Twitter fact-checks Trump, YouTube censors Chinese words, and Facebook reportedly declines to police polarization.
Daily Update
Archive of Daily Emails for Stratechery Members
Steve Jobs and OpenDoc, Fluid Framework, Microsoft Lists
At Build Microsoft’s vision for their enterprise operating system in the cloud was clearer than ever.
Joe Rogan and Spotify, Luminary and Howard Stern, Apple’s Response
Joe Rogan is exclusive to Spotify, which suggests the streaming service realizes it needs to steal share to get its Aggregation flywheel spinning.
Facebook Acquires GIPHY, Data Credits and Critical Suppliers, SDK Insights
The GIPHY acquisition makes sense for Facebook, but for more pragmatic reasons than malicious ones.
Media, Regulators, and Big Tech; Indulgences and Injunctions; Better Approaches
Blaming Facebook and Google for the media industry’s trouble inevitably leads to bad regulations with unintended consequences and the end of accountability for big tech.
Uber + Grubhub?, Aggregator Acquisitions, Uber and Lime
An Uber acquisition of GrubHub makes all kinds of sense, but for the same reasons that it will be frowned upon by regulators (and for good reason). Then, Uber’s investment in Lime makes sense as well.
Taiwan and Tech’s Geopolitical Realities, ARM on Mac?, TSMC’s Choice
The U.S. is increasingly — and appropriately — concerned about its extreme dependence on Taiwan. TSMC needs to build in the U.S. if they don’t want to let Intel back in the game.
Announcing Dithering, An Interview with John Gruber (not about Apple)
Announcing Dithering, a new podcast from John Gruber and myself. Then, and interview with Gruber about being an independent writer on the Internet, covering Apple’s rise, and Dithering.
Disney Earnings, AMC Versus Universal, Businesses in the Middle
Disney’s earnings were predictably brutal, particularly for its Parks Division, which is the most important division when it comes to understanding Disney. Plus, AMC has nothing to lose.
Zoom’s “Genuine Oversight”, Zoom’s Strengths and Weaknesses, Virality Versus Network Effects
Zoom has another screwup, this time in terms of reporting how many users it has. It is a disturbing pattern and a reminder that strengths are weaknesses.