Twitter has had a rough few weeks, but does that mean it’s destined to spiral downward? Hell no. 18% stock price drops are great for headlines, but they certainly don’t tell the story of a company’s long-term trajectory. So let’s get the obvious out of the way: Twitter’s getting punched in the gut at the… Continue reading On Twitter and Short-Term Stock Fluctuations
Category: Business
When Two Apps Are Simpler Than One
If there’s one entrepreneurial mantra that Steve Jobs taught us, it’s this: Simplify! Complex products fail. The complex MySpace lost to the simple Facebook. The simplicity of Snapchat, Instagram and Dropbox transformed them into world-class products. Tumblr famously cut a feature when it added a new one, always keeping the interface clean as hell. Foursquare,… Continue reading When Two Apps Are Simpler Than One
The Floodgates Have Opened
The floodgates have just burst open, not just in the world of technology, but in the entire free market. In the very way we view capitalism. I am, of course, talking about Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp for $16 billion ($19 billion when you count the restricted stock units). It is the largest acquisition of a… Continue reading The Floodgates Have Opened
Announcing “Captivology”, My Book on the Science of Attention (HarperCollins/2015)
Dear friends, family, colleagues, and supporters,
I’m thrilled to announce my first non-fiction book, working title “Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention“, due in early 2015 from HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins.
I hope you will sign up for updates on Captivology through my book’s website. You can follow @Captivology on Twitter or like Captivology on Facebook. You can also follow @BenParr for regular updates. And finally, here’s a link for sharing this announcement.
Snapchat and the Logic of Turning Down $3 Billion
In July 2006, a two-year-old company received the offer of a lifetime: a $1 billion acquisition offer from Yahoo. While its board was ready to accept the offer, its founder and CEO instantly dismissed the offer. “I don’t know what I could do with the money,” the CEO said. “I’d just start another social networking… Continue reading Snapchat and the Logic of Turning Down $3 Billion
Microsoft & Nokia Can Carve a Niche in Mobile, But Wearables Is the Next Battleground
Microsoft + Nokia still has room to grow in the smartphone market, but perhaps the software giant should focus on the future of mobile: wearables. Originally, I intended to write a thought piece bashing the Microsoft-Nokia deal. On the surface, Windows Phone feels much like BlackBerry, whose moves I correctly predicted were too little, too… Continue reading Microsoft & Nokia Can Carve a Niche in Mobile, But Wearables Is the Next Battleground
The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco
Several years ago, when Square was just eight people, I was invited by Jack Dorsey to his loft in SOMA to meet the team and get a sneak peek at the Square device. After I interviewed Dorsey, he took me up to his roof and showed me his neighborhood. He specifically pointed out the outdoor… Continue reading The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco
NSA’s PRISM: This Isn’t Over, So Can We Please Breathe Before We Jump to Conclusions?
The dropped a bombshell last night — the government is spying on you! And it’s in cahoots with the world’s most popular Internet companies to do it! If that isn’t a recipe for a shitstorm, I don’t know what is. But are Google, Yahoo, AOL, Facebook and the other tech giants willingly sending the NSA… Continue reading NSA’s PRISM: This Isn’t Over, So Can We Please Breathe Before We Jump to Conclusions?
Is Apple’s Tim Cook on the Money with Changing U.S. Tax Laws? My Thoughts on CNBC [VIDEO]
I dropped by CNBC this afternoon to discuss an issue that will dominate the headlines this week — a proposal by Apple CEO Tim Cook to simplify the tax laws regarding the repatriation of corporate cash. Currently, Apple has more than $100 billion sitting overseas ($1.7 trillion is doing the same from the top 1000… Continue reading Is Apple’s Tim Cook on the Money with Changing U.S. Tax Laws? My Thoughts on CNBC [VIDEO]
Debating Samsung vs. Apple on CNBC
Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S4, but will it be enough to topple Apple? That’s the question that CNBC posed to me and my friend Colleen Taylor of TechCrunch. I took a position that even surprised me. Here’s what I will say for now: the long-term trend of growth is clearly in Samsung’s favor. Apple… Continue reading Debating Samsung vs. Apple on CNBC