Exponent

In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss the recent Apple Event, including the MacBook and Apple Watch Links Ben Thompson: Mobile First – Stratechery Ben Thompson: “Geeks are not just unqualified to explain the new MacBook, they’re anti-qualified” – Twitter Ben Thompson: How Apple Will Make the Wearable Market – Stratechery Matthew Panzarino: The Apple Watch is Time, Saved – TechCrunch “Really” Windows Phone commercial – YouTube David Platt: Apple iPhone Debut to Flop, Product to Crash in Flames – Suckbusters Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss tradeoffs in the context of net neutrality, AT&T’s new gigabit service, and Lenovo’s Superfish debacle Note: when talking about the history of cable, Ben kept saying “companies” instead of “communities.” Sorry for the confusion! Links Ben Thompson: Netflix and Net Neutrality – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Net Neutrality! (analyzing the current proposal) – Stratechery (members-only) This Week in Tech: Superfishy – Twit.TV Ben Thompson: Lenovo’s Superfish Debacle, AT&T Prices Privacy – Stratechery (members-only) Jon Matonis: Silent Circle And Vertu Partner On $10,000 Phone – Forbes Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard … Continue reading Episode 036 – Tradeoffs

We apologize for the late delivery of this podcast! In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss why Apple is so fascinating, why the Mac lost to Windows, debate whether or not Google should have open-sourced Android, and discussed the implications of Apple’s new market – your entire life Also, please note that there will no episode later this week due to Chinese New Year. Links John Gruber: Dazzling Results – Daring Fireball Ben Thompson: Apple’s New Market – Stratechery Rita McGrath: The End of Competitive Advantage – Kindle Ben Thompson: The Uncanny Valley of a Functional Organization – Stratechery … Continue reading Episode 035 – Fascinating

This is the story of Stratechery, presented with much sheepishness on Ben’s part. How Ben thought about the market, his business model, and more. We apologize that this is a little long and perhaps a bit choppy. It’s hard to talk about us! Links Andrew Sullivan: A Note to my Readers – The Dish Ezra Klein: What Andrew Sullivan’s Exit Says About the Future of Blogging – Vox Ben Thompson: Blogging’s Bright Future – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Dear Zoë Keating: Tell YouTube to Take a Hike – Stratechery Taylor Swift: For Taylor Swift, the Future of Music is a Love … Continue reading Episode 034 – The Story of Stratechery

We discuss Apple’s recent results, why analysts get Apple wrong, the fraught nature of fans, epistemic closure, and whether the iPhone can continue to grow. Links Ben Thompson: Bad Assumptions – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Apple the Black Swan – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Best – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Smartphone Truths and Samsung’s Inevitable Decline – Stratechery James Allworth: Who Cares if Samsung Copied Apple? – Harvard Business Review (note: due to a website redesign the comments have been lost) Marco Arment: Apple Has Lost the Functional High Ground – Marco.org Marco Arment: What It’s Like to be too Popular for a … Continue reading Episode 033 – Apple Fans and the Future

Note: I originally uploaded the wrong file. The correct file is 1:07 long, not 1:17. I am reposting this as many podcast clients download the file immediately. We briefly follow-up on last week’s copyright discussion, discuss Ben’s article on what the technology adoption curve gets wrong about Apple and Xiaomi, and then react to Microsoft’s Windows 10 (and Project HoloLens) presentation Links Stratechery Forum Discussion about Episode 30: Flabbergasted – Stratechery Forums (members-only) Ben Thompson: The End of Trickle-Down Technology – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Part 1 of an Interview with Xiaomi VP of International Hugo Barra on India and Xiaomi’s … Continue reading Episode 032 – Follow-up and Frustration (Updated)

James thinks the idea of copyright is outdated and should be abolished. Ben is, well, see the title. Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss Xiaomi’s ambition to own the home, why we’re frustrated with patents, why the West is unfair to the developing world, and what makes China unique. Links Jordan Lewis: Exponent Bingo – Twitter Ben Thompson: Xiaomi’s Ambition – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Handicapping the Internet of Things – Stratechery When Charles Dickens fell out with America – BBC To Live (The film about the Cultural Revolution) – Wikipedia Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss the problems with drones, how they could be used for terrorism, and how you balance upside and downside. Links Felix Salmon: Whither Nanopublishing? – Medium James Allworth: Thinking Twice About Drones – Stratechery (Members-only) FBI: Man plotted to fly drone-like toy planes with bombs into school – CBS News Warthox with Warpquad the fastest Quadrocopter in the Universe – YouTube Mark Manson: Five Lessons from Five Years of Traveling the World – MarkManson.net Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss the recent App Store controversy and how a person – or company’s – greatest strength is also their greatest weakness. Plus a special 2nd recording about the Harvard business school professor and the Chinese restaurant. Links Cabel Sasser: Transmit iOS 1.1.1 [Updated] – Panic blog Greg Gardner: Launcher Followup and Thoughts on the App Store Review System – Cromulent Labs Ben Thompson: App Store Anguish, Old Apple’s Last Stand, Time for a Change? – Stratechery (members-only) Ben Thompson: Why Doesn’t Apple Enable Sustainable Businesses on the App Store? – Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Diminished iPad – Stratechery … Continue reading Episode 028: Squirrel!

