Three Alexa stories point towards Amazon’s drive — and challenges — in building the operating system of the home. Then, Spotify doesn’t create fake music, it just gives consumers what they want.
Facebook Messenger Rolling Out Ads, Facebook’s Product Development Strategy, How Should Messenger Monetize?
Facebook Messenger is rolling out display ads that feel like a shortcut to monetization, a discouraging sign for both the short and long term.
Publishers and the Pursuit of the Past
The newspaper industry is seeking an antitrust provision to negotiate for a return to a world that is gone and never coming back; worse, it is an approach that could ruin publishing’s true future.
Google’s Precedent Problem, Five Stories In Brief
Leaving aside whether or not the European Commission decision is justifiable, it has been made, and Google has a big problem on its hands. Then, five stories in brief on Amazon, Ransomware, Blue Apron, Nintendo, and car rental companies.
Mark Zuckerberg: Politician, not President, EU to Fine Google, Amazon Prime Wardrobe
Mark Zuckerberg may be acting like a politician, but I highly doubt he is running for President. Then, Google will be fined by the EU, and Amazon launched Prime Wardrobe
Acquisitions and Network Effects, Antitrust and Network Effects, The Saga of Whole Foods
Acquisitions that make sense involve network effects; that is why the long-term future of antitrust is about network analysis (not that it will affect this deal). Plus, John Mackey’s pragmatic fit with Amazon.
Amazon’s New Customer
The key to understanding Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods is to understand that Amazon didn’t buy a retailer: the company bought a customer.
The News Revenue Hub and Donations, Patreon’s Update, How Big is Patreon’s Market?
It might be the case that donations are the best match for local news, but other content creators still need to build a business. Patreon’s new update will help them do it, the only question is how many of them there are.
RIP Charles P. Thacker, E3 and the Importance of Clarity, Nintendo’s Differentiation
Charles Thacker invented modern computers and demonstrated how to think differently. Then, E3 is demonstrating the importance of clarity, and Nintendo is the surprising example of the benefits
Podcasts, Analytics, and Centralization
The answer to podcast monetization is not analytics: it it true centralization, and it seems unlikely that Apple has it in them.