Competition in the Digital Age
The ever interesting Paul Graham of Y-Cominbator published another essay yesterday entitles, "Black Swan Farming." No, it isn't about a possible Western Australian agricultural opportunity. Instead, it covers this: The two most important things to understand about startup investing, as a business, are (1) that effectively all the returns are concentrated in a few big …
Continue reading "Black swans and judging entrepreneurial ventures"
Harvard's Josh Lerner has written a new book, The Architecture of Innovation. It is basically an up-to-date recount of what we know about how innovation is encouraged. It is heavily research based but extremely accessible and is a must read for anyone interested in the economics of innovation. The basic thesis of the books is: …
Confused by the latest technology and businesses in video streaming? Goodness knows, I find it hard to keep up with which innovative streaming business is illegal, and which is not. Well, along comes James Grimmelmann to clear up which is which and why it is this way. In case you missed it, let me recommend …
Continue reading "Confusion in copyright and video streaming"
Earlier in the year, Arthur Brisbane, then public editor of the New York Times, drew the ire of the Internet for this post: I’m looking for reader input on whether and when New York Times news reporters should challenge “facts” that are asserted by newsmakers they write about. The answer was a resounding 'yes, and …
Continue reading "Should fact checking be part of journalism?"
Calm economics is a flavor of economics that prizes insight developed under the auspices of calm deliberation. Many participants in tech markets today digest calm economics daily. They know it when they see it in the Wall Street analysis, or during investor meetings, like the ones Warren Buffet conducts. Look, I call this “calm economics” …
Amazon had its new Kindle announcements today. The news is that prices came down; at least on devices. Basically, everything about Amazon is about getting their devices into people's hands. The baseline Kindle is now just $69. It is still not free and nor is it given away with Amazon prime for reasons I articulated …
Digitopoly 