Articles

  • Why Disney and ESPN Will Be OK

    An increasing number of questions are being raised about the future of the pay-TV bundle, and of ESPN. The former may indeed be doomed, but that doesn’t mean the latter is in as much trouble as people think: after all, Disney is the master of differentiated content.


  • The Case for Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO

    For years Twitter has prioritized advertisers and revenue over users and product. The problem is that the latter begets the former, but not the other way around. Product must come first, which means Jack Dorsey should be Twitter’s CEO.


  • Aggregation Theory

    The disruption caused by the Internet in industry after industry has a common theoretical basis described by Aggregation Theory.


  • Why Web Pages Suck

    Everyone complains about web pages that suck, but the reality is that it is advertisers who call the shots. This should, at a minimum, put Facebook’s Instant Articles and Apple’s News app in a new light.


  • Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits

    Netflix has a lot more in common with Uber and Airbnb than you might think: it all comes back to the Law of Conservation of Attractive Profits, a core principle of disruption


  • Airbnb and the Internet Revolution

    Airbnb gets less press than Uber, but in some respects its even more radical: understanding how it works leads one to question many of the premises of modern society from hotels to regulations. It’s an important marker in the Internet Revolution.


  • Curation and Algorithms

    More and more companies are announcing new products based on human curation, even as the most important content players — Google and Facebook — rely on algorithms. When does curation make sense, and when are algorithms better? And ultimately, who is responsible for both?


  • Unicorns

    There are a lot of unicorns, but not all unicorns are created equally: even if some die the value of them in aggregate is significant.


  • Apple Music and Apple’s Focus

    Apple Music was a muddled mess, which raised the question of why it exists in the first place. Is it important anymore? More importantly, is Apple having trouble remembering how to focus?


  • The Funnel Framework

    The Internet has removed scarcity, meaning business models based on controlling distribution are no longer viable. Instead, the key to success is controlling access to the best customers — and that means being the best.