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.
Curation and Algorithms
More and more companies are announcing new products based on human curation, even as the most important content players — Google and Facebook — rely on algorithms. When does curation make sense, and when are algorithms better? And ultimately, who is responsible for both?
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.
Apple and Privacy Follow-up, The Top 100 Retailers and Apple Pay, Android Pay’s Missing Bank Fee
More on the difference between privacy and security, and why precision in language is critical.
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.
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.
Google I/O: Android and Serving the World; Photos, Google Now, and the World’s Information; Google’s Turning Point
Google’s IO keynote had three parts: the Android part, the machine learning part, and a glimpse into the future. The connections between the three, though, matter far more than any one single announcement.
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.
Apple Watch, Platforms, and Ecosystems; AdBlock Plus Launches Android Browser; Spotify and the Power of Labels
This update expands on my Apple Watch review by discussing the differences between platforms and ecosystems and why that matters for the Watch’s long-term success. Then, a revisit of the ad-blocking debate, and a discussion of why labels are more powerful now than previously.
Google Launching Buy Button, Instagram’s E-Commerce Possibilities, Pinterest’s Challenges
This daily update analyzes the news that Google will launch a buy button for some mobile searches, and in that context moves to a discussion of e-commerce on Instagram and Pinterest.