Slack lost to Microsoft head-to-head, but has smartly shifted to a horizontal strategy that the vertically-oriented Microsoft can’t match.
AWS, MongoDB, and the Economic Realities of Open Source
Amazon’s latest offering highlights the economic challenges facing open source companies — and Amazon should pay attention.
CES and the Unification of Computing and Consumer Electronics, Google Assistant and Integration, The Modular Competition
Google Assistant has a structural advantage when it comes to the user experience of digital assistants, which should influence the strategies of Amazon and Apple.
Aggregators and Jobs-to-be-Done
Aggregators succeed by being the best at doing the jobs consumers want done.
The Experience Economy
SAP’s acquisition of Qualtrics shows how the shift in technology has changed business; it is a perfect example of using the Internet to one’s advantage.
Instagram’s CEO
The surprising resignation of Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger should not, in fact, be surprising: this became inevitable the moment they sold Instagram to Facebook.
Divine Discontent: Disruption’s Antidote
Apple has long defeated disruption by focusing on the user experience; Jeff Bezos and Amazon, though, show that user expectations for their experience are ever-changing.
Softbank and Sprint, Amazon Earnings, Jeff Bezos’s Letter and Interview
Sprint and the problem of fixed costs, Amazon and the advantage of fixed costs, and Jeff Bezos’ fundamental optimism
Drake on Twitch, Fortnite vs PUBG and Selling Feelings, The Returns to the Best
Drake was playing video games on Twitch, and it blew up: there is so much to unpack about games, new business models, Twitch, and asymmetrical returns on the Internet. (Plus, a brief note on that Siri article)
The Aggregator Paradox
Google is winning with AMP and blocking ads in Chrome: both seem bad, but aren’t they actually good for consumers? That is the paradox of aggregation.