More on The Moat Map, and how it applies to Uber, YouTube, Spotify and the public cloud.
The Moat Map
The Moat Map describes the correlation between the degree of supplier differentiation and the externalization (or internalization) of a company’s network effect.
Platforms Versus Aggregators, What About Amazon?, Walmart Buys Flipkart
Tech’s two philosophies are also about the difference between platforms and aggregators, but even that has its own divisions. Amazon falls on both sides of the divide. Plus, why Walmart’s Flipkart purchase makes no sense.
Tech’s Two Philosophies
Google and Facebook represent one philosophy, and Microsoft and Apple represent another; tech needs both, but ultimately platforms are more important than aggregators.
Divine Discontent: Disruption’s Antidote
Apple has long defeated disruption by focusing on the user experience; Jeff Bezos and Amazon, though, show that user expectations for their experience are ever-changing.
Open, Closed, and Privacy Follow-Up; Facebook Earnings; Notes on Facebook Earnings
A follow-up to Open, Closed, and Privacy, then multiple notes on Facebook’s earnings: the company’s executives sounded confident, and they should be.
Open, Closed, and Privacy
Just as encryption is only viable on closed systems, so it is that increased privacy regulations will only entrench walled gardens. That should affect thinking on regulation.
Google’s Messaging Announcement, Allo’s Go-to-Market Problem, Chat: The Open Alternative
Google’s announced Chat, which is not a new messaging service but the adoption of a new messaging protocol to replace SMS. It’s not an ideal outcome, but the only possible one.
Zuckerberg’s House Hearing, Toutiao’s Apology, Apple’s Siri Hire
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was back on the hill, using his usual talking points; the contrast with a Chinese news app, facing its own political pressure, was striking. Plus, why Apple’s Siri hire is so important.
The Facebook Current
The Senate hearing about Facebook was a bigger deal than it might have seemed, both because it happened and because of what was said.