Ben and James discuss the net neutrality debate and why both sides of the issue at hand involve making difficult tradeoffs; the bigger problem is broken governance. Please listen to the end! Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss IPOs, including those of Stitch Fix, SendGrid, and Blue Apron, and the importance of understanding what type of company you are. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Stitch Fix and the … | Continue reading
Ben and James break down the differences between new market and low end disruption and how they apply — or don’t — to Apple and the iPhone. Links Ben Thompson: Apple at Its Best — Stratechery Apple’s iPhone X Parts Cost $115 More Than iPhone 8, IHS Says — Bloomberg Ben Thompson: … | Continue reading
Ben and James walk through the history of Stratechery to explain why Facebook is inescapable for a podcast about tech and society. Links Ben Thompson: Tech Goes to Washington — Stratechery John Gruber: Blackberry vs. iPhone — Daring Fireball (note: I said on the podcast this was … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss why acquisitions should be the focus of tech regulators in the context of Facebook buying tbh today, and Instagram and WhatsApp previously. Links Ben Thompson: Why Facebook Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Buy TBH — Stratechery Marco Arment: The Impossible Dream of U … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the structure that leads to gatekeepers and abusers like Harvey Weinstein, and why it is so dangerous to accept as fact that the world was better before the Internet. Links Ben Thompson: Goodbye Gatekeepers — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Gatekeepers Follow-Up, … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Facebook and where both its critics and executives go wrong. It’s time for everyone to consider the worst-case scenarios. NOTE: We unfortunately had significant audio issues this week on both sides (which, by the way, had nothing to do with the cut cable ref … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the development of theory, why blogs have disrupted books, and why too many in tech are too pessimistic about humanity. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Defining Aggregators — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Aggregation Theory — Stratechery Ben Thompson: … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the different levels of aggregation, Facebook and Russian ads, and why it’s worth defending the future. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: The Super-Aggregators and the Russians — Stratechery Facebook Enabled Advertisers to Reach ‘Jew Haters’ — ProPu … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Apple’s the cellular Apple Watch, the iPhone X and 8 markets, and whether the opening was over-the-top. Presented by MailChimp Links Episode 018: Agree to Disagree — Exponent Ben Thompson: The Lessons and Questions of the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 — Stratech … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the why it is Ben can’t stop talking about Aggregation Theory, and the future of regulation. Presented by MailChimp Links Episode 016: Naked People (James first trip to Burning Man) — Exponent Ben Thompson: Everything is Changing; So Should Antitrust — Strat … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the Theory of the Conservation of Attractive Profits, Intel, Netflix, and how it all applies to Disney. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Disney’s Choice — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Disney Follow-up — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Aggregati … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Benchmark’s lawsuit against Uber and Cloudfare’s ban of Daily Stormer. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: The Uber Dilemma — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Venture Capital and the Internet’s Impact — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Apple and the Oak Tree — Stra … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the European Commission’s antitrust ruling against Google and the challenges of antitrust in a world governed by Aggregation Theory. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Ends, Means, and Antitrust — Stratechery Episode 005: The World Has Changed — Expo … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, when acquisitions make sense, and the potential future of antitrust law. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Amazon’s New Customer — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Acquisitions and Network Effects, Antitrust and Network … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the business of podcasting specifically and advertising generally, and why Apple’s recent changes will have less of an effect than people think. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Pocasts, Analytics, and Centralization — Stratechery Episode 082: A Po … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Apple’s WWDC keynote, playing to your strengths, and privacy that matters. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Apple’s Strengths and Weaknesses — Stratechery IAMA Foxconn insider with information on next 12 months of hardware updates — Reddit Ben Thom … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss myths, culture, and blockchains — and yes, bubbles. NOTE: The original version had a corrupted file. Our apologies. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Tulips, Myths, and Cryptocurrencies — Stratechery Abhishek Chakravarty: The Product Manager’s guide … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss myths, culture, and blockchains — and yes, bubbles. UPDATE: The original episode had the wrong audio file. Our apologies. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Tulips, Myths, and Cryptocurrencies — Stratechery Abhishek Chakravarty: The Product Manager’s … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss myths, culture, and blockchains — and yes, bubbles. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Tulips, Myths, and Cryptocurrencies — Stratechery Abhishek Chakravarty: The Product Manager’s guide to the Blockchain — Medium Yuval Noah Harari: Sapiens Fred Ehr … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Google I/O, the importance of business relative to technology, and why Uber is in trouble. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Boring Google — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Google’s Go-to-Market — Stratechery How Uber and Waymo Ended Up Rivals in the Race … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss why figuring out a new model means abandoning the old, this time in the context of newspapers and news. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: The Local News Business Model — Stratechery Jim Rutenberg: Ad Buyers Have a Say in Whether Real News Survives — … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss how leverage shifts in a value chain, why WeChat is so powerful in China, and why that is a problem for Apple. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Apple’s China Problem — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Messaging: Mobile’s Killer App — Stratechery Ben Thomp … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss whether or not monopolies are good, the differences between education and healthcare, and how to build an economy of the future. Presented by MailChimp Links Episode 012: The Internet Rainforest — Exponent Episode 005: The World Has Changed — Exponent Ben Th … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss what it means if Facebook is a monopoly, what is lost if it is, and why there isn’t anything that can be done about it — for now. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: The Facebook Epoch — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Facebook and the Cost of Monopoly — St … | Continue reading
