Follow-up on yesterday’s article on potential new publishing models, and then a discussion of Facebook earnings. Plus, a new reason skeptics have found to doubt the company.
Grantland and the (Surprising) Future of Publishing
ESPN’s decision to close Grantland seems to be more evidence that there is no future outside of massive scale or one-man operations. Bill Simmons’ recent successes, though, suggest that the answer could be the exact opposite.
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.
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.
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.
Amazon to Stop Selling Chromecast, Apple TV; Google’s New Hardware
There are lots of reasons why Amazon may have decided to stop selling the Apple TV and Chromecast; the true answer probably is a little bit of each. Plus, Google announced new devices, and it wasn’t that exciting.
What is Medium Doing?, Facebook Updates Notes
Medium just raised $57 million on a relatively modest valuation, but lots of folks aren’t still sure what the company is trying to accomplish: today I give it my best shot. Plus, Facebook has updated Notes, which look a lot like, well, Medium posts. The appearance, though, isn’t what will make them succeed or fail.
Are Ebooks Declining, or Just the Publishers?, Oyster Goes Out of Business, Media Notes
A follow-up on e-book publishing, and why there is so much dispute about just how many e-books are sold.