Concepts

Distribution and Transaction Costs

The key economic change introduced by the Internet is the effective elimination of marginal distribution and transaction costs.

  • The Voters Decide

    An apolitical analysis of what is happening in U.S. politics through the lens of Aggregation Theory


  • The FANG Playbook

    The FANG companies — Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google — are far more similar than you might think. Their rise in value is no accident, and it is connected to Aggregation Theory.


  • The Anti-Uber Alliance, WeChat Blocks Uber, Tiger Capital Invests in Uber

    Didi Kuaidi, Ola, GrabTaxi, and Lyft are teaming up against Uber. Most are focused on Lyft, but they’re the least interesting part of this deal. Meanwhile, why is anyone surprised that Tencent would compete “unfairly”, plus, Tiger Capital hedges its bets.


  • Beyond Disruption

    Clayton Christensen claims that Uber is not disruptive, and he’s exactly right. In fact, disruption theory often doesn’t make sense when it comes to understanding how companies succeed in the age of the Internet.


  • Marriott Acquires Starwood, Online Travel Agents and Aggregation, Surviving as an Incumbent

    The impact of the Internet continues to reverberate: in this case, there is a clear link between Aggregation Theory and the tie-up between Marriott and Starwood.


  • Chase Pay and the Payments Stack, Apple Pay and Opportunity Cost, Applying Aggregation Theory

    There’s another new payments solution coming — Chase Pay. The punchline is easy: it will fail. Why it will fail, though, is interesting, and it shows the opportunities and challenges for Apple Pay specifically and the usefulness of Aggregation Theory.


  • Twitter’s Moment

    Twitter has had a rough stretch, and most are pessimistic about its chances. I was previously, but I think the upside is looking much brighter than it did before this week.


  • Disconfirming Ebooks

    Aggregation Theory would seem to argue that ebooks are destined to dominate the publishing industry. However, that is decidedly not happening; understanding why is a powerful tool to make the theory better.


  • Aggregation and the New Regulation

    Because of the Internet realities described by Aggregation Theory a smaller number of companies hold an increasing amount of power. However, an increasing focus on market forces reduces the latitude for bad behavior, and the incentives — and means — to hold those companies to account are greater than ever.


  • Aggregation Theory

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