Exponent

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 So You Think You Can Be a Hair Braider – New York Times Note: A federal judge eventually gave the right for the Utah hair-braider to work. In addition, the Utah governor has pledged to look into the law affecting Zenefits, but no concrete changes have been implemented. James Allworth: How Corruption is Strangling U.S. Innovation – Harvard Business Review StartupLJackson: “Dammit Utah, it’s shit like this that drives people into the arms of Ayn Rand.” – Twitter Blake Ross: Uber.gov – Medium Jenna Wortham: Ubering While Black – Medium Hosts Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

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 Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

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 Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

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 Apple at WWDC – Stratechery James Allworth: The 787’s Problems Run Deeper Than Outsourcing – Harvard Business Review 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 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, Harvard Business Review Podcast Information Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

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 iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

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 SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

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