Facebook clearly tried to eliminate competition by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp, but it’s not clear they were successful, which is the question that matters in a case that is ultimately about politics and power.
Daily Update
Archive of Daily Emails for Stratechery Members
WarnerMedia to Stream Movies First Day, AT&T Versus HBO, Self-Disruption
WarnerMedia’s move to stream all of its movies on HBO Max appears to be value disruptive, but if the company is actually meaningfully responding to disruption, that was inevitable.
Salesforce Acquires Slack, Salesforce’s Reasoning, Salesforce’s Opportunity
Salesforce’s purchase of Slack is a great outcome for the latter, and has huge upside for the former. There is, though, commensurate risk.
A Sixth Lesson from Dave Chappelle; Facebook and Apple, Continued; Facebook Acquires Kustomer
One more lesson from Dave Chappelle, this time about how the old order are all playing the same game. Apple seems to prefer that game, even if Facebook has helped them win at the new one.
More on the App Store, Hard Mode Follow-Up, Airbnb’s Complicated Costs
Apple’s App Store changes are genuinely a good deal for small publishers, and make me feel more favorable about the entire business. Then, Airbnb’s costs, particularly marketing, are too hard to understand.
Zuckerberg and Dorsey in Congress, Again; Apple Reduces App Store Fees for Small Developers; Apple’s Aggregation Politics
Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey were in front of Congress again, while Apple reduced its App Store take for small developers.
Spotify Buys Megaphone, Spotify’s Podcast Strategy, Spotify’s Megaphone Strategy
Spotify has acquired Megaphone, which brings clarity to its podcast advertising ambitions.
Intel’s Disruption, Intel vs. Apple, Additional Notes on the M1
Apple’s shift in differentiation shows how Intel went wrong; then, more notes on the M1, including Microsoft’s mysterious absence.
More on Visa-Plaid, European Commission v. Amazon, Spotify Updates
Should regulators be able to see the future, and a reminder that Aggregators are good for customers and suppliers. Then, Spotify starts selling demand, and potentially podcasts.
Justice Department Sues to Block Visa Plaid Acquisition, Plaid’s Potential, Scalability and Antitrust
The Justice Department gets it right again with another lawsuit, this time against Visa’s acquisition of Plaid.