artificial intelligence
Car manufacturers watched what Windows did to PC makers and want no part of it. A look at machine learning, platform strategy, and why self-driving cars are as much a power struggle as a technical one.
business models
Disruption doesn't always come from below. Sometimes it comes from inside. A look at how cross-platform services like Facebook and Snapchat exploit the platforms that host them, and why owning an ecosystem is no longer the only path to winning.
AI
The graphical user interface is as good as it's ever going to get. So what comes next? A look at conversational AI, the shift from GUI to CUI, and why the app store model has more to fear from AI than any competitor.
tesla
Tesla is impressive, but impressive isn't the same as transformative. A look at why making a better car isn't the same as changing what a car means, and what actually separates real disruption from very good product design.
YouTube
YouTube spent a decade hosting cat videos. Now it wants to make the next Game of Thrones, and it might actually pull it off. A look at why Silicon Valley is coming for Hollywood, and why the content industry has nobody to blame but itself.
journalism
The internet didn't just disrupt journalism's business model. It revealed that the business model was wrong the whole time. A look at why news has no economic right to be profitable, and what publishers should be selling instead.
marketing
Every city wants to rebrand itself as a cultural hub with great coffee and bike lanes. The Rust Belt's best shot is to be exactly the opposite. A look at place marketing, civic identity, and why authenticity beats aspiration.
Tech
Music streaming isn't broken because of Spotify. It's broken because record labels are extracting 45 cents of every dollar for a job the internet already does for free. A look at why the labels' power has well and truly outlasted their usefulness.