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Concepts

Strengths=Weaknesses

Successful companies optimize themselves from one approach; to do something different is often impossible.

  • Travis Kalanick Resigns, Uber’s Dangerous Delusion, Uber Going Forward

    Travis Kalanick has resigned. His downfall came from a dangerous delusion that forgot what Uber represented; the way forward is about remembering.

  • The Uber Endgame, Unchanging Uber, Uber Justice

    The Uber endgame has arrived, and the events of last week showed what should happen — even if they might not. Plus, Kalanick’s fatal flaw and broader questions for all of tech.

  • Apple’s Strengths and Weaknesses

    Both Apple’s strengths and weaknesses were on full display at its annual WWDC keynote; the HomePod is a perfect example.

  • Disney and Differentiated Content, Snap and Hardware

    Disney may have differentiated content, but they don’t necessarily have the right business model, and may not get there. Then, could Snap really end up being a hardware company?

  • Alexa: Amazon’s Operating System

    Money is made at chokepoints, and the most valuable chokepoints are operating systems; Amazon is building exactly that with Alexa.

  • Fake News

    Facebook is under fire for fake news and filter bubbles; they are a problem, but most of the proposed solutions are far worse.

  • Netflix Earnings, The Apple Car Reset

    Netflix had a good quarter, but even more important is that the company continues to exemplify aggregation theory. Then, the Apple Car is getting a reset; this may be the beginning of the end.

  • Google and the Limits of Strategy

    Google went wrong in the past by abandoning their horizontal business model; are they repeating their mistake, or does the future give them no choice?

  • Didi Acquires Uber China, Why Uber China Was Doomed, Was Uber China Worth It?

    Didi has acquired Uber China. This Update goes through the history of ride-sharing in China, why Uber China was doomed, and evaluates whether Uber China was worth the investment.

  • The Curse of Culture

    It is very fair to say that Apple is threatened by the potential rise of AI. Google, though, is also threatened by its inability to own customers’ attention. The solution for both companies may entail changing their culture, a very tall order indeed.