Verizon-AOL, Facebook Instant Articles, and the Future of Digital Advertising

Two seemingly unrelated stores — Verizon buying AOL. and Facebook offering publishers the option of Instant Articles — are actually very much connected: advertising online is undergoing a fundamental shift, and while there will be a few big winners, there will be a lot more losers.

It’s Not 1999

The question of whether or not we are in a tech bubble has been raised regularly for years now; 2012, particularly Facebook’s acquisition of an app1 called Instagram for a ridiculous2 $1 billion, was a particular high point. The fact that Instagram is now valued at $35 billion suggests the 2012 doomsayers were just a […]

Daily Update: Learning From the Economist, NYT Now to be Free

Good morning, I know many of you had the day off on Friday (Good Friday in the West, and Tomb-Sweeping Day here in Asia), but there was a Daily Update, so check it out in case you missed it. If you have any login issues, use this link; the promised rework of the membership systemSubscribe […]

Daily Update: Facebook to Host Media Content, Vox’s Facebook Strategy and Keywee, Bill Simmons’s Next Move

Good morning, I apologize that this Daily Update is a bit tardy: first, it’s late temporally (sorry east coasters!), second, it’s a Media Monday on Tuesday! On to the update: Facebook to Host Media Content From the New York Times: With 1.4 billion users, the social media site has become a vital source of trafficSubscribe […]

Daily Update: BuzzFeed, Trust, and Regret; Backdoor Hypocrisy; Uber Acquires deCarta

Good morning! In case you missed it, I mentioned yesterday that I’m going to Happy Hour Friday in Seattle and Monday in San Francisco, both from 5:00-6:30, and would love if you joined me. I’ll send out details about location to those who have expressed interest later today. On to the update: BuzzFeed, Trust, andSubscribe […]

Daily Update: Where is YouTube on the Publishing Curve?, Sites About Everything, Larry Sanders and The Player’s Tribune

Good morning, I wanted to give you a quick update on Stratechery. I am in the process of implementing a new membership system that should hopefully solve many of the problems some of you have encountered, including logging in issues, abrupt cancellations, etc. In broad strokes I am moving from packaged software to a software-as-a-serviceSubscribe […]

Blogging’s Bright Future

Blogs may not be the only means of expression on line, but they are a more viable as a business for writers focused on niches than ever before.

Dear Zoë Keating: Tell YouTube to Take a Hike

Zoë Keating is an example of a new kind of content creator who can best maximize their revenue by going direct to consumers.

Daily Update: Sling TV, The Interview Makes $15 Million, Roku’s Smart TV Play

Good morning, Tuesdays are when I usually post my big article for the week, but this week’s has been delayed until tomorrow, so a Daily Update it is. And just as good: there were a couple of very interesting announcements yesterday at CES. On to the update: Sling TV From The Verge: What is SlingSubscribe […]

Daily Update: It’s Great to be Small, Niche Business Models, YouTube Seeking to Retain Stars

Good morning, I received multiple reports that Friday’s Daily Update was marked as containing phishing links. I can absolutely confirm this is not the case, so if you missed it, please take a look in your spam folder. For the third Monday in a row I’m writing about media – Media Mondays if you will.Subscribe […]