Gaming the Smiling Curve

The spate of recent acquisitions in the gaming space — Take-Two and Zynga, Microsoft and Activision, and Sony and Bungie — make sense in the context of the Smiling Curve.

Five Lessons From Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle has a new special about his old show that includes fundamental lessons about how the Internet has changed the content business.

Antitrust Politics

Analyzing the politics of the antitrust hearing featuring the CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook.

Xiaomi IPOs, Samsung’s Profit Slips, The Smiling Curve

Xiaomi’s IPO shows a company that has come full circle but still has a long ways to go. Then, Samsung remains reliant on components for profit, and both companies show that the Smiling Curve applies to smartphones more than ever.

Defining Aggregators

Building on Aggregation Theory, this provides a precise definition of the characteristics of aggregators, and a classification system based on suppliers. Plus, how to think about aggregator regulation.

Intel, Mobileye, and Smiling Curves

Intel is buying Mobileye; it’s an acquisition that makes sense once you realize how much value there is in components.

DistroKid, The “Publisher’s Right”, Shopify Results

Distrokid is small, but it’s a powerful example of the how distribution is not a value-add, the implications of which European publishers have yet to learn. It’s a lesson that doesn’t just apply to media, either.