Stratechery & Dithering: Recent Episodes
Ben Thompson and John Gruber
The Stratechery Podcast: Announcing Dithering, a new podcast from John Gruber and myself. Then, and interview with Gruber about being an independent writer on the Internet, covering Apple's rise, and Dithering.
The Stratechery Podcast: Disney's earnings were predictably brutal, particularly for its Parks Division, which is the most important division when it comes to understanding Disney. Plus, AMC has nothing to lose.
The Stratechery Podcast: Zoom has another screwup, this time in terms of reporting how many users it has. It is a disturbing pattern and a reminder that strengths are weaknesses.
The Stratechery Podcast: Apple's Earnings show the stabilizing factor of services and the upside of China; Amazon's earnings show that supply constraints make forecasts easy.
Dithering: Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon all crush it. Manage your subscription.
The Stratechery Podcast: Facebook earnings demonstrated the power of its auction-based direct-response model; what makes it different from Google is Zuckerberg's drive.
The Stratechery Podcast: Shopify launched the Shop.app, which is not only a poor experience but also makes no sense strategically. Then, Google's earnings show how big tech is going to get even stronger.
The Stratechery Podcast: Google Shopping is changing its model, suggesting Google is joining the Anti-Amazon Alliance; 3rd-party merchants should do the same.
The Stratechery Podcast: More evidence that Apple and Google are dictating terms to governments; then, it is possible that Facebook's approach to discovering outbreaks has the most promise.
Dithering: Maybe not on the Magic Keyboard and contract tracing. Manage your subscription.
The Stratechery Podcast: Once tech companies have the capability to do what government's tell them to, they are increasingly willing to comply; that is not a good sign for increased surveillance. Then, Netflix is cautious about its huge earnings.
The Stratechery Podcast: Jio showed how the best way to serve the poor is to create a market for them, not simply give them charity like Facebook tried to do with Free Basics. That is why it makes sense for them to work together.
The Stratechery Podcast: Marc Andreessen has written (another) seminal essay: It's Time to Build. What does that mean for tech and venture capital?
The Stratechery Podcast: The new iPhone SE inspires a revisit to Apple's low-end strategy, which may simply be a matter of accounting. Then, Apple may be launching new iPhones despite the coronavirus.
The Stratechery Podcast: Microsoft and the NBA are announcing a new partnership; then, an interview NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
The Stratechery Podcast: An interview with Ethan Sherwood Strauss about being a writer on the Internet, the problem with social media and the NBA, and his new book The Victory Machine
The Stratechery Podcast: Amazon cutting affiliate fees, Google versus French publishers, and movie studios seeking to sell to Netflix are all examples of the same trend: you must own your relationship with your customers.
Dithering: The Response to Apple and Google’s initiative, and old code. Manage your subscription.
The Stratechery Podcast: The coronavirus crisis is making clear just how powerful tech companies are; hopefully this leads to a much more productive conversation about how that power should be utilized or regulated.
The Stratechery Podcast: The Apple-Google partnership is valuable not just for what it offers today, and for it might offer in the future, but also the decisions it forces on us as a society.
Dithering: Apple and Google are building a contact tracing app — together. Manage your subscription.
The Stratechery Podcast: An interview with Okta CEO Todd McKinnon about Okta's moat, holding a virtual developer conference, and the Okta platform.
The Stratechery Podcast: Both Slack and Airbnb are issuing debt, but in far different circumstances, and with far different terms.
The Stratechery Podcast: It is tempting — and useful — to look at Apple and Amazon's deal in a bilateral context. It probably makes more sense, though, in the context of Netflix and the future of video.
The Stratechery Podcast: Apple and Amazon make a deal; I suspect it has been in the works for a long time, including Apple Music being on Alexa.
Dithering: Apple finally changes the rules for Amazon Prime Video. Manage your subscription.
Dithering: How does Amazon Prime Video actually work on Apple devices? Manage your subscription.
The Stratechery Podcast: Zoom made the exact sort of post they needed to; then, an interview with Zeynep Tufekci about masks, media, and information ecology, and what it means if the techlash is over.
The Stratechery Podcast: More on Zoom and its critical moment, then follow-up on Unmasking Twitter, and a major story about TSMC and Huawei.
