Amazon and The New York Times had a fascinating exchange this week, on Medium of all places. What that exchange represents — the search for truth, now open to anyone — is far more important than the particular article in question.
The Web-App Tradeoff, Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, A Win for the Web
Some follow-up on Twitter, and then a deep dive on Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages project. Why is it necessary, what does it do, and is it to be applauded or feared?
Twitter’s Moment
Twitter has had a rough stretch, and most are pessimistic about its chances. I was previously, but I think the upside is looking much brighter than it did before this week.
What is Medium Doing?, Facebook Updates Notes
Medium just raised $57 million on a relatively modest valuation, but lots of folks aren’t still sure what the company is trying to accomplish: today I give it my best shot. Plus, Facebook has updated Notes, which look a lot like, well, Medium posts. The appearance, though, isn’t what will make them succeed or fail.
Are Ebooks Declining, or Just the Publishers?, Oyster Goes Out of Business, Media Notes
A follow-up on e-book publishing, and why there is so much dispute about just how many e-books are sold.
Disconfirming Ebooks
Aggregation Theory would seem to argue that ebooks are destined to dominate the publishing industry. However, that is decidedly not happening; understanding why is a powerful tool to make the theory better.
Medium and the Publishing Long Tail, Content Blockers and Facebook, Amazon Prime and the Washington Post
A bit of follow-up on yesterday’s post Popping the Publishing Bubble, and why Medium is potentially trying to replicate Stripe’s strategy. Plus, the key decision-maker when it comes to ad-blocking is Facebook, and it’s not at all clear what they will do. Finally, an experiment from Jeff Bezos with the Washington Post and Amazon Prime.
Popping the Publishing Bubble
For years publishers haven’t had to worry about business models: they just captured attention and watched the money come in. Those days, though, are over: the publications that survive will start with business models and build journalism around it.
Aggregation and Antitrust, BuzzFeed Makes News, BuzzFeed’s Valuation in Perspective
The differing approaches to antitrust in the U.S. and Europe could mean completely different outcomes in the long run for aggregation companies. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed has raised a new round and seems to be doing better than ever, which is great news for journalism. Plus, how to think about startup valuations.
Why Web Pages Suck
Everyone complains about web pages that suck, but the reality is that it is advertisers who call the shots. This should, at a minimum, put Facebook’s Instant Articles and Apple’s News app in a new light.