Ben and James follow up on last week’s Uber discussion, talk about the problem with regulation, and worry about stagnation and the different cultures of Europe, America, and Asia. Links Nicole Campbell: What Was Said at the Uber Dinner – Huffington Post Lane Wood: Here Ego Again – Medium Chase Madar: Why It’s Impossible to Indict a Cop – Nation Peter Sterne: Jack Schafer on Losing his Job and the State of Things – Capital New York Ben Thompson: Why Uber Fights – Stratechery Zenefits Faces Shutdown In Utah For Giving Its Cloud-Based HR Software Away For Free – Techcrunch … Continue reading Episode 027 – Regulation, Stagnation, and Culture

Ben and James briefly discuss Ben’s belief in the Internet opportunity for content creators, and then dive in to the recent Uber controversy. Links Publishers and the Smiling Curve: Ben Thompson – Stratechery Differentiation and Value Capture in the Internet Age: Ben Thompson – Stratechery The Internet Rainforest – Exponent Ang Lee and the Uncertainty of Success – Jeff Lin The Uber Problem – Stratechery Daily Update (members only) Uber and the Tyson Zone – Stratechery Daily Update (members only) Look How Uber’s Investors Have Also Funded Some Of Its Biggest Critics – Forbes Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James … Continue reading Episode 026: GROW GROW GROW FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Ben and James discuss Twitter and its strategic options, as well as YouTube’s new music service, Taylor Swift and Spotify, plus the special return of the garbage truck song. Links Twitter Sharpens Its Strategy to Win Over Investors – Wall Street Journal Ben Thompson: There are Two Twitters; Only One is Worth Investing In – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Twitter’s Marketing Problem – Stratechery Daniel Ek: $2 Billion and Counting – Spotify Taylor Swift: For Taylor Swift, the Future of Music Is a Love Story – Wall Street Journal Ben Thompson: What Taylor Swift Gets Right – Stratechery (members-only) Hosts Ben … Continue reading Episode 025: Twitter and Taylor

The idea for Exponent was hatched when Ben and James were arguing about Ben’s article What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong a year ago. In this episode, we finally reach a resolution to the question about how Apple escapes disruption. Plus, whether or not Xiaomi is a threat to Apple, personal development philosophies, and more (sorry, we went a bit long…) Links Ben Thompson: How Apple Creates Leverage, and the Future of Apple Pay – Stratechery John Siracusa: OS X 10.10 Yosemite: The Ars Technica Review (Conclusion) – ArsTechnica Ben Thompson: What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Growing … Continue reading Episode 024: A Celebratory Goblet of Champagne

In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss Apple Pay and its impact on retailers and banks. Links Glenn Fleishman: A Week of Apple Pay: Chips, PINs, and…signatures? – Six Colors Ben Thompson: The Problem with Payments – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Why Apple Pay was Blocked, Why Apple Pay Will Succeed – Stratechery Josh Constine: CurrentC is the Big Retailers’ Clunky Attempt to Kill Apple Pay and Credit Card Fees – TechCrunch Charles Duhigg: How Companies Learn Your Secrets – New York Times Ben Thompson: Publishers and the Smiling Curve – Stratechery Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, … Continue reading Episode 023: Apple Pay

In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss Ben’s article “Peak Google” and the future of advertising. Links Ben Thompson: Peak Google – Stratechery Benedict Evans: The Irrelevance of Microsoft – Ben-Evans.com Peter Kriss: The Value of Customer Experience, Quantified – Harvard Business Review Ben Thompson: Mobile Makes Facebook Just an App; That’s Great News – Stratechery Ben Thompson: I Love the Blackberry Passport (on Generic Strategies) – Stratechery (members-only) Ben Thompson: The Cord-Cutting Fantasy – Stratechery Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss why Ben thinks the Internet is totally overreacting to HBO’s announcement that they will sell subscriptions directly to customers, and then delve into what might be the underlying motivations behind Gamergate. Links Ben Thompson: The Cord-Cutting Fantasy – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Why TV Has Resisted Disruption – Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Jobs TV Does – Stratechery Kyle Wagner: The Future of the Culture Wars is Here, and It’s Gamergate – Deadspin Paul Graham: Before the Startup – PaulGraham.com Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed … Continue reading Episode 021: Gamergate of Thrones

In this week’s episode Ben and James discuss the problems with Ello’s business model, James’ discomfort with Facebook, and why Social Networks always have ads. We also talk about incentives and something surprising Ben learned from the notorious Episode 18. Links Ben Thompson: Ello and Consumer Friendly Business Models – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Facebook Launches Atlas – Stratechery (members-only) Ben Thompson: Friction – Stratechery Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

In this week’s episode Ben and James reflect about last week’s episode and the personal feedback that resulted, then move on to discuss why Minecraft is a big deal as well as a bit about Apple’s new focus on privacy. Links Ben Thompson: Why Now For Apple Watch – Stratechery Ben Thompson: Microsoft’s Good (and Potentially Great) Minecraft Acquisition – Stratechery Ben Thompson: American Girl, Minecraft, and the Next Generation of Builders – Stratechery (members-only) Ben Thompson: Apple Takes Aim at Google – Stratechery (members-only) Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes … Continue reading Episode 019: Me, Myself, and Minecraft

In this week’s episode Ben explains why he has changed his mind about Apple Watch. James is not convinced. We go on for a while. Links Ben Thompson: What I Got Wrong About Apple Watch – Stratechery John Gruber: Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations – Daring Fireball Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback