Facebook is coming out with its own cryptocurrency; the implementation details are less interesting than the opportunity in payments generally, and why Facebook is uniquely placed.
Ben Thompson
Apple’s Earnings, Google’s Earnings, Amazon Earnings
Apple, Google, and Amazon’s earnings all showed fundamental weaknesses in the consumer market; perhaps these companies are not all-powerful.
Microsoft and Slack Follow-up, F8, Facebook versus Snapchat
How Microsoft Teams differs from Slack, then Facebook’s F8 keynote is nominally about privacy-focused social networking, but is in fact about competing with Snapchat (again!).
Microsoft, Slack, Zoom, and the SaaS Opportunity
The Zoom and Slack IPOs show what Microsoft is missing in its growth story: a way to acquire new customers.
Microsoft’s Earnings, Microsoft’s Growth Opportunities, Facebook’s Earnings
Microsoft is a trillion dollar company, and has more growth opportunities than ever; Facebook, meanwhile, remains firmly in control of its own destiny when it comes to driving revenue growth in the long run.
Twitter’s Earnings, Snap’s Earnings, Escaping the Duopoly
Twitter and Snap both had encouraging earnings, for reasons that were both similar and also unique to each company and their history. Perhaps there is hope for consumer tech companies after all — and maybe Facebook and Google aren’t so bad.
Uber Questions Follow-up, Luminary Launches, Luminary’s Broken Rung
More on why giving information to investors often helps companies, then why Luminary, a new service for podcasters, is probably not going to succeed. Building bundles is hard!
Uber Questions
Uber’s S-1 raises more questions than it answers
Exponent Podcast: Family-Friendly Disney
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Disney and the Future of TV. Listen to it here.
Apple-Qualcomm Follow-up, The PS5, Jeff Bezos’ Letter to Shareholders
More on Apple-Qualcomm, then Sony releases details about their next-generation console, and Jeff Bezos’ annual letter to shareholders has a decidedly different tone.