Making Money
Business models are the surest way to understand a company’s motivations.
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For Apple, hitting middle age means a strategy primarily focused on monetizing its existing customers. It makes sense, but one wonders what happens next.
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The impact of Facebook’s News Feed changes on the media is far less interesting than what the changes — and their stated purpose — say about Facebook itself.
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Google is at its best when its product focus follows its business model; for too long Android was a detour.
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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?
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Stop Doubting the iPhone, The Macintosh Company
There have always been iPhone bears, but the latest set seems to be ignoring reality. Plus, the amazing success of the Mac and what that means for the iPhone.
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Google Earnings and the Shift to Mobile, The Steve Jobs Movie
Google provided another set of strong earnings, and a return to their roots — search — is the biggest reason why. Plus, my review of the Steve Jobs movie.
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Amazon’s Transformation, Continued; Microsoft’s Transformation…and Threat
As predicted last quarter, AWS is increasingly the engine driving Amazon’s financial results. However, there is evidence the e-commerce side is changing as well. Then, Microsoft has completely changed itself over the last few years, but the company is not out of the woods just yet.
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In Defense of The New York Times
Amazon and The New York Times had a fascinating exchange this week, on Medium of all places. What that exchange represents — the search for truth, now open to anyone — is far more important than the particular article in question.
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Dropbox Paper, Dropbox’s Missed Opportunities, Google Apps Stagnation
Dropbox just announced a major new product, Paper. However, I think it is far too little far too later. Meanwhile, Google is using pricing gimmicks for Apps, which speaks to how little the core product has evolved.
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About that Apple Car (and Jony Ive), The 21 Inc Bitcoin Computer
I’ve agreed that there is probably an Apple Car for a while, but I do need to make it official that I was likely wrong about Jony Ive. Then, what is the deal with 21 Inc’s Bitcoin Computer? Is there any way it makes sense?