Quibi — and Shopify! — explain why TikTok is so successful. As always, though, the TikTok story is complicated by the Chinese connection.
Zuckerberg’s Choice, Zuckerberg’s Power, Zuckerberg’s Conviction
Why Mark Zuckerberg has made the right choice about Trump’s posts, why his power is a problem, and why his conviction is impressive.
Dust in the Light
The Internet ends gatekeepers and increases transparency, which has world-altering effects — both good and bad.
Trump’s Executive Order, Section 230 In Court, Public Forums
President Trump is poised to sign an executive order that applies to social networks; its reasoning about Section 230 and public forums is not in line with judicial precedent.
Twitter and Trump, YouTube and China, Facebook and Polarization
Twitter fact-checks Trump, YouTube censors Chinese words, and Facebook reportedly declines to police polarization.
Facebook Acquires GIPHY, Data Credits and Critical Suppliers, SDK Insights
The GIPHY acquisition makes sense for Facebook, but for more pragmatic reasons than malicious ones.
Media, Regulators, and Big Tech; Indulgences and Injunctions; Better Approaches
Blaming Facebook and Google for the media industry’s trouble inevitably leads to bad regulations with unintended consequences and the end of accountability for big tech.
Facebook Earnings, Auction Dynamics, Full Steam Ahead
Facebook earnings demonstrated the power of its auction-based direct-response model; what makes it different from Google is Zuckerberg’s drive.
More on Apple and Google, Germany Versus Apple, Facebook’s Surveys
More evidence that Apple and Google are dictating terms to governments; then, it is possible that Facebook’s approach to discovering outbreaks has the most promise.
Capability and Policy Revisited; Isolation and Surveillance; Netflix’s Earnings
Once tech companies have the capability to do what government’s tell them to, they are increasingly willing to comply; that is not a good sign for increased surveillance. Then, Netflix is cautious about its huge earnings.