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.
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.
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?
Twitter’s Moment
Twitter has had a rough stretch, and most are pessimistic about its chances. I was previously, but I think the upside is looking much brighter than it did before this week.
Disconfirming Ebooks
Aggregation Theory would seem to argue that ebooks are destined to dominate the publishing industry. However, that is decidedly not happening; understanding why is a powerful tool to make the theory better.
The Amazon Fire Lineup, The Apple TV, Cable’s User Experience Advantage
An overview of Amazon’s new fire lineup and how it fits with the company’s overall strategy, an overview of the Apple TV from last week’s event, and a discussion about the fundamental challenge facing all of these TV boxes.
Stripe Relay, Stripe’s Differentiation and Challenges, Mobile E-Commerce and Relay
The launch of Stripe Relay gives me an occasion to cover Stripe for the first time, how it succeeded, its challenges living up to its valuation, and why Stripe Relay could be an important step in that regard
App Store Policy Follow-up, The iPad Pro, The iPad Pro Accessories
First, some follow-up on yesterday’s piece on App Store policies: I actually forgot some product holes, plus a defense of “shareware.” Then, the iPad Pro’s strategic justification and a review of it and its accessories.