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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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Aggregation Theory
The disruption caused by the Internet in industry after industry has a common theoretical basis described by Aggregation Theory.
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Google’s Integration of Retail and Hotels, Facebook Page Shops, Netflix’s Earnings
Google’s “buy button” for ads and experiments in hotels fit the pattern of Internet-based disruption. Facebook, meanwhile, is meeting needs it itself created, and Netflix has started a virtuous cycle.
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YouTube Gaming, Network Defensibility, The Applicability of Metcalfe’s Law
YouTube Gaming is taking on Twitch, which raises a number of interesting questions: is YouTube Gaming like Google+, and if not, why not? Will it succeed, or should Google have simply bought Twitch? Also, a fascinating paper about Metcalfe’s Law and when and where it applies.
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Tim Cook’s Unfair and Unrealistic Privacy Speech, Strategy Credits, The Privacy Priority Problem
Tim Cook, by wrongly accusing Google and Facebook of “selling data”, is making discussions about privacy more difficult. Plus, Apple’s privacy Strategy Credit.
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The Funnel Framework
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.
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Medium the Network, Automattic Buys WooCommerce, Google and the Value of Identity
This Daily Update examines Medium’s seeming pivot towards being a network instead of a publisher, which is a contrast to WordPress.com’s latest move towards e-commerce. Finally, a brief examination of why identity matters.