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Facebook’s political problems stem directly from its size and drive for growth; they are societal issues, not antitrust ones.
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Facebook is under pressure from all sides, but that actually means it has an opportunity to build the platform it has always wanted — in digital ads.
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Snapchat is losing users, and it seems clear the biggest reason is Instagram Stories: that is a win for Facebook, but the pain in advertising may be substantial.
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Facebook is in trouble — again — for Russian ads about the election; figuring out how to deal with them requires first understanding that Facebook, like Google, is a Super-Aggregator. It faces zero transaction costs…
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Facebook gave one of the worst keynotes in a long time: there was no vision, just the adoption of Snap’s. It’s the inevitable outcome of a monopoly.
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Facebook has long had too much power, but Mark Zuckerberg’s expressed willingness to use said power for political ends means it’s time to consider countermeasures.
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BuzzFeed Reorganizes, WhatsApp Eases Privacy Rules
BuzzFeed reorganizes and thus reemphasizes their new business model. Unfortunately, it’s a business model that doesn’t necessarily need news. Then, WhatsApp predictably eases their privacy policy, their CEO’s previous declarations notwithstanding.
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Google Earnings, Microsoft Earnings
Google’s earnings were fantastic, but I’m still not totally convinced about their shift to mobile. Microsoft’s were good as well, but what was under the surface was more important.
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Amazon’s Overwhelming Leverage, P&G Scaling Back Targeted Facebook Ads, Facebook Earnings
In case I wasn’t clear in yesterday’s article, Walmart really has no chance to catch Amazon in e-commerce. Then, the news that P&G will reduce targeting isn’t a surprise, but it’s not necessarily that much of a problem for Facebook. Plus, notes on Facebook’s earnings.
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Follow-up: Didi, Uber, and Instagram Stories; Walmart Reportedly Buying Jet.com; Amazon Earnings
More news and follow-up on Didi and Uber, and whether or not Instagram Stories will succeed. Then, Walmart is reportedly buying Jet.com, but Amazon’s earnings show how far they have to go.
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Amazon Prime Day and Prime Challenges, Facebook Diversity Numbers Don’t Budge
Amazon Prime Day was a smashing success, at least if you ask Amazon. The ongoing shift in ecommerce models, though, threatens Prime’s underlying value proposition. Then, Facebook’s disappointing diversity numbers.
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Facebook and Twitter to Stream Conventions; ESPN Going Over-the-top, Kind-of
The different approaches Facebook and Twitter are taking to the political conventions get at the differences between the two platforms; then, ESPN continues to experiment with going over-the-top
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A Technical Glitch
Facebook Live is likely a lot more meaningful than Facebook expected: it’s a plus for society, but Facebook should expect more scrutiny. Given that, they have work to do when it comes to transparency.