Clayton Christensen claims that Uber is not disruptive, and he’s exactly right. In fact, disruption theory often doesn’t make sense when it comes to understanding how companies succeed in the age of the Internet.
“Selling Feelings” Follow-up, Match.com’s IPO and Tinder, The Sean Rad Interview
Follow-up on my piece about Selling Feelings, and then an analysis of the Match.com IPO, and Tinder in particular. Plus, why I think Sean Rad is getting a bit of a bad rap for his disastrous interview.
Selling Feelings
Distribution being free may have ruined old business models, but it allows businesses to get much closer to their customers and make money by meeting needs.
Amazon Opens Physical Bookstore, The iPad Pro’s Half Launch
Amazon’s physical bookstore is first and foremost an experiment. However, it’s worth considering how it fits into Amazon’s measurement of success. Then, the iPad Pro launched, but not its accessories. It’s part of a worrying trend.
Activision Blizzard Buys King Digital, EA and the Disruption Narrative, Apple TV Gaming
Activision Blizzard is buying King, the makers of Candy Crush Saga; the mobile games maker is probably worth more to a company like Activision Blizzard than they are by themselves. Plus, both EA and Activision Blizzard beat earnings expectations — does that mean the gaming disruption narrative is wrong?
Chase Pay and the Payments Stack, Apple Pay and Opportunity Cost, Applying Aggregation Theory
There’s another new payments solution coming — Chase Pay. The punchline is easy: it will fail. Why it will fail, though, is interesting, and it shows the opportunities and challenges for Apple Pay specifically and the usefulness of Aggregation Theory.
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.
Venture Capital and the Internet’s Impact
Venture Capital has been transformed by a surprising source: Amazon. Ultimately, no industry is safe from the impact of the Internet.
Twitter Suspends Accounts Over GIFs, SnapChat Shuts Down Snap Channel, More on Moments
Twitter suspended a couple of accounts for tweeting sports highlights GIFs. First a bit about the issue at hand, and then a bigger picture look at what this says about Moments, if anything. Then, Snapchat is getting out of original programming, which is a great sign. Finally, what the future of Moments should look like.
The Web-App Tradeoff, Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, A Win for the Web
Some follow-up on Twitter, and then a deep dive on Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages project. Why is it necessary, what does it do, and is it to be applauded or feared?