Free – Stratechery by Ben Thompson

Pandemic Progress

Monday, June 21, 2021

Marc Andreessen has changed his tone over the past year; there is a cynical interpretation, but I think the shift is justified.

Trump Visits Mac Pro Factory, Apple’s Tariffs, Apple Versus GitHub

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Trump visited the Mac Pro factory, and people are disappointed in Tim Cook. First off, tariffs are certainly the driving fact, but I am disappointed too, for different reasons than most.

The First Amendment is not about a law, but rather a culture — specifically a culture of liberty. It is essential to tech, and in this context, Facebook is mostly right about political ads (but can still do better).

The Internet and the Third Estate

Monday, October 21, 2019

Mark Zuckerberg suggested that social media is a “Fifth Estate”; in fact, social media is a means by which the Third Estate — commoners — can seize political power. Here history matters.

China Cultural Clash Follow-Up, Disney and Blizzard, Choosing Customers

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

More on TikTok, then Disney and Blizzard demonstrate how expensive customers can be, while Google and Facebook benefit.

The China Cultural Clash

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

The NBA controversy in China highlights a culture clash that both tech companies and the U.S. government need to take to heart. Plus, why Tiktok being Chinese is increasingly a problem.

A Framework for Regulating Content on the Internet

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Regulators need to stop blindly regulating “the Internet” and instead understand that every part of the Internet stack is different, and only one part is suffering from market failure.

Nest’s Secret Microphone, YouTube and the Pollyanish Assumption — Again, Pinterest and Anti-Vaxxers

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Nest’s secret microphone shows that privacy still isn’t a priority at Google, and there is a connection to YouTube’s latest scandal. Then, what Pinterest gets right about a very hard problem.

Another Congressional Hearing, The Genesis of Section 230, The Battle over Section 230

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Section 230, which shields Internet companies from liability, is getting more attention: the only attention it should get is as a model for other regulations.

The Athletic Raises $20 Million, Four Stories on Tech and Politics

Thursday, March 8, 2018

The Athletic is right to go for it, and raise more VC money. Then, tech and politics is only becoming more complicated as national security concerns enter the debate.

(Preview) Five Questions on WWDC 2026, Fable 5 And Its Guardrails, What Anthropic Has in Common With Apple

(Preview) Five Questions on WWDC 2026, Fable 5 And Its Guardrails, What Anthropic Has in Common With Apple

WWDC Follow-Up

(Preview) Xi Goes to North Korea; Inspecting Xinjiang; A $295 Billion AI Buildout; The Pentagon Alleges PLA Links for Alibaba and Others

An Interview with Ben Bajarin About Apple, AI, and Compute

Fable 5, Anthropic Alignment, AI Tiers

Google Buys Compute From SpaceX, Broadcom’s Outlook, Apple’s AI Politics

(Preview) Five Questions on WWDC 2026, Fable 5 And Its Guardrails, What Anthropic Has in Common With Apple

WWDC Follow-Up

(Preview) Xi Goes to North Korea; Inspecting Xinjiang; A $295 Billion AI Buildout; The Pentagon Alleges PLA Links for Alibaba and Others

An Interview with Ben Bajarin About Apple, AI, and Compute

An Interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella About Finding Core Competencies