Dollar Shave Club is a textbook example of how the new Internet economy will destroy value in incumbent industries.
Softbank Buys ARM; Taylor, Kanye, Kim, and Twitter
Softbank is buying ARM, which is interesting in its implications for both companies, but probably not that big of a deal for the industry. Then, what the latest Taylor Swift-Kanye West episode says about Twitter.
A Technical Glitch
Facebook Live is likely a lot more meaningful than Facebook expected: it’s a plus for society, but Facebook should expect more scrutiny. Given that, they have work to do when it comes to transparency.
The Pokémon Go Phenomenon, Nintendo’s Pivot, Additional Notes on Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go is a phenomena. What matters, though, is what it says about Nintendo and the way it might approach mobile going forward. Plus, what makes a good product, and why the augmented reality hype is both overblown yet justified.
Snapchat’s Facebook Moment, China Cracks Down on Apps and Social Networks
A quick follow-up on Tesla, where Elon Musk continues to demonstrate how not to win the battle over self-driving cars. Then, Snapchat is getting the Facebook treatment, some of it legitimate, and some of it not, and China is cracking down on apps and social networks
Follow-up: Governments’ Focus, Elizabeth Warren’s Speech on Competition, Facebook Changes the News Feed
One more follow-up to Tuesday’s Weekly Article, then why I don’t necessarily disagree with calls to regulate big platform players. Then, Facebook has changed the news feed, and while there will be an impact on media companies, the bigger news is what this says about Facebook.
Microsoft and Apple Double Down
Both Microsoft and Apple made news yesterday, and while one was unexpected and the other predictable, both are effectively doubling down on their strategies. And both may not matter.
Apple Makes Major Changes to App Store, The App Store and Apple’s Nature, Additional Notes
Apple made major changes to the App Store; in this double Daily Article I explain why they’re a big deal but not yet perfect, and how that demonstrates the difficulty of change.
Twilio Files for IPO, Building Infrastructure, Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends 2016
An overview of Twilio’s IPO and the role of infrastructure, and then my favorite slides from Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends deck.
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.