On the business, strategy, and impact of technology.
Yesterday’s discussion of Airbnb was in part focused on the broader implications of the sharing economy. Truthfully, though, Airbnb deserves more attention for its externalities — it is in many ways more radical than Uber. It’s also not clear it will work in every culture.
Then, a brief discussion of Paypal and Xoom and how different degrees of trust require different types of business models.
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.
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.
Good morning, Happy New Year! As I noted last week, The Daily Update is on a reduced schedule for these two weeks, with updates on Mondays and Tuesdays only. There will be no update from December 31-January 2. The regular daily schedule will resume on Monday, January 5. Today continues Christmas gifts for tech companies:Subscribe […]