Exponent

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 — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Mobile Makes Facebook Just an App; That’s Great News — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Facebook and the Feed — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Facebook, Phones, and Phonebooks — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Popping the Publishing Bubble — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Defining Aggregators — Stratechery Tyler Cowen: A Simple Theory of Moore’s Law and Social Media — Marginal Revolution Farhad Manjoo: It’s … Continue reading Episode 137 — Addicted to Facebook

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 — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Alexa: Amazon’s Operating System — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Arrival of Artificial Intelligence — Stratechery Nicholas Kristof: Why 2017 Was the Best Year in Human History — New York Times Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback Presented by WordPress.com

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 new site by visiting WordPress.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Disney and Fox — Stratechery From Intel to Disney — Exponent Ben Thompson: Why Disney and ESPN Will Be OK — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Aggregation Theory — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery The Netflix Backlash: Why Hollywood Fears a Content … Continue reading Episode 135 — Two Is Better Than One

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/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: The Pollyannish Assumption — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Pollyannish Assumption and Bright Lines, YouTube’s Market Power, Google vs Amazon — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Tech’s Person of the Year; Uber at the End of 2017; Fowler’s True Impact, and Means — Stratechery Daily Update The Laborers Who Keep Dick … Continue reading Episode 134 — Human Problems

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. Links Ben Thompson: Pro-Neutrality, Anti-Title II — Stratechery Ben Thompson: “Light Touch”, Cable, and DSL; The Broadband Tradeoff; The Importance of Antitrust — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Netflix and Net Neutrality — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Net Neutrality and Zero Rating — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Comcast’s Inevitable Data Caps, T-Mobile Offers Free Video, America Versus … Continue reading Episode 133 — Two Terrible Options

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 Senate — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Why (Most) IPOs are Under-Price — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Waze Winners and Losers — Stratechery Ben Thompson: SendGrid IPOs — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Venture Capital and the Internet’s Impact — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Blue Apron Files for IPO — Stratechery Daily Update Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James … Continue reading Episode 132 — Successful Disappointments

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: What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Beyond the iPhone — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Apple’s Organizational Crossroads — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Android Detour — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Apple and the Oak Tree — Stratechery Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review … Continue reading Episode 131 — Head-on is Hard

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 written in 2007; it was written in 2008) Ben Thompson: What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The State of Consumer Technology at the End of 2014 — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Peak Google — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Revisiting Peak Google, Again — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: More Spectacles Mea Culpas — … Continue reading Episode 130 — The 50,000 Foot View

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 USB-C — Marco.org Ben Thompson: Peak Google — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Mobile Makes Facebook Just an App; That’s Great News — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Revisiting Peak Google, Again — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Defining Aggregators — Stratechery Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter … Continue reading Episode 129 — The Disruption Antidote

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, Hollywood and Venture Capital — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: The Justin Caldbeck Affair, The Enablers — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Venture Capital and the Internet’s Impact — Stratechery Ben Thompson: In Defense of the New York Times — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Voters Decide — Stratechery As U.S. Confronts Internet’s Disruptions, China Feels Vindicated … Continue reading Episode 128 — Counterfactuals

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 referenced in the podcast ). Our apologies. Presented by MailChimp Links Ben Thompson: Defining Aggregators — Stratechery This is why tech companies won’t disclose content of Russian ads — The Outline Ben Thompson: Trustworthy Networking — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Manifestos and Monopolies — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Voters Decide — Stratechery The Barriers … Continue reading Episode 127 — The Worst-Case Scenario

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: More Aggregators — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery Ben Thompson: TV Advertising’s Surprising Strength — and Inevitable Fall — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Books and Blogs — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Friction — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Twitter’s Marketing Problem — Stratechery Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review … Continue reading Episode 126 — Getting to the Future Faster

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’ — ProPublica Ben Thompson: Inspired Media — Stratechery James Allworth: Technology Has Become Water — Medium Sheryl Sandberg on Facebook Advertising Changes — Facebook Dollar Shave Club and the Disruption of Everything — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Everything is Changing; So Should Antitrust — Stratechery Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud … Continue reading Episode 125 — The Super-Aggregators

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 — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Cellular Apple Watch — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Apple Watch: Asking Why and Saying No — Stratechery Ben Thompson: What I Got Wrong About Apple Watch — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Beyond the iPhone — Stratechery Wearable Fitness Devices Don’t Seem to Make You Fitter — New York Times Ben … Continue reading Episode 124 — The Watch, The Phone, The Beatles

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 — Stratechery Ben Thompson: TV Advertising’s Strength — and Inevitable Fall — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Ad Agencies and Accountability — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Paypal’s Incentive Problem — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Aggregation Theory — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Dollar Shave Club and the Disruption of Everything — Stratechery Episode 005: The World Has Changed — Exponent Ben Thompson: Antitrust and … Continue reading Episode 123 — There Is No Going Back

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: Aggregation Theory — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Truth about Windows Versus the Mac — Stratechery Ben Thompson: ESPN: From Franchise to Business — Stratechery Daily Update Warren Buffett: 1991 Letter to Shareholders — Berkshire Hathaway Ben Thompson: Netflix Goes Global — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Correction the Netflix … Continue reading Episode 122 — From Intel to Disney

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 — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Waymo’s Lawsuit Against Uber — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Does Uber Have a Strategy Problem? — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Crisis at Uber — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Cloudfare and Daily Stormer — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Facebook Content Guidelines — Stratechery Daily Update Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, … Continue reading Episode 121 — The Uber Mutation

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 — Exponent Ben Thompson: Antitrust and Aggregation — Stratechery Press Release — European Commission Fact Sheet — European Commission Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback Presented by MailChimp

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 Effects, The Saga of Whole Foods — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: The Amazon Tax — Stratechery Tom Foster: The Shelf Life of John Mackey — Texas Monthly Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback Presented by MailChimp

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: Podcasts, Analytics, and Centralization — Stratechery Episode 082: A Podcast About Podcasts — Exponent Ben Thompson: Aggregation Theory — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Patreon’s Update — Stratechery Daily Update Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback Presented by MailChimp