Instagram’s shift away from being a photo-sharing app is very much inline with the service’s continuous evolution.
Facebook’s Audio Announcements, Facebook and Creators
Facebook made a host of “coming soon” announcements around audio, and laid out a compelling vision for creators that is limited by Facebook’s fundamental nature.
Clubhouse’s Inevitability
Clubhouse will do for audio what Twitter, Instagram Stories, and TikTok did for text, images, and video.
Playing on Hard Mode
Airbnb and DoorDash both created new markets where ones did not previously exist; they are startups played on “hard” mode.
TikTok and Quibi, TikTok and Shopify, TikTok Complications
Quibi — and Shopify! — explain why TikTok is so successful. As always, though, the TikTok story is complicated by the Chinese connection.
The Tragic iPad
The iPad is 10, and while it remains a useful device, it is ultimately a disappointment. Apple lost the vision for what the iPad could be, and never gave space for developers to figure it out for them.
Beachheads and Obstacles
Facebook and Amazon had events on the same day for Oculus and Alexa. Both are driven by lessons from the mobile era, but Amazon seems to have learned more than Facebook.
Slack Earnings, Slack’s Sales Cycle, The FTC Fines YouTube
Slack’s earnings were fine, but lacked the explosive growth their valuation needed. Understanding Slack’s past and future product-market fit explains why. Then, the real problem with the FTC’s fine of YouTube is a lack of transparency.
Apple, Design, and Operations; So It Goes; The Role of Jeff Williams
More on Jony Ive’s exit, and why blaming Tim Cook misses the broader changes that are an inevitable by-product of success. Than, clarifying Jeff Williams role as CEO-in-waiting.
Google Cloud Changes CEOs, Layers of Surprise (or Not), The VMWare Analogy
Google Cloud has a new CEO: the news is a surprise at first glance, but may make more sense than it seems. To understand why, look at VMWare, outgoing Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene’s most famous startup.