Failing at the basics | Continue reading
Executive summary In 2017 and 2018, publishers tried and mostly failed in turning video into a new medium for delivering content and selling advertising on. The same problems that prompted that pivot still exist: digital is crowded, and platforms are continuously changing terms f … | Continue reading
Executive summary In 2017 and 2018, publishers tried and mostly failed in turning video into a new medium for delivering content and selling advertising on. The same problems that prompted that pivot still exist: digital is crowded, and platforms are continuously changing terms f … | Continue reading
In which I commit to a kind of social media monasticism—because enough is enough. (I took a vacation and realized I actively dislike Twitter. So now, just shy of 14 years after joining Facebook, I’m quitting social media.) | Continue reading
A process for taking a chance on stories Executive summary Since entering the business of production, Netflix has spent and plans to spend many more billions on new films and series for its platform, and some say it’s changing the way films are made. But there is another, much le … | Continue reading
Growing companies desperately need good managers Executive summary In the startup communities of Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, management is a four-letter word. Bearing the brunt of disdain is middle management, supposedly deadweight offering nothing by way of value and instead be … | Continue reading
Growing companies desperately need good managers Executive summary In the startup communities of Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, management is a four-letter word. Bearing the brunt of disdain is middle management, supposedly deadweight offering nothing by way of value and instead be … | Continue reading
Economics shaping aesthetics Executive summary Everlane. Warby Parker. Bonobos. Glossier. Digital-first consumer brands that are all hugely successful and growing rapidly thanks to business savviness and venture capital funding that has helped them grow rapidly. When compared to … | Continue reading
Content + Commerce Executive summary In the 1990s, the vision of the future of television was as a platform for commerce — home shopping. More than two decades later, the same ‘shop what you see’ concept is being applied to digital media and, after an unsuccessful pivot to video, … | Continue reading
An explicit management structure is necessary to distribute power Executive summary Successful startups change how a market works. In many cases, they also change how companies themselves work by rejecting traditional management structures and job descriptions. The way these comp … | Continue reading