Discord is the Slack of gaming; that is valuable, but has to be monetized indirectly. Plus, the social aspect of gaming, and how competition in PC gaming stores is good for everyone.
Happy Thanksgiving, Tencent Earnings, Fox Sports MLB Deal
Happy Thanksgiving! Tencent’s earnings and impressive diversification, and the impact on Apple, plus why MLB’s new deal with Fox shows that sports are as valuable as ever.
Text Messaging in the United States; Google’s Earnings; Google, Facebook, and GDPR
An anecdote about permanence and file systems, an explanation of how the U.S. text messaging market is unique, then an overview of Google’s earnings and why GDPR might be having an effect.
Facebook’s Earnings, Facebook’s Stories Story, Additional Notes on Facebook’s Earnings
Facebook’s earnings were as disappointing as promised, which was ok with the stock market. Still, is there more going on than simply a transition to Stories?
The Snap Memo, Snapchat’s Core Problem, Snap’s Bad Positioning
Evan Spiegel wrote a long memo to Snapchat that laid out the company’s problems perhaps more starkly than he appreciated.
MoviePass, Finally; Value Chains and Unit Costs; Atlassian and Slack
Finally, the MoviePass breakdown so many have been asking for; then, another story to catch-up on, about Atlassian, Slack, and leadership.
Snap’s Monetization Flaw; Microsoft and the Effect of Antitrust; Apple, Russia, and Telegram
Reactions from the Code Conference interviews with Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith, plus a very problematic demand of Apple by the Russian government.
Open, Closed, and Privacy Follow-Up; Facebook’s Earnings; Notes on Facebook’s Earnings
A follow-up to Open, Closed, and Privacy, then multiple notes on Facebook’s earnings: the company’s executives sounded confident, and they should be.
Open, Closed, and Privacy
Just as encryption is only viable on closed systems, so it is that increased privacy regulations will only entrench walled gardens. That should affect thinking on regulation.
Google’s Messaging Announcement, Allo’s Go-to-Market Problem, Chat: The Open Alternative
Google’s announced Chat, which is not a new messaging service but the adoption of a new messaging protocol to replace SMS. It’s not an ideal outcome, but the only possible one.