How TikTok exposed Facebook’s blindspot, thanks to its Chinese roots, and why those Chinese roots make TikTok a genuine concern.
Ben Thompson
Analog Devices Buying Maxim Integrated, The Geopolitical Angle, Facebook and Political Ads
Understanding analog chips and the geopolitical angle, and why Facebook should not ban political ads.
Exponent Podcast: India, TikTok, and the U.S.
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss the Indian internet, TikTok, and whether or not the U.S. should ban it. Listen to it here.
Slack Acquires Rimeto, New Teams Features, An Interview with Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield
An Interview with Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield about the acquisition of Rimeto and competing with Microsoft.
Uber Acquires Postmates; DoorDash Optimism; TikTok, Apple, and Hong Kong
Uber acquires Postmates, which makes me bullish about DoorDash. Then, TikTok invokes Shakespeare.
The Slack Social Network
Slack lost to Microsoft head-to-head, but has smartly shifted to a horizontal strategy that the vertically-oriented Microsoft can’t match.
Hong Kong and Facebook, The Pacific Light Cable Network System and Stripe, Facebook Lasso and Instagram Reels
Facebook responds to China in Hong Kong, while Stripe avoids the complication. Then, Instagram Reels shows why Instagram Stories succeeded.
India Bans Chinese Apps, The App Store Firewall, Reddit and The Donald
India is banning Chinese apps, in a reminder that nations still matter; China knows the more than anyone. Then, why centralized App Stores make this easier, and why Reddit is a reminder that infrastructure matters.
Apple and Facebook
Apple and Facebook seem like they are in conflict, but have often been each other’s best partners.
Apple’s New Reality; Apple’s Transition Strategy; Apple v. Developers, Continued
How Apple’s moat was built, the parallels to the Intel transition, and more developer tension.