Owning Customer Relationship
Companies that win in the Internet era do so by owning the customer relationship, which gives them power over suppliers.
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Amazon Health doesn’t seem like much now, but there are hints it could be the ultimate application of Aggregation Theory.
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Disney’s rumored acquisition of 21st Century Fox is all about competing with Netflix; whether or not that is a good thing depends on your frame of reference.
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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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Android-EU Follow-Up, Google Earnings, Facebook and the Stock Market
Follow-up on Google’s EU decision, and a reminder that Google really good for consumers. Then, Google’s strong quarterly results, and why the understanding Facebook’s strategic advantages may be divorces from their stock price.
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The European Commission Versus Android
Examining the history of Android explains why the European Commission may be right to fine Google for its actions around Android, even as the reasoning feels off.
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The Cost of Developers
Microsoft paid a lot for GitHub, because it had to pay directly for access to developers. It doesn’t have the leverage of users the way that Apple does on the App Store.
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Sports Gambling Defederalized, Amazon Channels
Sports gambling is defederalized, and the opportunity is likely larger than people think: then, Amazon Channels is another manifestation of the company’s “first customer” strategy.
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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.
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Netflix Earnings and the Video Value Chain, The Conditions of Aggregation, Comcast and Netflix and the New Bundle
Netflix’s earnings are a reminder of the power that comes from not just aggregation but also integration. It also reveals that Aggregators are more likely to gain economic power when suppliers are already modularized. Plus, Netflix and Comcast start to build the new bundle.
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Zillow, Aggregation, and Integration
Zillow fits the description of an aggregator, but it hasn’t transformed its industry due to a lack of integration. Now it is trying to do exactly that.
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Spotify Debuts; Trump, Amazon, and the USPS; The Politics of Amazon
Spotify debuts, and I really want to be bullish, but it’s hard. Then, Trump might have a point about Amazon, but it’s moot: the company should be defended.