Robert Reich has an op-ed piece in the NY Times today arguing that “Big Tech Has Become Way Too Powerful” and that we should apply anti-trust regulation. There is little doubt that network effects have made tech’s new incumbents such as Google and Facebook formidable. But applying traditional antitrust approaches is the wrong idea. We want the social benefits of large networks, but we also want them to be somewhat less powerful and put some of that power back in the hands of individuals. The ...

Robert Reich has an op-ed piece in the NY Times today arguing that “Big Tech Has Become Way Too Powerful” and that we should apply anti-trust regulation. There is little doubt that network effects have made tech’s new incumbents such as Google and Facebook formidable. But applying traditional antitrust approaches is the wrong idea. We want the social benefits of large networks, but we also want them to be somewhat less powerful and put some of that power back in the hands of individuals. The ...

Two days ago I wrote a post explaining why I am bullish on crowdfunding and skeptical on micropayments as an alternative to funding content, especially journalism. The explanation was a bit dry and abstract, but in the comments I provided a more concrete example that seemed to resonate, so here it is:Would you pay $2 for a joke you haven’t heard yet? No because you don’t know if it will be funny. What is your incentive to pay after you have heard the joke? It is much diminished. What about 1 ...

Two days ago I wrote a post explaining why I am bullish on crowdfunding and skeptical on micropayments as an alternative to funding content, especially journalism. The explanation was a bit dry and abstract, but in the comments I provided a more concrete example that seemed to resonate, so here it is:Would you pay $2 for a joke you haven’t heard yet? No because you don’t know if it will be funny. What is your incentive to pay after you have heard the joke? It is much diminished. What about 1 ...

The rollout of iOS 9 and along with it adblocking plugins for mobile Safari has re-ignited the debate over the ethics of removing ads from pages. Marco Arment who released the paid Peace adblocker previously wrote a piece laying out his views arguing that publishers have crossed a line with ads and trackers that are too intrusive and disruptive. In response there are now pieces bemoaning the end of independent publishers and the web altogether. And inevitably micropayments are proposed as an ...

The rollout of iOS 9 and along with it adblocking plugins for mobile Safari has re-ignited the debate over the ethics of removing ads from pages. Marco Arment who released the paid Peace adblocker previously wrote a piece laying out his views arguing that publishers have crossed a line with ads and trackers that are too intrusive and disruptive. In response there are now pieces bemoaning the end of independent publishers and the web altogether. And inevitably micropayments are proposed as an ...

It is Basic Income Week and I am speaking at the On Demand Conference in New York. That is a fortunate co-incidence as On Demand companies ought to be strong supporters of Basic Income. First, with Basic Income, the distinction between employee and contractor status becomes irrelevant and should go away entirely. The reasons that we have the distinction today is that we have historically tied together employment with benefits and with tax withholding. With Basic Income anyone can take care of...

It is Basic Income Week and I am speaking at the On Demand Conference in New York. That is a fortunate co-incidence as On Demand companies ought to be strong supporters of Basic Income. First, with Basic Income, the distinction between employee and contractor status becomes irrelevant and should go away entirely. The reasons that we have the distinction today is that we have historically tied together employment with benefits and with tax withholding. With Basic Income anyone can take care of...

While thinking about my talk at the On Demand Conference today in New York, I stumbled upon a tweet which quotes a Bloomberg piece on Baidu’s Robin Lee (the CEO):To Li, the math is simple. While search advertising is big, the services and retail market is much bigger. The initiative will “definitely” eclipse search revenue over time, he said. In cities like Beijing, the vision is already taking shape. Click an application on your smartphone and someone will stop by your home to wash and walk ...

While thinking about my talk at the On Demand Conference today in New York, I stumbled upon a tweet which quotes a Bloomberg piece on Baidu’s Robin Lee (the CEO):To Li, the math is simple. While search advertising is big, the services and retail market is much bigger. The initiative will “definitely” eclipse search revenue over time, he said. In cities like Beijing, the vision is already taking shape. Click an application on your smartphone and someone will stop by your home to wash and walk ...

I happened to be listening to some back to school coverage on TV this morning and of course the Common Core standard was brought up along with the question of college readiness. As we have been homeschooling now for two years and our twins are entering 10th grade we have been thinking a lot about these two related but separate questions: (1) how do we help our kids get ready for college (they both want to go) and (2) how do we convince colleges that they are in fact ready. So this past summer...

I happened to be listening to some back to school coverage on TV this morning and of course the Common Core standard was brought up along with the question of college readiness. As we have been homeschooling now for two years and our twins are entering 10th grade we have been thinking a lot about these two related but separate questions: (1) how do we help our kids get ready for college (they both want to go) and (2) how do we convince colleges that they are in fact ready. So this past summer...

I have not been blogging much in the last couple of weeks as I have been working on my book. But I have been reading coverage of the refugee crisis as well as some great opinion pieces by Zeynep Tufekci (I highly recommend following her on Twitter). There have been many heart wrenching images and stories that likely only scratch the surface of the human suffering and tragedy that is unfolding. While there will be a time to discuss long term solutions addressed at the origins we have to act no...

I have not been blogging much in the last couple of weeks as I have been working on my book. But I have been reading coverage of the refugee crisis as well as some great opinion pieces by Zeynep Tufekci (I highly recommend following her on Twitter). There have been many heart wrenching images and stories that likely only scratch the surface of the human suffering and tragedy that is unfolding. While there will be a time to discuss long term solutions addressed at the origins we have to act no...

About 8 months ago Joel Monegro, who is one of the analysts here at USV, wrote a great post titled “The Blockchain Application Stack.” The post lays out how the bitcoin blockchain can be combined with overlay networks and decentralized protocols to create a new application ecosystem. A lot of work has been accomplished since then by a great many individuals and organizations to bring this stack into sharper focus. If you want to learn more about the progress, I highly recommend that you head ...

About 8 months ago Joel Monegro, who is one of the analysts here at USV, wrote a great post titled “The Blockchain Application Stack.” The post lays out how the bitcoin blockchain can be combined with overlay networks and decentralized protocols to create a new application ecosystem. A lot of work has been accomplished since then by a great many individuals and organizations to bring this stack into sharper focus. If you want to learn more about the progress, I highly recommend that you head ...

After some initial uncertainty it appears that the data released yesterday is in fact from the Ashley Madison hack that had been announced a little while back. The data contains not just email addresses but a lot of other information including internal corporate documents. As for the email addresses there will be some percentage that was entered by others as Ashley Madison did not require an email confirmation (so I would take any revelations with a grain of salt). I believe that this hack an...

After some initial uncertainty it appears that the data released yesterday is in fact from the Ashley Madison hack that had been announced a little while back. The data contains not just email addresses but a lot of other information including internal corporate documents. As for the email addresses there will be some percentage that was entered by others as Ashley Madison did not require an email confirmation (so I would take any revelations with a grain of salt). I believe that this hack an...

There has been a renewed interest in the impact that digital technology is having on the boundaries of the firm. In particular there is a sense that networks operating on top of platforms are competing effectively with traditional firms. Examples include AirBnB as competing with hotels without owning any real estate, Uber with transportation companies without owning and cars, LendingClub with banks without having a balance sheet, Upwork (formerly ELance/ODesk) a systems contractor without emp...

There has been a renewed interest in the impact that digital technology is having on the boundaries of the firm. In particular there is a sense that networks operating on top of platforms are competing effectively with traditional firms. Examples include AirBnB as competing with hotels without owning any real estate, Uber with transportation companies without owning and cars, LendingClub with banks without having a balance sheet, Upwork (formerly ELance/ODesk) a systems contractor without emp...