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Latest Podcast

Concepts

Business Models

  • Grantland and the (Surprising) Future of Publishing

    ESPN’s decision to close Grantland seems to be more evidence that there is no future outside of massive scale or one-man operations. Bill Simmons’ recent successes, though, suggest that the answer could be the exact opposite.

  • Android > Chrome, LinkedIn’s Business Model Beats

    Android is reportedly going to subsume Chrome OS; I’m bummed but it’s probably the right decision (and no, that doesn’t mean iOS and OS X will merge). Plus, LinkedIn had another strong quarter, and their smart business model deserves the credit. Is there a lesson for Twitter and other consumer companies?

  • Twitter Follow-up, Nintendo’s Conundrum

    Some follow-up and clarification on yesterday’s piece on Twitter’s advertising business, plus a rumination on where exactly Nintendo is going as a company.

  • Twitter’s Opaque Earnings, Twitter’s Misaligned Advertising Business, Twitter’s New Ad

    Twitter’s earnings were concerning, and the explanation on the earnings call was opaque. What exactly is going on, and what is the company trying to hide?

  • Stop Doubting the iPhone, The Macintosh Company

    There have always been iPhone bears, but the latest set seems to be ignoring reality. Plus, the amazing success of the Mac and what that means for the iPhone.

  • Amazon’s Transformation, Continued; Microsoft’s Transformation…and Threat

    As predicted last quarter, AWS is increasingly the engine driving Amazon’s financial results. However, there is evidence the e-commerce side is changing as well. Then, Microsoft has completely changed itself over the last few years, but the company is not out of the woods just yet.

  • YouTube Red, Yahoo Stumbles

    YouTube Red doesn’t make much sense at first glance, but there might be something there if Google goes all in. Plus, the sad end of Yahoo.

  • Dropbox Paper, Dropbox’s Missed Opportunities, Google Apps Stagnation

    Dropbox just announced a major new product, Paper. However, I think it is far too little far too later. Meanwhile, Google is using pricing gimmicks for Apps, which speaks to how little the core product has evolved.

  • Meituan-Dianping Merge in China, Facebook Messenger’s Business Model, Facebook and Teens

    China’s O2O market is in the consolidation phase, and the competition is fierce. That, though, helps highlight why an advertising business model is sometimes so attractive, like, for example, the one that Facebook has. Plus, why the “Facebook has a problem with teens” narrative really isn’t a big deal

  • Venture Capital Follow-up, Square Files for IPO, Concerns About Theranos

    A follow-up and some much needed specificity to yesterday’s Venture Capital article, then why Square’s IPO may be a better opportunity than it first appears. Plus, there’s concerning news about Theranos, a company with significant potential.