Exponent

Ben and James follow-up on last week’s Apple services discussion and take a look at Apple’s earnings. Then a discussion of the European Commissions investigation of Google for antitrust, and a debate about how antitrust regulation needs to change, if at all. Links Episode 076: Apple’s Organization and Services — Exponent Apple Q2 2016 Earnings Call Transcript — Seeking Alpha Benjamin Mayo: Apple Earnings Press Release Titles — Twitter Ben Thompson: Apple’s Good Q1 Earnings, Apple is Not a Services Company — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Apple’s Earnings and the iPhone Upgrade Cycle — Stratechery Daily Update Episode 005: The … Continue reading Episode 077 — Physical Goods

Ben and James discuss the different types of organizational structures, the benefits Apple gains from having a unitary form, and whether or not the company should make changes to more effectively compete in services. Links Ben Thompson: Apple’s Organizational Crossroads — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Services and Apple’s Strategy, The Power of a P&L — Stratechery Daily Update Episode 071: Pickaxe Retailers — Exponent Ben Thompson: Paypal’s Incentive Problem — Stratechery Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback Sponsorship Inquiry

Ben and James discuss Facebook F8, how the company is trying to own both public and private social, and why Messenger is a good idea, but bots may not be. Links Twitter Has Outsized Influence, but It Doesn’t Drive Much Traffic for Most News Orgs, a New Report Says — NiemanLab Ben Thompson: Facebook, Phones, and Phonebooks — Stratechery David Kirkpatric: The Facebook Effect — Simon & Schuster Amir Efrati: Facebook Struggles to Stop Decline in ‘Original’ Sharing — The Information Ben Thompson: Facebook and the Feed — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Problem with Facebook’s Ten-Year Plan, Is BuzzFeed Struggling? … Continue reading Episode 075 — Baby Picture Bots

Ben and James discuss the Tesla phenomena, how they built such a powerful brand, and debate whether that will be enough to lead the company to success. Links Ben Thompson: It’s a Tesla — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Tesla Skepticism and Superchargers — Stratechery Daily Update Tesla’s Not as Disruptive as You Think — Harvard Business Review Ben Thompson: Obsoletive — Stratechery Elon Musk: The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me) — Tesla Blog Ben Thompson: Tesla Powerwall — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Xiaomi’s Struggles — Stratechery Daily Update Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, … Continue reading Episode 074 — Tesla Fervor

Ben and James discuss how Snapchat has built it’s product so effectively, the narcissist in all of us, and the structure of social around the world. Links Ben Thompson: Snapchat’s Ladder — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Old-Fashioned Snapchat — Stratechery Snapchat’s Updated Policies Hint at Bigger Search, Ad Ambitions — MarketingLand “The Snarkie” — Twitter Ben Thompson: The Multitudes of Social — Stratechery Alex Muir: Facebook is the New Excel — AlexMuir.com WeChat Payments Rocket as China’s Tencent Rides Gaming Wave — Reuters Ben Thompson: Snapchat Follow-up; WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage — Stratechery Daily Update After-show: Ben Thompson: Services, Not … Continue reading Episode 073 — Get Off My Lawn!

Ben and James continue last week’s discussion about Apple’s struggles with the cloud, then discuss why the iPhone SE is such a brilliant move — and how those two things are related. Plus, an after-show about Microsoft and Intel and what makes for an effective leader. Links Amir Efrati and Steve Nellis: Inside Apple’s Cloud Infrastructure Troubles — The Information Ben Thompson: iCloud and Apple’s Founding Myth — Stratechery Adam Lashinsky: The Cook Doctrine at Apple — Fortune Ben Thompson: Apple Music and Apple’s Focus — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Two Bears — Stratechery Ben Thompson: What Clayton Christensen — Stratechery … Continue reading Episode 072 — Low Hanging Fruit

Ben and James discuss the connection between Amazon’s business model and organizational structure, why Dropbox shouldn’t have left AWS, and why Apple should buy Dropbox. Plus, does WeWork’s valuation make sense, and why such companies are exciting. Links Ben Thompson: The Amazon Tax — Stratechery Brad Stone: The Everything Store — Brad-Stone.com Jeff Bezos: 1997 Letter to Sharholders — Amazon FedEx Downplays Amazon Logistics Threat — The Seattle Times Ben Thompson: Dropbox Leaves AWS, Should UPS and Fedex Be Afraid? — Stratechery Dailiy Update Ben Thompson: Stripe Atlas, An Interview with Patrick Collison — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Venture … Continue reading Episode 071 — Pickaxe Retailers

