Microsoft’s Ignite conference was another reminder that the company no longer focuses on the consumer, a point Satya Nadella emphasized as a strength. Then, Amazon helps explain why.
Ben Thompson
WhatsApp Founder Speaks, EU Deception?, Facebook Ideology
More Facebook drama, this time from an interview with WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton. What was most noteworthy, though was the response.
Six Years of Systrom, Instagram’s Alternate Reality, Facebook’s Red Flag
Despite this week’s bad news, Facebook won with Systrom’s tenure. Then, what might have been with an independent Instagram, and the worrying signals this sends about Facebook the app.
Instagram’s CEO
The surprising resignation of Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger should not, in fact, be surprising: this became inevitable the moment they sold Instagram to Facebook.
New Alexa Devices, Amazon and the EU Commission
Why is Amazon selling more Alexa devices? More broadly, do the company’s house brands leave it susceptible to an antitrust challenge?
The iPhone XR Delay, India, and China; Discriminatory Job Ads on Facebook; EU Versus Internet Follow-Up
More follow-up on the iPhone, then how discriminatory job ads on Facebook demonstrate how to police bad behavior on platforms with zero marginal costs. Plus, follow-up on The European Union Versus the Internet.
The European Union Versus the Internet
The EU is back to regulating tech companies, and getting the Internet wrong in the process. That, though, helps illuminate an approach that could work.
iPhone Classes; iPhone Growth Drivers, and Limiters; The Apple Watch
Will the iPhone XS slump like the iPhone 6S? Probably not, because theories about the iPhone 6S slump are probably wrong. Plus, the Apple Watch.
The iPhone Franchise
The iPhone is a franchise, a product that will make money in well-defined ways; Apple understands that and is exploiting it more than ever before with the iPhones XS and XR.
Apple’s iPhone Event, Facebook Fact-Checking, Vimeo Pivots Again
A preview of Apple’s iPhone event, a revelatory controversy about Facebook fact-checking, and yet another pivot by Vimeo thanks to mistakes made years ago