James and Ben discuss moral hazard and what seems to be going wrong with the U.S. economy, the different kinds of regulation, and how the App Store explains government policy. Presented by MailChimp Links James Allworth: Prioritizing Economics is Crippling the U.S. Economy — Medi … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Apple’s Mac Pro screw-up and what it might say about the company and its culture. Presented by MailChimp Links John Gruber: The Mac Pro Lives — Daring Fireball Jay Yarow: Phil Schiller on Apple’s Ad Agency in an Email — Business Insider Ben Thompson: Whither … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the meaning of artificial intelligence, whether machine learning qualifies, and a platform for dealing with the impact. Presented by MailChimp Links Chris Dixon: How Aristotle Created the Computer — The Atlantic Ben Thompson: The Arrival of Artificial Intell … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the concept of The Smiling Curve and how it applies to various industries. Then, where value might be found in self-driving cars, and why both Uber and Google are getting it wrong. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Aggregation Theory — Stratechery B … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Uber’s recent scandals, and debate whether the company’s business actions can be separated from its culture. Presented by MailChimp Links Susan Fowler Rigetti: Reflecting on One Very, Very Strange Year at Uber — SusanJFowler.com Ben Thompson: The Uber Confla … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s manifesto, the problem with regulation, and why Facebook needs exactly that. Presented by MailChimp Links Mark Zuckerberg: Building Global Community — Facebook Ben Thompson: Manifestos and Monopolies — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Inspired Med … | Continue reading
Ben and James compare Snap and Facebook to Apple and Microsoft, and worry that Snap’s business is misaligned. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Snap’s Apple Strategy — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Truth About Windows Versus the Mac — Stratechery Ben Thompson: What Clayt … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss what kind of politicians and products cut through in the Internet age, and why they are profoundly different than what worked before. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Inspired Media — Stratechery Ben ompson: The Voters Decide — Stratechery Ben Thom … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the history of messaging apps, the rise of Snapchat, and why Instagram Stories was such a brilliant move. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: The Audacity of Copying Well — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Snapchat’s Ladder — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Facebo … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss why different types of media have responded to the Internet with varying degrees of success. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: The Great Unbundling — Stratechery Chris Dixon: How Bundling Benefits Sellers and Buyers — cdixon blog The Netflix Backlas … | Continue reading
Ben and James celebrate two milestones: 10 years for the iPhone, and 100 episodes for Exponent. This is a good one: it in many respects summarizes the entire run of both Exponent and Stratechery. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: The Ten Year Anniversary of the Apple TV … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Amazon Alexa and the history of operating systems Presented by MailChimp Links Is That an Echo? — Exponent Episode 070 Ben Thompson — The Amazon Tax We Have Always Been at War with Amazon — Exponent Episode 081 Ben Thompson: Alexa: Amazon’s Operating System … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss real estate and Opendoor, and the types of startups that will succeed in the future. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Opendoor: A Startup Worth Emulating — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Zillow Acquires Trulia — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Go … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss cloud computing and why Google fell behind AWS, and how the company is taking a very wise strategy in catching up. Note: Due to a recording error Ben’s track quality is poor. Our apologies. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: How Google is Challenging … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the fake news epidemic on Facebook, from its structural causes to its effects. Then, Facebook committed sins of omission; the tech industry ought not do the same. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Fake News — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Aggregation Th … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the Trump election, filter bubbles, and the responsibility of the tech industry. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Donald Trump is the President-Elect, Tech Under Trump, The Big Picture — Stratechery Daily Update Episode 085: Ballots and Guillotines … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss when acquisitions make sense, why Apple shouldn’t buy Tesla, and debate whether they should or should not buy Netflix. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Apple Should Buy Netflix — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Why Apple Shouldn’t Buy Netflix — Strateche … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the difference between the IT era and the Internet Revolution, first in the context of newspapers and then in the context of society broadly. Presented by MailChimp Links Jack Shafer: What If the Newspaper Industry Made a Colossal Mistake? — Politico Ben Tho … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss what Consumerization of IT means in the context of Workplace by Facebook, Skype Teams, and Slack. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Chat and the Consumerization of IT — Stratechery David Moschella, Doug Neal, Piet Opperman, John Taylor: The ‘Consume … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the history of Android and why Google’s new phone signifies such a profound shift for the company. Presented by MailChimp Links Farhad Manjoo: MailChimp and the Un-Silicon Valley Way to Make It as a Start-Up — The New York Ttimes Ben Thompson: The Android De … | Continue reading
Ben and James follow-up on Facebook versus the media, and then dive into Spectacles and what makes for a compelling product. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Facebook Tweetstorm — Twitter Ben Thompson: How the Snap Spectacles Story Broke, Facebook Overestimated Video Me … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Oracle’s prospects in the crowd and how the Internet has changed the enterprise. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Oracle’s Cloudy Future — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Is AWS a Commodity? — Stratechery Daily Update Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, St … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Facebook’s latest run-in with the media: both are wrong but for different reasons. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Facebook Versus the Media — Stratechery Espen Egil Hansen: Dear Mark. I am writing this to inform you that I shall not comply with y … | Continue reading