that she has decided to consolidate the store with the P-Kok Eden location across the street at 776 Haight. A third shop, P-Kok Planet (which opened just last year at 1445 Haight), will remain open." Further, everything in the closing store is on sale for 50% off. Hop to it. more ›

While the battle cry for jesuit school's radio station gets louder and louder, the outcry over the closure over San Francisco's queer and HIV institutions grows quieter and quieter. (Except for a noted SoMa leather bar, naturally.) Local activist Michael Petrelis has compiled a surprising list of such establishments either in peril or shuttered. "I've gathered a comprehensive list, just to map out failed business enterprises in the Castro and other city districts, to get an understanding for myself of the queer landscape in San Francisco over the past two years," Petrelis writes. "Only entities that died or faced significant challenges since 2009 are included." more ›

In a surprising move, Google's first quarter saw lower-than-expected earnings. This morning, shares were down $39.51 to $539. "But heavy spending on new hires and other investments crimped the bottom line, reports Wall Street Journal. Although Google projected $8.11 a share, they reported an adjusted profit of $8.08 on Thursday. "Google added more than 1,900 employees to its headcount during the quarter, which made for the highest rate of new hires since the first quarter of 2008. Operating expenses rose to 33% of revenue for the quarter compared to 27% of revenues for the same period last year." more ›

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors overwhelmingly approved the controversial Twitter tax break today, a move that (hopefully) will keep the microblogging service from fleeing the city. "The measure passed by the Board of Supervisors 8-3 on Tuesday exempts the microblogging service from paying payroll tax on new hires if it moves to the city's neglected Mid-Market area," reports Associated Press. "The exemption applies to any business in the blighted neighborhood, but city officials call Twitter the big fish that could spur economic growth." Twitter is now expected to sign a six-year lease in the neighborhood. more ›

Noted nut purveyors Diamond Foods, based in San Francisco, plan to purchase Procter & Gamble's Pringles for $1.5 billion. And we couldn't be prouder. Pringles are the best selling snack chip in the U.S. and U.K. Plus, they're doused in salt and thus super tasty. more ›

As the Board's Budget and Finance committee gets set to review the Twitter Tax Break (neé "Payroll Expense Tax Exclusion in Central Market Street and Tenderloin Area") this Wednesday, rumblings are afoot. A tax exemption that would have repulsed last year's progressive sect could pass with this most recent crop of left-of-center supervisors. As the Chronicle points out today, previously progressive President Chiu and D6's replacement Jane Kim have been instrumental in supporting the tax break, which probably would have been deemed "welfare for the wealthy" a year ago. more ›

Poor-reception phone carrier AT&T will purchase T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom for a cool $30 billion, it was announced over the weekend. While a regulatory review is in order, AT&T is confident that the mega-deal will be approved. According to Dan Frommer of Business Insider, their experience is practically reason enough: more ›

According to DealReporter, the superior Peet's Coffee & Tea is in talks with inferior Starbucks to sell itself to the Seattle-based coffee giant. "Though neither company has commented on the reported deal, Peet's has stated its interest in getting into the single-cup coffee market. Earlier this year it attempted to acquire Diedrich Coffee but lost out to Green Mountain Coffee, which made a deal this week to sell Starbucks coffee for its single-serving Keurig coffee machines." Reports go on to suggest that "Starbucks plans to seek out acquisitions over the next 18 months." Hrumph. more ›

Five years after founder Jack Dorsey unleashed the first tweet ever - "inviting coworkers," is all it said - Twitter now racks up an estimated 1 billion updates a week. "Five years after its inception, Twitter is now serving up an average of 140 million tweets per day, up from 50 million per day at this time last year," reports Tech Chronicles. "And that adds up to nearly 1 billion tweets each week." more ›