OpenDoor has a unique yet high-risk approach to residential real estate; that’s a great thing, both for its prospects and for society.
2016
OpenAI Universe and DeepMind Lab, Amazon Go
OpenAI and DeepMind released broadly similar products that speak to their different approaches, but what is most interesting from a business perspective are products like Amazon Go.
Media Monday: Bill Simmons’ HBO Show Cancelled, Axios Unveiled (Kind-of)
It’s the return of Media Monday, including the cancellation of Bill Simmons’ TV show and the unveiling of Axios, and what both say about finding value in media.
Exponent Podcast: Google Versus AWS
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss How Google is Challenging AWS. Listen to it here.
Amazon Re:Invent; Google vs AWS vs IBM vs Microsoft; Stratechery Gifts, Schedule, Subscription Switching
Some Stratechery announcements around gifts, schedule, and subscription switching, then a reminder that AWS is still the clear leader in the cloud, and why Google has a customer service challenge
How Google Is Challenging AWS
AWS seems to have a dominant position in enterprise computing, but Google is trying to change the rules to favor their inherent strengths.
AT&T Launches DirecTV Now, Sling TV Adds Cloud DVR, Regional Sports Networks
AT&T’s DirecTV Now product seems underwhelming, but there is a market for it, and zero rating is a big differentiator. Plus, the problem with OTT and regional sports networks
Ctrip Buys Skyscanner, Ctrip’s International Potential, Airbnb Rumored to Buy Xiaozhu
There is a lot of news about the Chinese travel space, particularly Ctrip’s acquisition of Skyscanner, but given the nature of travel it is news that resonates globally.
Facebook’s China Censorship Tool, The Fake News Connection, A Thanksgiving Note
Facebook has pre-emptively built a tool for censoring content in China even as the Chinese government is talking about “fake news”. Then, a note of thanks from me to you.
Amazon Explores Sports Rights, Insta-Snapchat-Gram, Zuckerberg on Fake News
Amazon is looking into sports, but real changes won’t happen for a while. Then, Instagram continues to battle Snapchat, which is a useful reminder that the best Facebook antidote is competition.