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Latest Podcast

Concepts

Incentives

  • Amazon’s Transformation, The Apple Music Backlash

    Amazon turned a surprising profit: was it on purpose? More importantly, what does it say about the fundamental nature of Amazon as a company and as an investment? Plus, why the Apple Music backlash shouldn’t be a surprise, and a survey about meet-ups for this summer.

  • In Defense of Markets, The Qualcomm Mess, Uber and de Blasio

    I think that the stock market tends to get a bad rap amongst tech pundits and executives; in fact, it is a critical part of how new companies defeat incumbents. Still, sometimes markets get it wrong and I think that is the case with Qualcomm. Plus, what Uber’s episode with New York City mayor Bill de…

  • The Remarkable iPhone 6, The Apple Watch, Microsoft Earnings

    Perhaps the most surprising thing about the iPhone 6 is that Apple itself keeps getting it wrong. Plus, some observations about the Apple Watch and an appreciation of Satya Nadella.

  • Google’s Impressive Earnings, Ebay’s Uncertain Future

    Google had great results that were impressive not just from a dollars and cents perspective, but also from a strategic perspective. Plus, brief thoughts on Ebay as it spins off Paypal.

  • The Best Twitter Day Ever, The End of Windows Phone

    Something amazing happened on Twitter that really highlighted how unique the service is. It also showed how many product holes remain. Then, Satya Nadella does what needed to be done. That doesn’t make it any less impressive.

  • Is Safari the Next IE?; Rendering Engines and the Sweet Solution; China’s Stock Bubble, Continued

    Suggesting that “Safari is the Next IE” has led to a fruitless discussion about whether or not the accusation is fair; incentives are more banal yet far more revealing. Plus, a continuation of last month’s discussion of the Chinese bubble: it may be bursting.

  • WeWork and Bubble Talk, Uber’s Losses, Microsoft Exits Consumer Space

    A bit of follow-up from yesterday’s post on WeWork, and a broader discussion about the ongoing bubble talk and the squeeze on VC. Then a discussion on Uber’s losses and why no one should be surprised, and finally the end of Microsoft’s consumer business.

  • Unicorns Follow-up; Uber, Contractors, and Employees; Microsoft and the End of the Ballmer Era

    This Daily Update follows up on my Unicorns article by pointing out how the behavior of most late-stage investors is totally rational. Then, a discussion about a recent decision by the California Labor Commission that one Uber driver is an employee, not a contractor, and a translation of Microsoft’s latest reorganization.

  • Unicorns

    There are a lot of unicorns, but not all unicorns are created equally: even if some die the value of them in aggregate is significant.

  • Dick Costolo Out as Twitter CEO, Costolo’s Key Shortcoming, Twitter’s Next CEO

    Dick Costolo is out as Twitter’s CEO, a shocking but unsurprising outcome. This update examines why he had to go, as well as why this week’s Twitter product announcements expose the biggest shortcoming of his tenure. Finally, I examine the necessary qualities for Twitter’s next CEO and who might make sense.