1/ Elon’s best twitter feature till now
It seemed like everything Elon did with Twitter was following the strategy for “throwing shit at the wall and see what sticks”. This is because almost all new launches seemed fuzzy and not so thoughtful in the way they are launched.
But one thing Elon did actually is working in Twitter’s favor. It is paying creators for their tweets.
This I would say reveals one thing about what Elon wants to make out of Twitter. I think he strongly believes it to become a YouTube competitor. I think that’s his goal post in his mind, not the super app.
YouTube is safe from all new video apps short or long because of how it incentivizes its creators. Its the only platform that shares meaningful revenue with its creators and it allows it to continue to fray the competition.
Every other new innovation in video weather its streaming or short form, YouTube is insulted from disruption because its the only platform where creators can actually make a career. Every other platform is ancillary to YouTube, all roads lead to YouTube.
But wait, there’s more. The incentives might not really work. Remember medium? Medium started paying its writers and it turned out its a great place to get a lot views and make 72 cents a year that you have to report to IRS. So you are better off not making anything on medium. The same might happen to Titter payments to creators, considering the company is not doing great in terms of attracting advertisers.
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2/ The genius of Netflix
Who is winning in the months long Hollywood strike? The answer is Netflix. Its not a secret that some of the things that changed in the media business are because of Netflix effect. All studios chased Netflix’s strategy but they didn’t stop for a moment and think about their own strategy in this new world. Every one raced to create their own streaming services in the similar way Netflix did. Companies tried to ape Netflix’s every move. And now the result is in this strike Netflix is safe (safer than anyone) while other studios are pushing their plans for next years calendar.
Their content doesn’t just come from U.S but has a global diverse supply (from Korea to India to Latin America etc.,)
They are not dependent on the big summer release schedules like studios are. The subscription model keeps them insulated from these fluctuations.
As long the strike gets extended the pressure on studio execs and stock price is on! But Netflix is not bound by that pressure. Their new shows will also get delayed but they can fill them up with global shows.
Netflix is also responsible to changing the rules, like paying humungous advances and buying future rights for content which inflated a lot creators/actors fees but also destroyed a writers future income stream.
The only studio that really stood their ground and came up with their strategy is Sony. Instead of doing what Netflix is doing, they said we will be the arm’s dealers in the streaming wars, they produce content and distribute to the highest bidder. Smart strategy.
3/ Conversation with Ashmeet Sidana
Check out my latest conversation with Ashmeet, founder of Engineering Capital, an early stage fund investing in startups with technical insights. Ashmeet has investing in some amazing tech companies including Azure Power, Tubi & more. He was candid also shared his biggest misses which includes Docker & he said no to it twice.