A more flexibility economy would benefit from a stronger safety net. Then, a new standard that actually has real potential. It’s a win for some companies, but questionable for others.
December 2019
The 2019 Stratechery Year in Review
The most popular and most important posts on Stratechery in 2019.
SBNation and AB5, Understanding SB Nation, AB 5 and the Internet
SB Nation is a publishing company that was only ever possible because of the Internet. That it has to change its model because of AB 5 shows why AB 5 is fundamentally flawed.
Cisco Sells Chips, The Conservation of Attractive Networking, Twitter MoPub Revenue
Cisco is selling chips, which is a fascinating example of the Conservation of Attractive Profits. Then, Twitter’s MoPub revenue is more than it seems.
Bluesky, The Twitter Protocol Tragedy, Alternatives
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that the company would be setting up a team to pursue a more open alternative to social network; unfortunately, the time to do so was ten years ago.
TV Advertising Falls; The Sports Linchpin, Revisited; NBA Ratings
TV Advertising is down, as price increases finally overwhelm the decline in viewers. It’s important to note, though, that sports still matter. This is something the NBA may not completely understand.
Regulating Demand, Ad Targeting and Unintended Consequences, Expedia CEO Out
Google’s continued dominance may not be intransigence, but rather the difficulty of regulating demand. Then, how Apple helps Google and Facebook, and Barry Diller isn’t blaming Google.
A Framework for Regulating Competition on the Internet
Understanding the differences between platforms and Aggregators is critical when it comes to considering regulation.
AWS re:Invent; Transformations, Transitions, and Databases; Amazon Outposts
The AWS re:Invent keynote was quite compelling, as Amazon made the case for enterprises to not simply transition to the cloud but to transform their approach to IT — which, of course, favors Amazon.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin Step Down, Why Now?, Google Going Forward
Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s impact on Silicon Valley is incomparable; now, though, they are formalizing a departure that arguably happened years ago. Why now, and what should Alphabet and Google do next?