Advertising
The most important business model for consumers.
-
The advertising has shifted from a Google-Facebook duopoly to one where Amazon and potentially Apple are major forces.
-
Apple and Facebook seem like they are in conflict, but have often been each other’s best partners.
-
Facebook and Google and other advertising businesses are data factories, and regulation will be most effective if it lets users look inside
-
Google is in hot water again, this time for ads placed against objectionable content. However, ad agencies and brands are just as responsible, and can no longer live in the past.
-
Facebook has long had too much power, but Mark Zuckerberg’s expressed willingness to use said power for political ends means it’s time to consider countermeasures.
-
Tech is entering a period of inequality where the big winners lift the sector as a whole even as smaller companies suffer. The best example is Facebook, Google, and digital advertising.
-
The Conflation of Consumer Welfare with Antitrust, More Panel Notes, Google to License Play Store in Europe
Thoughts and notes from the FTC discussion on digital platform and competition, plus how Google’s remedy in Europe will mean more of the same when it comes to Android.
-
The Battle for the Home
Amazon, Google, Apple, and Facebook are battling for the home; what are their strengths, weaknesses, go-to-market strategies, and business models, and who is the favorite? Or does it matter?
-
The Snap Memo, Snapchat’s Core Problem, Snap’s Bad Positioning
Evan Spiegel wrote a long memo to Snapchat that laid out the company’s problems perhaps more starkly than he appreciated.
-
Data Factories
Facebook and Google and other advertising businesses are data factories, and regulation will be most effective if it lets users look inside
-
Six Years of Systrom, Instagram’s Alternate Reality, Facebook’s Red Flag
Despite this week’s bad news, Facebook won with Systrom’s tenure. Then, what might have been with an independent Instagram, and the worrying signals this sends about Facebook the app.
-
Sandberg and Dorsey in Congress, Dorsey and Incentives, Google’s Absence
Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey testified in front of Congress; the former had the most to lose, while the latter hinted at exactly what.
-
Facebook’s Story Problem — and Opportunity
Snapchat is losing users, and it seems clear the biggest reason is Instagram Stories: that is a win for Facebook, but the pain in advertising may be substantial.
-
Facebook Lenses
Facebook was down dramatically after its last earnings; to decide if it is justified it is worth looking at the company through many different lenses, both financial and strategic.
-
Instagram Launches IGTV, IGTV’s Monetization, YouTube Channel Memberships
Instagram’s launch of IGTV was impressive because of the clear thinking behind it; the long-term question, though, is about monetization, both for the service and for creators, something YouTube is good at.
-
Disney Ups Bid for 21st Century Fox, Disney’s Choice, AT&T to Acquire AppNexus?
The AT&T-Time Warner decision that I has set off a chain reaction with an uncertain ending: Comcast and Disney are competing for 21st Century Fox, and AT&T may be getting into digital advertising.





