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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More Spectacles Mea Culpas; The Athletic in the New York Times; Google, Facebook, Apple, and Subscriptions
More mea culpas about Spectacles, then the CEO of The Athletic gives an explosive interview to the New York Times. Plus, more news about Google and Facebook’s subscriptions offerings, and Apple’s interference.
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Goodbye Gatekeepers
Harvey Weinstein was a gate-keeper — a position that existed in multiple industries, including the media. That entire structure, though, is untenable on the Internet, and that’s a good thing.
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Airbnb Reportedly Building Apartments, Apple Hires New General Counsel, Uber’s Board Saga Ends
Catching up on a story that intrigues (Airbnb), a story that raises eyebrows (Apple), and another that seems to have finally reached its conclusion (Uber’s board disfunction)
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Disney’s Choice
Cable TV created a world where differentiated content could profit from everyone; that is why it will be hard for Disney to make the choices streaming will force on them.
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Box and Google Cloud Vision, An Interview with Box CEO Aaron Levie
Box has made a deal to offer Google’s Vision AI services to its customers; is there space to be the intermediary between technology providers and end users? Box CEO Aaron Levie answers those questions and more.
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Uber and Yandex; Grab Raises $2 Billion; Softbank, Ride-Sharing, and Capital
Uber has made a deal in Russia that, to the extent it approximates China, is a great idea. However, the company may soon be knocked out of Southeast Asia: capital is the ultimate aggregator.


