Ben and James discuss Cloudflare and what it is like going through an IPO, as well as what has gone wrong with WeWork. Links Ben Thompson: Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Cloudflare’s S-1 — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: AWS … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss WWDC keynote and why it was so important for Apple to move past the iPhone. Links Ben Thompson: Apple’s Audacity — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Apple’s Middle Age — Stratechery Letter from Tim Cook to Apple investors — Apple Ben Thompson: Strategy Credit — Stra … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the U.S.-China trade war and the fundamental issues facing both countries generally and tech specifically. Links Ben Thompson: China, Leverage, and Values — Stratechery We Were Pirates, Too — Foreign Policy How China Uses High-Tech Surveillance to Subdue Min … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the Zoom and Slack IPOs in the context of Microsoft’s current success and long-term challenges. Links Ben Thompson: Microsoft, Slack, Zoom, and the SaaS Opportunity — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The State of Technology at the End of 2018 — Stratechery Ben Thom … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Disney’s recent announcements on streaming and what it says about not just TV but strategy broadly in the Internet era. Links Ben Thompson: Disney and the Future of TV — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Disney and the Value of the Consumer Relationship, Disney’s Co … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss why Internet regulation is coming, why it is probably necessary, and how it should be targeted. Links Ben Thompson: A Regulatory Framework for the Internet — Stratechery New Livestreaming Legislation Fails to Take Into Account How the Internet Actually Works … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the question of YouTube, why it’s similar and different from Facebook, and why engagement is both alluring and a potential problem. Links YouTube Executives Ignored Warnings, Letting Toxic Videos Run Rampant — Bloomberg Ben Thompson: Apple’s Services Event — … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s appearances before Congress, and try to sort out exactly which Facebook issues matter, and which don’t. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: The Facebook Current — Str … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Microsoft’s reorganization, how Satya Nadella has managed the decline of Windows, and how it applies to Apple and services. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: The End of Windows — Str … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Facebook’s current crisis, and why almost everyone misunderstands what the company did wrong: the problem isn’t advertising, it was Facebook’s desire to be a platform. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss President Trump’s intervention in Broadcom’s takeover of Qualcomm, the problem with patents, and whether or not markets inherently overvalue short-term thinking. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Spotify’s F-1, why Spotify isn’t Netflix, and why record companies are doing well even though they are acting sub-optimally. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links James Allworth: Why I’m Not Going Nea … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Dropbox’s S-1 and why the company is a success but still a disappointment. Plus, why companies should go public sooner. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: The Dropbox Comp — Strateche … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Google’s recent moves around blocking ads and promoting AMP and whether they raise antitrust questions. Plus, why Microsoft couldn’t have stopped Google, and why cryptocurrencies are aggregator kryptonite. NOTE: The previous version of this episode was not e … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Google’s recent moves around blocking ads and promoting AMP and whether they raise antitrust questions. Plus, why Microsoft couldn’t have stopped Google, and why cryptocurrencies are aggregator kryptonite. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new sit … | Continue reading
Ben and James answer reader questions. Topics include business school, career advice, the nature of strategy, creating the next Silicon Valley, and how governments should deal with the disruptions caused by the Internet. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by vi … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Apple’s strategy of monetizing its customer base, how that explains HomePod, and whether or not it is a problem. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Apple’s Middle Age — Stratechery Be … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Amazon’s health care announcement and why the industry is so challenging. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to partner on U.S. employee healthca … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Amazon Go and what it says about the economics of tech and how Amazon is building multiple monopolies. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Amazon Go and the Future — Stratechery Ben Th … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Facebook’s algorithm change, the difference between Facebook and Snapchat, and what the company’s motivations might be. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Facebook’s Motivations — Str … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss the Meltdown and Spectre bugs and what they say about processors, technology, and even society. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Meltdown, Spectre, and the State of Technology — Str … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss Disney’s recent history, its acquisition of Fox, Netflix’s power, and why more and more policy decisions are about choosing the worst of two options. Note: This episode was recorded on Monday, December 18, 2017. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a n … | Continue reading
Ben and James discuss why effective content moderation is so hard, how it can be done, and why it sometimes shouldn’t be. Plus, how tech optimists and tech critics make the exact same mistake. Presented by WordPress.com: Get 15% off on a new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponen … | Continue reading