There is no greater influence on Stratechery than Professor Clayton Christensen, but it is another death — Kobe Bryant’s — that reminds me of what truly matters.
The End of the Beginning
The beginning of technology was about the shift from batched computing in one place to continuous computing everywhere. That era of paradigm changes may be over, which means the real changes are only beginning.
Cisco Sells Chips, The Conservation of Attractive Networking, Twitter MoPub Revenue
Cisco is selling chips, which is a fascinating example of the Conservation of Attractive Profits. Then, Twitter’s MoPub revenue is more than it seems.
Integration and Monopoly
Apple has won through integration, but integration combined with network effects and economies of scale can result in bad outcomes that look a lot like monopolies.
Google and Ambient Computing
Google presented a vision of ambient computing that goes beyond the smartphone. The company is well-placed, but faces challenges both in the marketplace and in the mirror.
What Is a Tech Company?
The question of “What is a tech company” comes down to how much software and its unique characteristics affects the company’s core business.
Privacy Fundamentalism Follow-up, Peloton’s S-1, Peloton and Disruption
Answering two criticisms of Privacy Fundamentalism, and then looking at Peloton’s S-1 and answering the question as to whether or not they are a tech company through the lens of disruption.
Shopify and the Power of Platforms
It is all but impossible to beat an Aggregator head-on, as Walmart is trying to do with Amazon. The solution instead is to build a platform like Shopify.
Walmart’s E-Commerce Struggles, Textbook Disruption, The Benefits of Not Competing
Walmart is struggling in ecommerce for very predictable reasons; the company — and economy — is better off leveraging its assets and not competing directly with Amazon.
AMD Launches 7nm Chips, Sony Partners with Microsoft, Apple and AWS
AMD leapfrogs Intel thanks to modularity, Sony partners with Microsoft thanks to scale, and Apple balances both.