Ben and James discuss the Amazon Echo, Apple’s cloudy future, Google’s Missed Opportunity, and why Amazon has so much growth potential ahead of it. Links Ben Thompson: Why Uber Fights — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Amazon Echo Expands — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: The Amazon Echo — Stratechery Daily Update Dustin Curtis: Amazon Has No Taste — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Stop Doubting the iPhone — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Android Where? — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Digital Hub 2.0 — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Amazon’s Transformation and the Costco Model — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Amazon the Logistics Company — … Continue reading Episode 070 — Is That an Echo?

Ben and James discuss how the aggregation of media led to a weakening of political parties, opening the door to unexpected candidates. Plus, why Facebook’s focus on engagement might be dangerous, and why diversity is important from day one. This episode is sponsored by Wunder Capital. Make a good investment and do good at the same time through Wunder Capital’s solar investment opportunities. Create an account for free at WunderCapital.com/exponent. Links Ben Thompson: The Voters Decide — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Aggregation Theory — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The FANG Playbook — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits … Continue reading Episode 069 — Wrapped Around an Axle

Ben and James discuss Apple versus the FBI. Links James Allworth: The U.S. has Gone F&*%ing Mad — Medium James Allworth: How the Apple/FBI Fight Risks the Whole U.S. Tech Industry — Harvard Business Review Ben Thompson: Apple, The FBI, and Security — Stratechery Radley Balko: Surprise! Controversial Patriot Act Power Now Overwhelmingly Used in Drug Investigations — The Washington Post Exclusive: Apple CEO Tim Cook Says iPhone-Cracking Software ‘Equivalent of Cancer’ — ABC News More Support for Justice Department Than for Apple in Dispute Over Unlocking iPhone — Pew Research Center Solid Support for Apple in iPhone Encryption Fight: … Continue reading Episode 068 — Binary Backdoors

Ben and James discuss the mistakes made by Zenefits, when to challenge regulation, and the problem with short-term thinking. This podcast was recorded before the Apple/FBI news broke; we currently plan to cover that next week. Links Ben Thompson: Fidelity Reprices Again — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Zenefits and Regulation — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Follow-up to The Reality of Missing Out — Stratechery Daily Update James Allworth: High Frequency Trading and Finance’s Race to Irrelevance — Harvard Business Review Here is the letter the world’s largest investor, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, just sent to CEOs everywhere — Business Insider … Continue reading Episode 067 — Weighing and Voting

Ben and James discuss winner-take-all dynamics and its implications for advertising, bubble talk, and venture capital. Plus, what Facebook and Marc Andreessen got wrong about Free Basics and India. This episode is sponsored by Wunder Capital. Make a good investment and do good at the same time through Wunder Capital’s solar investment opportunities. Create an account for free at WunderCapital.com/exponent. Links Ben Thompson: The Reality of Missing Out — Stratechery Leslie Picker and Peter Eavis: Deal Shows Investors Are Willing to Make a Blind Bet on Uber — The New York Times Mike Isaac: Delivery Start-Ups Face Road Bumps in … Continue reading Episode 066 — You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Ben and James discuss Apple earnings, Twitter’s troubles, and whether or not the Internet is over-rated. This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront. See recommended portfolios and get up to $15,000 managed for free by visiting Wealthfront.com/exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Apple’s Good Earnings, Apple is Not a Services Company — Stratechery Daily Update Paul Carsten: China Smartphone Glory Days Are Over as Apple, Xiaomi Face Tough Times — Reuters Ben Thompson: How Facebook Squashed Twitter — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Twitter Follow-up — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Twitter’s Marketing Problem — Stratechery James Allworth and Ben Thompson: Check Facebook Time — … Continue reading Episode 065 — Competing Against Non-Consumption

