TV advertising is having a good week at the upfronts, and it may be more resilient than expected. That, though, means the crash will be even more abrupt.
The Future of Podcasting
Podcasting is stuck between the open model of the past and the push for monetization in the future. Might there be a third way that actually benefits publishers?
Jeff Bezos at the Code Conference, Recent Amazon News
Jeff Bezos gave a great interview at the Code Conference, and while the whole thing is worth watching, I wanted to highlight a few items that touched on Stratechery topics. Plus, three recent Amazon stories that show how the company is winning.
Disrupting Basketball, Thiel-Gawker Follow-up, Intel and ARM
The Golden State Warriors are kinda sorta disrupting basketball, and making plenty of enemies in the process, which segues to a follow-up on Peter Thiel and Gawker. Then, Intel and ARM have dueling releases that show just how different they are.
Peter Thiel, Comic Book Hero
What Gawker did to Peter Thiel is inexcusable, but Thiel’s response is threatening to the industry that made him rich in the first place.
Defending Facebook, Amazon Video Direct
The actual details of the Facebook Trending News scandal probably don’t warrant the outrage; what is more interesting is how Facebook found itself in hot water. Then, Amazon Video Direct is very interesting, but not because it’s going to be a YouTube competitor anytime soon.
The Real Problem With Facebook and the News
Facebook is receiving a lot of criticism for allegedly interfering with conservative topics when it comes to “Trending News”. In fact, though, the polarization reinforced by an engagement-driven feed is a much bigger concern.
Prince, Bowie, and Beyoncé; Google’s Margin Squeeze; Microsoft’s Miss
Prince and David Bowie both understood the Internet, but took drastically different approaches. Then, Google’s business is fine, but it has almost certainly peaked, and the company could learn something from Microsoft about managing expectations.
The Problem with Facebook’s Ten-Year Plan, Is BuzzFeed Struggling?
Facebook’s (in my opinion) misguided attempt to own both public and private social was not the only thing that concerned me about the F8 keynote; I am also skeptical of the 10-year plan. Then, BuzzFeed may have some concerning numbers, but I think there is a good reason: the company is changing its business model.
Twitter to Stream NFL Thursday Night Games, About That Gmail April Fool’s Joke
First, a deep dive into Twitter’s deal with the NFL and why it’s not about the money. Then, why Gmail’s failed April Fool’s joke was so outrageous and worrying.