The full context of Facebook’s dispute with Apple, why the former was wrong, yet why Apple’s actions are just as problematic. Then, Facebook beats expectations with results that aren’t a surprise.
January 2019
Apple Earnings, Apple the Services Company (for Real!)
Apple’s earnings were definitely weak in China, but the rest of the world wasn’t great either. No wonder the company is pivoting so strongly into services — and there is upside.
BuzzFeed Followup, The Future is Niche, Atlassian and Bing
BuzzFeed’s relative scale problem, and why venture capital doesn’t make sense for content, because the future is niche. Plus, important follow-up on Bing and Atlassian.
The BuzzFeed Lesson
The lesson of BuzzFeed is that dominant Aggregators like Facebook have no incentive to act against their self interest and support suppliers.
Exponent Podcast: Zeros All The Way Down
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Netflix Flexes. Listen to it here.
China Blocks Bing; Tencent, China, and Apple; Atlassian Earnings
China blocks Bing, which raises more questions for the most successful foreign service provider in China: Apple. Then, Tencent gets some games approved, and how Atlassian and Netflix are similar.
Netflix Follow-up, Bill Simmons Interviews Jack Dorsey, Twitter and the Pollyannish Assumption
Why there is room for multiple winners in streaming, then Bill Simmons interviews Jack Dorsey. My takeaway is that Twitter is suffering from the Pollyannish Assumption.
Netflix Flexes
Netflix is an Aggregator, with a value chain that lets it drive demand, raise prices, and dismiss competition.
Exponent Podcast: Inverted Pyramids
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss AWS, MongoDB, and the Economic Realities of Open Source. Listen to it here.
Satya Nadella on Microsoft
A transcript of a talk Satya Nadella gave on Microsoft to a small group of journalists.