Daily Tech Snippet: Tuesday, July 12

• The non-gamer’s guide to playing Pokemon Go: Pokemon Go is a full-blown phenomenon, with millions of downloads and excitement only growing after players got through their first weekend of being real-life Pokemon trainers. The game is heavy on fun but light on explanations -- particularly if you're so excited to start playing that you blitz through the opening tutorial. So maybe you've downloaded it, fired it up and then gotten, well, completely lost. If you're completely mystified by how this game actually works, here are some basics to get you out there and catching Pokemon in no time.Once you download the app, you'll be asked to sign in. You can sign in using an existing Google account. Or, if you're not so keen to connect your Pokemon identity to your Google identity, then you can also sign up with the Pokemon Trainer Club, which is an account with the Pokemon Co. From there, you design your character and pick your first Pokemon. Then you can get going! And you will have to actually get going. The whole selling point of the game is to walk around the real world to find the cute little critters. This not only encourages you to explore your own city, but also -- gasp! -- gets you outside and around other people. In fact, this is not really a game you can play while stationary. Sometimes Pokemon will come to you, but more often than not you have to go to them.

• Twitter Falls After Analysts Downgrade Stock on Slow Growth View: Twitter Inc. slipped after analysts at two firms downgraded the stock, citing a lack of confidence in the company’s direction and ability to capitalize on new products. "What is Twitter? Quite frankly, we don’t believe that question has been answered," said James Cakmak, an analyst at Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. in a note. "Barring any changes, Twitter was, is and will continue as a niche product." He downgraded the stock to the equivalent of hold from buy. Robert Peck, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey also lowered his rating on the stock to the equivalent of hold from buy. “User growth and engagement for Twitter continue to be challenged, and we believe that increasing monetization can only go so far with limited new product introductions increasing competition (Snapchat!) and a challenging advertising background,” Peck said in a note.The stock fell 2.6 percent to $17.61 at 10:16 a.m. in New York. The shares have declined about 50 percent over the past year, valuing the company at about $12.4 billion. Many analysts see the company as an inevitable takeover target some day, though not anytime soon. “It’s surely an upside risk to our new rating, but at this time we expect Twitter will have to navigate as a standalone company,” Cakmak said.

• The SEC is investigating whether Tesla should have told its investors about a fatal crash: The Securities Exchange Commission is opening an investigation into Tesla to determine whether the company should have told shareholders earlier about a fatal crash related to its autonomous driving tech, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Joshua Brown was killed on May 7 when his Tesla, operating in Autopilot mode, drove into a tractor-trailer that that was crossing the highway. Autopilot is a semi-autonomous driving technology that’s a much more sophisticated version of cruise control. Weeks later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the accident to determine whether the technology worked as expected. This SEC probe, on the other hand, is not about the technology; it’s about whether, under securities law, Tesla should have told its investors about the accident and when. A Tesla spokesperson said the company had not received any communication from the SEC as yet.) The results of the SEC probe will set a precedent for the auto industry as more automakers roll out their own versions of Autopilot. The 2017 Mercedes Benz E class will be equipped with semi-autonomous technology called Drive Pilot; Volvo’s XC90 already has semi-autonomous technology called Pilot Assist; and General Motor’s Super Cruise technology is expected to become available in the 2017 Cadillac CT6. Automakers typically don’t disclose to investors every single accident in which their vehicles are involved. If, however, the SEC determines that Tesla should have disclosed this accident to its investors, that may all change.

• Bezos Beats Buffett as Amazon Market Value Tops Berkshire: Amazon.com Inc., Jeff Bezos’s online retailer, moved past Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to become one of the world’s five largest companies by market value on Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Amazon rose as high as $356.5 billion in the first two hours of trading. The company surpassed Berkshire on the day before Prime Day, an annual promotion.