On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss the question of YouTube, why it’s similar and different from Facebook, and why engagement is both alluring and a potential pro… | Continue reading
AWS seems to have a dominant position in enterprise computing, but Google is trying to change the rules to favor their inherent strengths. | Continue reading
Apple’s Services Event generally made sense, even if most products weren’t ready to launch. It’s fair to wonder, though, if something important is being lost. | Continue reading
Stratechery is on vacation the week of March 18. There will be no Weekly Article or Daily Updates. The Daily Update will resume on March 25. All new subscriptions made since February 25, including … | Continue reading
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Where Warren’s Wrong. Listen to it here. | Continue reading
Senator Warren’s proposal about how to regulate tech is wrong about history, the source of tech giant’s power, and the fundamental nature of technology itself. That doesn’t mean t… | Continue reading
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Facebook’s Privacy Cake. Listen to it here. | Continue reading
Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement of A Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking is not some dramatic pivot: it is a growth opportunity for Facebook and a challenge for regulators. | Continue reading
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss The Value Chain Constraint. Listen to it here. | Continue reading
Companies succeed or fail not based on technology but rather according to their ability to integrate within their value chains. | Continue reading
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss The Cost of Apple News. Listen to it here. | Continue reading
Apple News is primed to offer a subscription bundle, but publishers should be wary of being Aggregated. | Continue reading
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Spotify’s Podcast Aggregation Play. Listen to it here. | Continue reading
Spotify is making a major move into podcasts, where it appears to have clear designs to be the sort of Aggregator is cannot be when it comes to music. | Continue reading
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Apple vs Facebook (and Google!). Listen to it here. | Continue reading
The lesson of BuzzFeed is that dominant Aggregators like Facebook have no incentive to act against their self interest and support suppliers. | Continue reading
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Netflix Flexes. Listen to it here. | Continue reading
Netflix is an Aggregator, with a value chain that lets it drive demand, raise prices, and dismiss competition. | Continue reading
Amazon’s latest offering highlights the economic challenges facing open source companies — and Amazon should pay attention. | Continue reading
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Apple’s Errors. Listen to it here. | Continue reading
Apple’s management made three errors that led to the restatement of revenue; those errors, though, suggest that the company’s business is in better shape than it appears. | Continue reading
Apple had mixed earnings: most of the world was great, but China was bad again. The reason is that in China WeChat matters more than iOS. | Continue reading
The most popular and most important posts on Stratechery in 2018. | Continue reading
The State of Technology, at least in the enterprise space, is strong; consumer tech is another story, and it is time to question the dominance of big companies like Google. | Continue reading
Aggregators succeed by being the best at doing the jobs consumers want done. | Continue reading
Apple’s earnings point towards a disappointing quarter, and there are also clouds on the “services narrative” horizon, particularly in China. Then, Apple’s (ongoing) mistake… | Continue reading
Apple’s case before the Supreme Court is about standing; Apple has a strong case. That, though, doesn’t mean the App Store isn’t a monopoly — and that Apple isn’t increasing… | Continue reading
SAP’s acquisition of Qualtrics shows how the shift in technology has changed business; it is a perfect example of using the Internet to one’s advantage. | Continue reading
Apple’s decision to stop reporting unit sales is defensible; the company, though, should provide more data to support its new growth story. | Continue reading
IBM has bought Red Hat in an attempt to recreate its success in the 90s; it’s not clear, though, that the company or the market is the same. | Continue reading
Virtual reality has always been destined to be less important than augmented reality, and Facebook taking a stake has never made much sense. | Continue reading
Amazon, Google, Apple, and Facebook are battling for the home; what are their strengths, weaknesses, go-to-market strategies, and business models, and who is the favorite? Or does it matter? | Continue reading
Facebook and Google and other advertising businesses are data factories, and regulation will be most effective if it lets users look inside | Continue reading
Facebook and Google and other advertising businesses are data factories, and regulation will be most effective if it lets users look inside | Continue reading
The surprising resignation of Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger should not, in fact, be surprising: this became inevitable the moment they sold Instagram to Facebook. | Continue reading
The EU is back to regulating tech companies, and getting the Internet wrong in the process. That, though, helps illuminate an approach that could work. | Continue reading
The iPhone is a franchise, a product that will make money in well-defined ways; Apple understands that and is exploiting it more than ever before with the iPhones XS and XR. | Continue reading
Uber had a good strategy, but its crisis meant Lyft had new life and the strategy was no longer workable. Now the company is pursuing something new, even though it is more complicated. | Continue reading
SnapChat is losing users, and it seems clear the biggest reason is Instagram Stories: that is a win for Facebook, but the pain in advertising may be substantial. | Continue reading
An interview with Patreon CEO Jack Conte and Memberful CEO Drew Strojny on the occasion of Patreon acquiring Memberful, the membership software used by Stratechery. This Daily Update is free for ev… | Continue reading
An interview with Patreon CEO Jack Conte and Memberful CEO Drew Strojny on the occasion of Patreon acquiring Memberful, the membership software used by Stratechery. This Daily Update is free for ev… | Continue reading
Facebook was down dramatically after its last earnings; to decide if it is justified it is worth looking at the company through many different lenses, both financial and strategic. | Continue reading
Examining the history of Android explains why the European Commission may be right to fine Google for its actions around Android, even as the reasoning feels off. | Continue reading
Intel is in an increasingly bad position in part because it has been captive to its integrated model. Or, you could simply say they were disrupted. | Continue reading
It is no surprise that a judge allowed the AT&T-Time Warner acquisition to proceed given the government’s poor case; the question is if a better case could have been made. What is ultimat… | Continue reading
Scooters are everywhere, and the use case is amazing. What is not so clear, though, is how scooter companies can build strong businesses, which means consumers are the real winners. | Continue reading
Microsoft paid a lot for GitHub, because it had to pay directly for access to developers. It doesn’t have the leverage of users the way that Apple does on the App Store. | Continue reading
On the business, strategy, and impact of technology. | Continue reading