Exponent

Latest Episodes:

Episode 028: Squirrel! Dec 12, 2014

Show notes

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
Ben Thompson: Pleco: Building a Business, Not an App – Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Uber and Portland, Uber and India – Stratechery (members-only)
Sriram Krishnan: In defense of Uber in India – Medium
Ben Thompson: Best – Stratechery
Ben Thompson: What Steve Jobs Wouldn’t Have Done – Stratechery
Ben Edelman: Google’s Advertising Labeling in 2014 – BenEdelman.org
Ben Edelman: Facebook Leaks Usernames, User IDs, and Personal Details to Advertisers – BenEdelman.org
Who is Ben Edelman, Sheriff of the (Chinese Food) Internet? – Boston.com
Making Delicious Cocktails with America’s Best Bartender – GQ

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @monkbent, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 027 – Regulation, Stagnation, and Culture Dec 05, 2014

Show notes

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

Episode 026: GROW GROW GROW FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT Nov 21, 2014

Show notes

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

Episode 025: Twitter and Taylor Nov 14, 2014

Show notes

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

Episode 024: A Celebratory Goblet of Champagne Nov 07, 2014

Show notes

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

Episode 023: Apple Pay Oct 31, 2014

Show notes

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

Episode 022: Peak Google, Monologue Edition Oct 24, 2014

Show notes

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

Episode 021: Gamergate of Thrones Oct 17, 2014

Show notes

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

Episode 020: I Want You to be Wrong Oct 03, 2014

Show notes

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

Episode 019: Me, Myself, and Minecraft Sep 26, 2014

Show notes

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

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