BuzzFeed’s relative scale problem, and why venture capital doesn’t make sense for content, because the future is niche. Plus, important follow-up on Bing and Atlassian.
Daily Update
Archive of Daily Email for Premium Members
China Blocks Bing; Tencent, China, and Apple; Atlassian’s Earnings
China blocks Bing, which raises more questions for the most successful foreign service provider in China: Apple. Then, Tencent gets some games approved, and how Atlassian and Netflix are similar.
Netflix Follow-up, Bill Simmons Interviews Jack Dorsey, Twitter and the Pollyannish Assumption
Why there is room for multiple winners in streaming, then Bill Simmons interviews Jack Dorsey. My takeaway is that Twitter is suffering from the Pollyannish Assumption.
Satya Nadella on Microsoft
A transcript of a talk Satya Nadella gave on Microsoft to a small group of journalists.
More on Apple and China (and Podcasts!), Apple and Duck Duck Go, WordPress Newspack
How much was Apple impacted by the arrest of Huawei’s CFO? Then, Apple’s agreement with DuckDuckGo and its connection with Google, and why WordPress Newspack is so exciting.
MongoDB Follow-up, AWS’ Incentives, Batteries: The iPhone’s Missing Miss
While there is reason to be concerned about the long-run future of VC-funded OSS, MongoDB is in pretty good shape thanks to its hosted service. Then, AWS and platform incentives, and why battery replacements may have hurt iPhone sales.
The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Phenomenon, Ninja’s 2018, Facebook and the Human Condition
The connection between Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ninja, and Facebook’s scandals
CES and the Unification of Computing and Consumer Electronics, Google Assistant and Integration, The Modular Competition
Google Assistant has a structural advantage when it comes to the user experience of digital assistants, which should influence the strategies of Amazon and Apple.
Apple’s Errors Follow-up, Apple’s Services Pivot, Samsung Warns on Revenue
Apple’s Errors don’t preclude the idea that prices are too high; meanwhile, the company is meaningfully pivoting to services, at least in terms of content. Then, Samsung’s pain is Apple’s gain.
Facebook Stats, Facebook’s Data Sharing, Facebook Politics
The latest Facebook exposé in the New York Times raises questions as to why no one cared previously. The question today, though, is a political one.