The Stratechery Podcast: Twitter has a new policy to listen to experts about what content to limit; what happens, though, when experts are wrong?
The Stratechery Podcast: Zoom was sharing data with Facebook, probably on accident, but it is the company's second major privacy and security-related screw-up. It's a real concern as far as the company's upside — and so is its connection to China.
Dithering: Taiwanese Quarantines and the Possibility of No New iPhones Manage your subscription.
The Stratechery Podcast: The iPhone could be delayed, but not necessarily because of China. Then, an interview with Tim Culpan about SARS, Taiwan’s response then and now, and Apple’s Supply Chain
The Stratechery Podcast: The coronavirus crisis should be changing long-held beliefs. Then, what tech companies can do to get us out of this crisis, and Airbnb's disastrous decision to not go public sooner.
The Stratechery Podcast: Compaq's descent from a company of action to a brand is a frightening parable for the the West's focus on talk over action.
The Stratechery Podcast: Studios go direct-to-consumer out of necessity; Disney has the most potential, even if they should use Universal's model.
The Stratechery Podcast: In this Daily Update Interview Eugene Wei and I explore the idea of the half-life of information, and what that means for the value of Netflix, YouTube, Disney, and more.
The Stratechery Podcast: Tech companies unite to fight misinformation, and potentially are working on tracking COVID-19. What tradeoffs might that entail, and is it worth building capability and trusting in policy?
The Stratechery Podcast: In a follow-up to Zero Trust Information, exploring the four types of information and how their value changes with time.
The Stratechery Podcast: Some tips for working from home, then wondering what the lack of sports means for pay TV. Might the NBA come to the rescue?
The Stratechery Podcast: Yesterday may have been a turning point in the American response to COVID-19. Then, an interview with Matt Mullenweg of Automattic about working from home and what is next for his company.
The Stratechery Podcast: Zero Trust Networking is security with Internet assumptions; there is tremendous value if we apply the same approach to information.
The Stratechery Podcast: Amazon Go is licensing its technology, contrary to my previous prediction. Then Waymo is taking on outside investors which should result in a needed shift in incentives.
The Stratechery Podcast: Did COVID-19 drive the timing of Bob Iger stepping down? Then, the U.S. is reacting to the coronavirus, but not because of the federal government. Thank Twitter.
The Stratechery Podcast: An interview with Matthew Ball about Bob Iger's exit; Disney, Netflix, and streaming; and how metaverses are digital theme parks.
The Stratechery Podcast: Three potential long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the tech industry might be seen in consumer-focused developer conferences, supply chains, and Zoom's chances versus Microsoft.
The Stratechery Podcast: The situation in the U.S., particularly in the Seattle area, is likely worse than it appears; Microsoft and Amazon should take action. Then, the U.S. needs to rely on the private sector, and publishers need to remember why people pay.
The Stratechery Podcast: Tech companies are starting to cancel event and unnecessary travel as the coronavirus starts to spread in the United States and Europe. This is the correct decision, even if most economic activity should probably carry on.
The Stratechery Podcast: An Interview with Sinocism's Bill Bishop about COVID-19, U.S.-China Relations, and media entrepreneurship in the dotcom bubble and today.
The Stratechery Podcast: It was a huge surprise that Bob Iger was stepping down as Disney's CEO, but the rationale makes a lot of sense, as does the timing and replacement.
The Stratechery Podcast: The fate of Harry's and other DTC companies, particularly relative to companies like Credit Karma, highlight how the Internet elevates the importance of demand over supply.
The Stratechery Podcast: Morgan Stanley acquired E*Trade, and Intuit is reportedly acquiring Credit Karma; both are about improving customer acquisition, but the competitive impacts differ.
The Stratechery Podcast: Apple issued its second revenue warning in two years, and while the circumstances were very different, both were about China. Then, Foxconn is diversifying — will that speed up? Plus, an interview with Dan Wang about supply chains in China.
The Stratechery Podcast: An explanation of the strategy undergirding the Daily Update Podcast, how the implementation fits into that strategy, and how Spotify's podcast strategy impacts Stratechery's approach.
The Stratechery Podcast: Stratechery is launching a new feature for subscribers: The Daily Update, as a podcast. Now you can read or listen to every post on Stratechery.