There is no Facebook, only... Meta. 

Mark Zuckerberg has laid out a longterm vision for his company in a way that most public CEOs wouldn't dare– and if he pulls it off, Meta has the potential to be much bigger and even more influential than Facebook ever was.

We'll dig in on what was announced and what it means for the future of the internet.

– PC

Links

Meta.com

Connect Opening Keynote

Meta: Founder’s Letter, 2021

The fall semester is in session, and we're back for Season 2! 

I talk a bit about what to expect this season, what I've been up to over the summer (spoiler: a lot), and we will take a tour through the headlines from this week that set the stage thematically for where tech is going.

Welcome back to Tech News for MBAs.

– PC

Links:

CNBC:  Bitcoin jumps to new high above $66,000 after landmark U.S. ETF launch

Jack Dorsey on Twitter

The Verge: Facebook is planning to rebrand the company with a new name

Reuters: PayPal in $45 billion bid for Pinterest

Fox News: Trump announces 'TRUTH Social' network will be rolled out first quarter of 2022

NY Times: In a Blue Origin Rocket, William Shatner Finally Goes to Space

Hi! As we approach the fall semester, I'm just checking in with a quick mini-ep to let you know what I've been up to, why Tech News for MBAs has gone dark the past few months, and to assure you that I will be back at it soon! 

Fun trivia: My band in college was called Missing In Action.

– PC

Tim Cook gave a rare and revealing interview on Kara Swisher's Sway podcast responding to Mark Zuckerberg's assertion that Apple is one of Facebook's biggest competitors. (Spoiler: Cook says they're not.) But what if their competition isn't set for the present, but for the future? Professor Paul Canetti goes deep on his theory about how Apple's defensive moves against Facebook are less about advertising and privacy and more about handicapping a future challenger for the next paradigm shift in tech: augmented reality.

Links

Sway - Is Apple's Privacy Push Facebook's Existential Threat‪?‬

MBA Media & Entertainment Conference 2021

We do a deep dive on a popular but difficult to execute tech strategy that manages to connect the dots between many disparate customers into a massive (and valuable!) network, exemplified by new features from Slack and Stripe that were announced this week.

Links:

Facebook, Google, Twitter CEOs face House grilling

Bounce House

Come for the tool, stay for the network

Slack - Start a direct message with someone outside your company

Stripe - 1-click payments using Link with Stripe

A deep dive on Stripe, now worth almost $100 billion, Facebook’s moves into emerging markets, TikTok’s monetization strategy, and Uber faces new regulatory changes in the UK. Plus a new Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of.

Links:

Stripe has raised a new round of funding to accelerate momentum in Europe and reinforce enterprise leadership

Facebook targets emerging markets with the launch of Instagram Lite, an Android app that takes up just 2MB, in 170 countries

TikTok will make personalized ads mandatory on April 15th

Uber 'willing to change' as drivers get minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions

Bounce House

Shelf Engine

Pandemics are the worst… unless you’re talking about tech. Reflections on a horrible year in physical reality that was great for software, the Roblox IPO (no pandemics inside virtual worlds is a plus!), Facebook moves deeper into the creator economy, Russia is pumping the brakes on Twitter, and Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of.

Links:

12 Charts That Show How Tech Took Off During a Year of Shutdowns

Roblox goes public: What to know as RBLX stock debuts on the NYSE

Hangio

Facebook expands fan payments, subscription options in appeal to creators

Twitter plans to roll out Twitter Spaces to everyone in April

Russia slows down access to Twitter

JAY-Z and TIDAL join Square, new privacy laws and the death of third party cookies, Netflix launches a TikTok killer, Instagram tests out life without likes, and a random startup you’ve never heard of.

Links:

Jack Dorsey on Twitter: “Square is acquiring a majority ownership stake in TIDAL”

Axios - Privacy laws push online ads beyond tracking

Sponsor: Bounce House - Sell your service online

Random startup you’ve never heard of: Kumospace

The Verge - Netflix has created a TikTok clone that lets people scroll through funny clips

Insider - Instagram is testing removing public 'like' counts and influencers say it would be good for the industry. Here's why.

Special guest Seyi Taylor helps explain what NFTs are and why it matters, Twitter wants you to pay for certain tweets, Spotify launches a new ad network, Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of, and more!

Links:

What you need to know about NFTs, the collectible digital tokens that are selling for millions online

Seyi Taylor on Twitter

Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge for tweets

Mirza

David Dobrik's retro photo app Dispo raises $20 million

Facebook says it will pay news industry $1 billion over 3 years

Spotify announces major expansion, new ad network

Australia tries to bully big tech and Facebook fights back, Bumble goes public, robots take selfies on Mars, and Shopify challenges Amazon. Plus our new segment “Random startup you’ve never heard of”

Links:

Augment Nation: Moving Humanity to the Software Layer

Facebook Newsroom - Changes to Sharing and Viewing News on Facebook in Australia

CNBC - Bumble IPO: The female founder behind the dating app making market history

App Store - Dispo - Live in the Moment

Engadget - NASA's Perseverance rover lands safely on Mars

Shopify Announces Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Financial Results