Snapchat is on the verge of conquering the toughest messaging market in the world: the United States. The way they did it is by laddering-up.
Articles
Andy Grove and the iPhone SE
Andy Grove passed away the same day that Apple announced the iPhone SE. One of Grove’s best decisions reminds me of this launch.
The Amazon Tax
Amazon is building a lot of businesses that look like AWS: taxes on major industries that work to everyone’s benefit. The reason, though, is that AWS is a lot like Amazon itself.
Bitcoin and Diversity
First, an exploration of the block size debate that is roiling the Bitcoin world, and then how lessons from that debate apply to diversity in tech.
The Voters Decide
An apolitical analysis of what is happening in U.S. politics through the lens of Aggregation Theory
Apple, the FBI, and Security
Apple versus FBI is being framed as a debate between privacy and security. In fact, though, there is a powerful argument to be made that Apple’s position is the more secure one for the United States.
Zenefits and Regulation
Zenefits fired its CEO after violating a number of regulations, and many people are drawing a connection to Uber. In fact, I think the situations are quite different; understanding why gives a framework for thinking about regulation.
The Reality of Missing Out
Tech is entering a period of inequality where the big winners lift the sector as a whole even as smaller companies suffer. The best example is Facebook, Google, and digital advertising.
How Facebook Squashed Twitter
Twitter uncovered the most powerful format in mobile back in 2006: the feed. But, in 2009, Facebook went algorithmic while Twitter remained to hard to use. Now, it’s almost certainly too late.
The FANG Playbook
The FANG companies — Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google — are far more similar than you might think. Their rise in value is no accident, and it is connected to Aggregation Theory.