Spotify’s mixed earnings, why podcasts are uniquely valuable to the company, and where The Ringer fits in.
Visa, Plaid, Networks, and Jobs
The history of credit cards helps explain why Plaid is valuable to Visa, and how Visa can make it significantly better.
Facebook Buys Beat Saber, Capital and Copyright, The Oculus Conundrum
Facebook has bought Beat Games, a company of the future, and not just because they made a game for VR. Then, why it is the old world that needs capital, and why Oculus is still confusing strategically.
PayPal Acquires Honey, What Honey Is, PayPal’s Play
PayPal bought Honey, which is best known as a browser extension. What does this mean for both end users and merchants, and which is more important?
Google Buys Fitbit, Why Fitbit is a Good Idea, Why It Isn’t
First some important updates about Stratechery, then Google is seeking to acquire Fitbit. Why the acquisition makes sense, and why it doesn’t.
Facebook Acquires CTRL-Labs, Acquisitions and Value, The Portal and Facebook’s Reputation
Facebook is acquiring CTRL-Labs, a computer-neural interface that is potentially a great fit with Oculus. At this point, though, is Facebook’s involvement in this new technology value-destructive?
Verizon Sells Tumblr to Automattic, What Went Wrong?, Tumblr’s Future
Verizon is selling Tumblr to WordPress for only $3 million. Why did Tumblr fail, and is there reason for optimism with Automattic as its new owner?
Uber Layoffs, T-Mobile-Sprint Merger Approved, Additional Notes on the Merger
Uber’s layoffs were a necessary adjustment to a marketing strategy that made sense previously, but not today. Then, why the T-Mobile-Sprint merger should have been approved, and the secondary impacts of the decision.
Tech and Antitrust Follow-up, Google Buys Looker, Salesforce Buys Tableau
Sometimes analysis is about what will happen, not what should happen. Then, two big acquisitions in the data analytics face: Google’s purchase of Looker makes sense, while Salesforce is paying a steep price for Tableau.
Airbnb Acquires HotelTonight, Supply Versus Demand, The HotelTonight Proposition
Airbnb has acquired Hotel Tonight, three years too late. The question is whether Airbnb wants to own a subset of the travel market, or the whole thing — and abandon its view of itself.