TensorFlow and Monetizing Intellectual Property

Google has said repeatedly that machine learning is key to their future. Why, then, did they open source the secret sauce? Is it a mistake, or are there lessons to be learned for IP creators everywhere.

Meituan-Dianping Merge in China, Facebook Messenger’s Business Model, Facebook and Teens

China’s O2O market is in the consolidation phase, and the competition is fierce. That, though, helps highlight why an advertising business model is sometimes so attractive, like, for example, the one that Facebook has. Plus, why the “Facebook has a problem with teens” narrative really isn’t a big deal

The Facebook Epoch

First came the PC, and on top of the PC the Internet. Then, mobile, but what will rule mobile?

What is Medium Doing?, Facebook Updates Notes

Medium just raised $57 million on a relatively modest valuation, but lots of folks aren’t still sure what the company is trying to accomplish: today I give it my best shot. Plus, Facebook has updated Notes, which look a lot like, well, Medium posts. The appearance, though, isn’t what will make them succeed or fail.

Medium and the Publishing Long Tail, Content Blockers and Facebook, Amazon Prime and the Washington Post

A bit of follow-up on yesterday’s post Popping the Publishing Bubble, and why Medium is potentially trying to replicate Stripe’s strategy. Plus, the key decision-maker when it comes to ad-blocking is Facebook, and it’s not at all clear what they will do. Finally, an experiment from Jeff Bezos with the Washington Post and Amazon Prime.

Facebook’s Impressive Consistency, Yelp’s Employee Problem

Facebook consistently delivers good results, which is why they get a lot of leeway from investors. Perhaps the latter aren’t as irrational as everyone thinks. Plus, Yelp’s big problem, and why it might affect Twitter.

Aggregation Theory

The disruption caused by the Internet in industry after industry has a common theoretical basis described by Aggregation Theory.