A blog about media.

This podcast tracks with my experience with the entrepreneurs that I meet here in Japan and the stories I hear from mainland China: the relentless hyper-competitive domestic environment in China is forging fiery founders ready to take on overseas markets. Founder of Young China Group, Zak Dychtwald, likens it to “swimming with piranhas”. Part of…

eMarketer discusses Zuckerberg’s latest vision for advertising and it presents a bleak picture for intermediaries:👉 The idea is that advertisers would no longer need to handle creative, production or management. They would just provide Meta with their desired outcome and Meta would deliver that. This should come as no surprise as the digital infrastructure platforms…

In this All In Podcast, the besties discuss in particular the threat to Google search that OpenAI and other AI companies are presenting. Should Google hasten integration of Gemini into their core search product? Or start with YouTube and Google Workspace? Hesitation will only increase their exposure to OpenAI, especially given their $75 billion capex…

Sequoia’s annual “AI Ascent” conference provides an excellent summary of the industry so far. Some key takeaways: 👇🏼 The difference between Web 1.0, cloud and mobile: versus AI, is that AI had zero barriers to adoption. ie, 1.8 billion already use AI (mostly indirectly through Alphabet, Meta, etc). 💰The application layer is where most of…

This great episode from the Planet Money podcast notes that the standard US Customs definition is wrought with dependence on interpretation: that a transformation of “name, use or character” is not only subject to interpretation but was already challenged in the courts. Planet Money podcast episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?i=1000706715101

This Goldman podcast notes that although tariffs alone cannot directly cause one because most recessions are caused by a reduction in (usually consumer) demand and not spending, the UNCERTAINTY of tariff policy may cause businesses to delay decisions on investments and spending, thus contributing to a recession. Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/goldman-sachs-exchanges/id948913991?i=1000704641014

Deloitte projects it to grow to $2.3B from $700M last year 😮 https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-behind-numbers-explosion-of-sports-brand-engagement-with-nielsen-s-vp-of-inclusive-insights

Emarketer podcast: How YouTube Became TV’s Most Watched Platform on Its 20th Birthday The hosts speculate on why YouTube’s advertising share is still only roughly 5% of the global total, despite it being more watched than the OTTs (AMZN prime, Netflix, eg). First it’s not a great comparison since those other platforms are subscription based.…