Strategy
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Integration and Monopoly
Apple has won through integration, but integration combined with network effects and economies of scale can result in bad outcomes that look a lot like monopolies.
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HBO Max, AT&T’s Challenges, The Streaming Battleground
AT&T announced details about HBO Max, which are both safe and aggressive, and also raise questions about AT&T’s long-term stewardship. Then, why Netflix and Disney are the long-term winners.
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Microsoft’s Surface Event, Victors and History, Microsoft’s Hardware Prospects
Microsoft (eventually) selling a phone that runs Android is not particularly meaningful in terms of its impact financially but is a totem of a major shift culturally.
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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.
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What Is a Tech Company?
The question of “What is a tech company” comes down to how much software and its unique characteristics affects the company’s core business.
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China, Leverage, and Values
If there is a new tech cold war, it is one with shots fired over a decade ago, largely by China. The questions going forward are about both leverage and values.
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Zillow Changes CEOs, An Interview with Zillow CEO Rich Barton
Zillow has changed CEOs, which makes sense given the change in the company’s business model. Then, an interview with new CEO and Zillow co-founder Rich Barton.
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BuzzFeed Followup, The Future is Niche, Atlassian and Bing
BuzzFeed’s relative scale problem, and why venture capital doesn’t make sense for content, because the future is niche. Plus, important follow-up on Bing and Atlassian.
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Apple’s Errors
Apple’s management made three errors that led to the restatement of revenue; those errors, though, suggest that the company’s business is in better shape than it appears.