Tony Fadell is out at Nest, likely signifying the beginning of the end of a deal I initially praised. Examining why I was wrong gives a lens to understand what went wrong.
2016
Podcast: Exponent Episode 081 — We Have Always Been at War with Amazon
Ben and James explain why Alexa is an even bigger deal than it seems, and why both Apple and Google should fear Amazon. Plus, why Microsoft’s challenges are only beginning.
Twilio Files for IPO, Building Infrastructure, Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends 2016
An overview of Twilio’s IPO and the role of infrastructure, and then my favorite slides from Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends deck.
Jeff Bezos at the Code Conference, Recent Amazon News
Jeff Bezos gave a great interview at the Code Conference, and while the whole thing is worth watching, I wanted to highlight a few items that touched on Stratechery topics. Plus, three recent Amazon stories that show how the company is winning.
Disrupting Basketball, Thiel-Gawker Follow-up, Intel and ARM
The Golden State Warriors are kinda sorta disrupting basketball, and making plenty of enemies in the process, which segues to a follow-up on Peter Thiel and Gawker. Then, Intel and ARM have dueling releases that show just how different they are.
Exponent Podcast: Multiple Full Circles
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we revisit last week’s discussion on Facebook, then discuss the Peter Thiel versus Gawker affair, and the implications for tech broadly. Then, how culture helps and hurts at Facebook, Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Listen to it here.
Peter Thiel, Comic Book Hero
What Gawker did to Peter Thiel is inexcusable, but Thiel’s response is threatening to the industry that made him rich in the first place.
Apple and the Long Run, How Satya Nadella Killed Windows Phone
My recent pieces about Apple actually don’t have anything to do with Google I/O or WWDC; they are about structural challenges going forward. Then, Windows Phone is well and truly dead, and how Satya Nadella killed it shows how structural changes can be effective.
The Curse of Culture
It is very fair to say that Apple is threatened by the potential rise of AI. Google, though, is also threatened by its inability to own customers’ attention. The solution for both companies may entail changing their culture, a very tall order indeed.
Google I/O Overview, Announcements; TensorFlow Processing Units
A deep dive into Google I/O: why the overall keynote was a good sign for Google, and then a review of specific announcements.