Ben and James discuss the Donald Trump and inequality, then FANG, Aggregation Theory, and Disruption. This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront. See recommended portfolios and get up to $15,000 managed for free by visiting Wealthfront.com/exponent. Links Michael Brendan: How an Obscure Adviser to Pat Buchanan Predicted the Wild Trump Campaign in 1996 — The Week John Gruber and Phil Schiller: Live From WWDC 2015, with Special Guest Phil Schiller — The Talk Show Ben Thompson: The FANG Playbook — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Netflix Goes Global — Stratechery Daily Update … Continue reading Episode 064 — Disrupting Trump

Ben and James discuss the future of cars and transportation. This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront. See recommended portfolios and get up to $15,000 managed for free by visiting Wealthfront.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Cars and the Future — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Car Follow-up, The Apple Car, Uber’s Financials — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: Why Uber Fights — Stratechery Lee Gomes: Driving in Circles — Slate Melena Ryzik: How Uber Is Changing Night Life in Los Angeles — The New York Times Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback … Continue reading Episode 063 — Driving Into the Future

Ben and James discuss Paul Graham’s essay on inequality and the politics of technology. This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront. See recommended portfolios and get up to $15,000 managed for free by visiting Wealthfront.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: A Politics for Technology — Stratechery Paul Graham: Economic Inequality — Stratechery Ezra Klein: A Top Venture Capitalist Thinks Startups are Causing Inequality. He’s Wrong. — Vox Noam Scheiber and Patricia Cohen: For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions — The New York Times Gregory Ferenstein: The Unusual Politics of Silicon Valley, Explained — Vox Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, … Continue reading Episode 062 — Give Some to Get Some

Ben and James discuss OpenAI’s new mission and what it says about capitalism. Or is it just a strategy credit that we are reading too much into? This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront. See recommended portfolios and get up to $15,000 managed for free by visiting Wealthfront.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: “Yep, broken.” — Twitter James Allworth: Is OpenAI Solving the Wrong Problem? — Harvard Busines Review Introducing OpenAI — OpenAI Steven Levy: How Elon Musk and Y Combinator Plan to Stop Computers From Taking Over — Backchannel Ben Thompson: OpenAI, Artificial Intelligence and Data, Data and Recruiting — Stratechery Daily … Continue reading Episode 061 — OpenAI and Strategy Credits

Ben and James discuss when disruption theory is useful — and when it isn’t. Note: We apologize for some mic fuzz issues on this podcast. This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront. See recommended portfolios and get up to $15,000 managed for free by visiting Wealthfront.com/Exponent. Links Clayton Christensen: What is Disruptive Innovation? — Harvard Business Review Ben Thompson: Beyond Disruption — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Obsoletive — Stratechery Ben Thompson: What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Tesla and Beyond Disruption — Stratechery Daily Update Hosts Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed … Continue reading Episode 060 — Beyond Disruption

Ben and James discuss PC Gaming and the fascinating way in which it monetizes, leading to a wide-ranging discussion about how business has changed because of the Internet. This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront. See recommended portfolios and get up to $15,000 managed for free by visiting Wealthfront.com/Exponent. Links Chris Dixon: Lessons From the PC Video Game Industry — Medium Jared Sinclar: Saving the iPad — JaredSinclair.com Ben Thompson: Grantland and the (Surprising) Future of Publishing — Stratechery Ben Thompson: TensorFlow and Monetizing Intellectual Property — Stratechery Justin Williams: The Chicken or the iPad Pro — Medium Ben Thompson: Games … Continue reading Episode 059 — Fashion in PC Gaming

Ben and James touch on Twitter’s new “Like” button before diving into what might be a new model for publishing. Then, a discussion of bundle economics and Stratechery’s future. Buckle up! This episode is sponsored by Wealthfront. See recommended portfolios and get up to $15,000 managed for free by visiting Wealthfront.com/Exponent. Links Ben Thompson: Grantland and the (Surprising) Future of Publishing — Stratechery Todd VanDerWerff: 2015 Is the Year the Old Internet Finally Died — Vox Episode 012: The Internet Rainforest — Exponent Chris Dixon: How Bundling Benefits Sellers and Buyers — cdixon blog Ben Thompson: Ballmer’s Bad Bundle Economics … Continue reading Episode 058 — The Attention Market