It is no surprise that a judge allowed the AT&T-Time Warner acquisition to proceed given the government’s poor case; the question is if a better case could have been made. What is ultimately needed, though, are new laws.
Articles
The Scooter Economy
Scooters are everywhere, and the use case is amazing. What is not so clear, though, is how scooter companies can build strong businesses, which means consumers are the real winners.
The Cost of Developers
Microsoft paid a lot for GitHub, because it had to pay directly for access to developers. It doesn’t have the leverage of users the way that Apple does on the App Store.
The Bill Gates Line
Understanding the differences between aggregators and platforms matters for companies interacting with them and also regulators considering antitrust.
The Moat Map
The Moat Map describes the correlation between the degree of supplier differentiation and the externalization (or internalization) of a company’s network effect.
Tech’s Two Philosophies
Google and Facebook represent one philosophy, and Microsoft and Apple represent another; tech needs both, but ultimately platforms are more important than aggregators.
Divine Discontent: Disruption’s Antidote
Apple has long defeated disruption by focusing on the user experience; Jeff Bezos and Amazon, though, show that user expectations for their experience are ever-changing.
Open, Closed, and Privacy
Just as encryption is only viable on closed systems, so it is that increased privacy regulations will only entrench walled gardens. That should affect thinking on regulation.
Zillow, Aggregation, and Integration
Zillow fits the description of an aggregator, but it hasn’t transformed its industry due to a lack of integration. Now it is trying to do exactly that.
The Facebook Current
The Senate hearing about Facebook was a bigger deal than it might have seemed, both because it happened and because of what was said.