Episode 196 — Forecasting the Metaverse

Ben and James reunite to discuss the potential impact of AI on white collar work. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus, including Sharp Tech and Sharp China. Links Ben Thompson: AI Homework — Stratechery Ben Thompson: An Interview With Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman About the Democratization of AI — Stratechery Hosts   Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review   Podcast Information   Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss Facebook and Microsoft’s metaverse announcements, and how the future might play out. Links Ben Thompson: Meta — Stratechery Ben Thompson: An Interview with Mark Zuckerberg about the Metaverse — Stratechery Ben Thompson: AR vs. VR — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Apps, People, and Jobs to be Done — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Metaverses — Stratechery Hosts   Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review   Podcast Information   Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Are we in the middle of the IT revolution, or on the verge of something new? Links Ben Thompson: The Death and Birth of Technological Revolutions — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The End of the Beginning — Stratechery John Perry Barlow: A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace — EFF Ben Thompson: Internet 3.0 and the Beginning of (Tech) History — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Internet and the Third Estate — Stratechery Hosts   Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review   Podcast Information   Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss the history of podcasts and why Spotify’s recent announcements are so compelling for creators. Links Ben Thompson: Spotify’s Surprise — Stratechery Episode 185 — Open, Free, and Spotify — Exponent Ben Thompson: Podcasts, Analytics, and Centralization — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Spotify’s Podcast Aggregation Play — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Dithering and Open Versus Free — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Spotify Earnings, Podcasts and Lifetime Value, The Ringer Acquisition — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The European Super League, Apple Music’s Letter to Artists — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Podcast Subscriptions vs. the App Store — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Fearing Spotify?, Apple’s … Continue reading Episode 194 — Back on Spotify

Ben and James discuss Substack and the rise of the sovereign creator. Links Ben Thompson: Sovereign Writers and Substack — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Never-Ending Niches — Stratechery Bruno Maçães: History Has Begun — Hurst Publishers Ben Thompson: Defining Information — Stratechery Hosts   Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review   Podcast Information   Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss Australia’s Media Bargaining Code and its fall-out. Links Ben Thompson: Google Makes Deal With News Corp, Facebook Blocks News in Australia, Microsoft’s Shamelessness — Stratechery Daily Update James Allworth: Australia’s Proposed “Fox News Tax” — Medium Hosts   Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review   Podcast Information   Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss whether Facebook and Twitter should de-platform President Trump. Links Ben Thompson: Tech and Trump — Stratechery Ben Thompson: New Defaults — Stratechery James Allworth: Prioritizing Economics is Crippling the U.S. Economy — Medium Ben Thompson: Trump and Twitter — Stratechery Hosts   Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review   Podcast Information   Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss Apple’s new chip announcement and what it means for both Apple and Intel. Links James Allworth: Intel’s Disruption is Now Complete — Medium Ben Thompson: Apple’s Shifting Differentiation — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Intel Opportunity — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Apple, ARM, and Intel — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Chips and Geopolitics — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Intel and the Danger of Integration — Stratechery Hosts   Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review   Podcast Information   Feed iTunes SoundCloud Twitter Feedback

Ben and James discuss the state of bundles in 2020, including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Microsoft, and Apple. Links Ben Thompson: 2020 Bundles — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Great Unbundling — Stratechery Reed Hastings: 2018 Q4 Letter to Shareholders — Netflix Growth At Any Cost: Top Facebook Executive Defended Data Collection In 2016 Memo — And Warned That Facebook Could Get People Killed — BuzzFeed News Ben Thompson: Manifestos and Monopolies — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Facebook Lenses — Stratechery Casey Newton: Mark in the Middle — The Verge Ben Thompson: Losing My Amazon Religion — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Jobs TV … Continue reading Episode 189 — Bundles

Ben and James discuss the antitrust subcommittee hearing, the problems of mixing antitrust and Aggregators, and how to think about regulation and democracy. Links Ben Thompson: Antitrust Politics — Stratechery The New York Times: Here’s which tech C.E.O. was asked the most questions by lawmakers. — NY Times Ben Thompson: Why Doesn’t Apple Enable Sustainable Businesses on the App Store? — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Apple’s China Problem — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Antitrust Hearing, The Role of Congress, CEO Questions — Stratechery Daily Update Ben Thompson: A Framework for Regulating Competition on the Internet — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Ends, Means, … Continue reading Episode 188 — Big Tech, Antitrust, and Democracy