Horizontal Versus Vertical
Understanding the difference between horizontal and vertical strategies is critical to making smart strategic decisions.
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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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My well-chronicled frustration with Microsoft’s corporate strategy comes down to one point: I don’t think any company should have both horizontal (i.e. services) and vertical (i.e. devices) businesses. It creates conflicting incentives: a horizontal business…
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Uber’s Bundles
Uber had a good strategy, but its crisis meant Lyft had new life and the strategy was no longer workable. Now the company is pursuing something new, even though it is more complicated.
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Okta’s Developer Conference, An Interview with Okta CEO Todd McKinnon
An interview with Okta CEO Todd McKinnon on the occasion of the company’s developer conference.
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Stratechery 4.0 Follow-up, Apple’s Educational Event, The Meaning of Better
A quick aside as to why Stratechery doesn’t have an app, then a review of Apple’s educational event, and why the company’s business model limits it in education relative to Google.
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Fixing the Conclusion, Licensing Amazon Go and Self-Checkout, Netflix Earnings
Fixing the conclusion of Amazon Go and the Future, and why I don’t think Amazon Go’s technology is a primitive. Then, Netflix continues to be an aggregator, and other notes from the company’s earnings.
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Amazon Go and the Future
Amazon Go exemplifies how Amazon is building its monopoly in three ways: horizontally, vertically, and financially. Plus, why automation is worth being optimistic about.
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Disney-Fox Deal Announced, Horizontal Antitrust, Whither Hulu
The Disney-21st Century Fox deal is official, and the antitrust questions continue to loom large: there are clear issues with regards to a horizontal merger, but is having a vertical competitor to Netflix worth it?
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Disney and Fox
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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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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Roku’s IPO and Origin Story, Netflix Versus Roku and the Conservation of Attractive Profits, “Weak” Aggregators
Roku’s origin story explain Netflix’s strategic acumen — which, by extension, explains why Roku is a risky bet. Then, Roku explains “weak” aggregators, that aren’t really aggregators at all.