Podcast: Exponent 041 – Bubbles

On the newest episode of Exponent, the podcast I co-host with James Allworth: In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss whether or not there is a bubble, as well as a bit on the Apple Watch. Please note this was recorded before the Apple Watch reviews were released. Links Ben Thompson: It’s Not 1999 […]

Daily Update: BuzzFeed Busted, LinkedIn Buys Lynda.com

Good morning, Late last night was Apple Watch ordering mania. A few observations: Within minutes the Apple Watch Edition quickly moved from May to June and some models to August. In China, meanwhile, they completely sold out It seemed to take about six minutes for ship dates to start slipping from 4/24-5/8 to something laterSubscribe […]

Daily Update: Valuation Versus Risk Bubbles, Apple Watch Reviews Drop

Good morning, A couple of days ago a bug in my membership software exposed several Daily Updates to RSS subscribers. I apologize to all of you; as I’ve noted I’m in the middle of transitioning the site to a new membership system that should address these issues once and for all. News on that frontSubscribe […]

It’s Not 1999

The question of whether or not we are in a tech bubble has been raised regularly for years now; 2012, particularly Facebook’s acquisition of an app1 called Instagram for a ridiculous2 $1 billion, was a particular high point. The fact that Instagram is now valued at $35 billion suggests the 2012 doomsayers were just a […]

Daily Update: Learning From the Economist, NYT Now to be Free

Good morning, I know many of you had the day off on Friday (Good Friday in the West, and Tomb-Sweeping Day here in Asia), but there was a Daily Update, so check it out in case you missed it. If you have any login issues, use this link; the promised rework of the membership systemSubscribe […]

Podcast: Exponent 040 – BuzzFeed and Amazon

On the newest episode of Exponent, the podcast I co-host with James Allworth: In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss BuzzFeed in the context of the Brother Orange story, the discuss Amazon’s Dash Button and Home Services initiative, along with a dive into the technical details of Amazon’s balance sheet (sorry, it’s a bit […]

Daily Update: Apple Watch’s Bad Messaging; On Meerkat, Periscope, and Bad Journalism

Good morning, There will be a new Exponent later today; James and I discussed BuzzFeed and the Brother Orange story as well as the Amazon Dash Button and Home Service. On to the longer-than-usual Daily Update. I got a little rant-y. Apple Watch’s Bad Messaging Speaking of podcasts, I was on John Gruber’s The TalkSubscribe […]

Daily Update: Tidal and Telling the Same Story, The Brilliant Amazon Dash Button, Amazon Dash Replenishment Service

Good morning, I am very sorry for the multiple emails yesterday. I still don’t really know what happened with the subject lines, but I probably should have left well-enough alone instead of spamming your inbox. I appreciate you let me in there every day and I apologize for abusing that privilege. On to the update:Subscribe […]

Tidal and the Future of Music

Predicting success and failure is about understanding who has leverage. In the case of music, the winners will be the labels, not the artist. But perhaps there is hope for tomorrow