Spotify

  • Great article on Spotify.
  • The rise of AirPods, smart speakers, and other wearable devices may not signal the onset of a true platform shift, but it undoubtedly represents a transformational evolution in the way we will consume media — and this emerging paradigm of distributed, “eyes up” device interaction directly benefits audio more than other content categories.
  • Nice table comparing the music services as well.

How to Invest in Start-ups

  • A really great article by Sam Altman.
  • An interesting perspective on how to invest in winners.
  • There is a lot of advice about how to be a good startup founder.  But there isn’t very much about how to be a good startup investor. Before going any further, I should point out that this is a particularly hard time to invest in startups—it’s easier right now to be a capital-taker than a capital-giver.”
  • h/t The Browser.

2019 Internet Trend Report

  • Mary Meeker’s latest Internet Trends Report is, as always, interesting.
  • It is a treasure trove of information to do with Internet and Media.
  • For example this chart showing that in the US the amount of time spent on mobile surpassed time spent watching TV.
  • More snippets to follow but the whole report is worth a flick.

Business Cycle Indicators

  • Interestingly freight data in the US continues to be weak.
  • Both the shipments and expenditures components of the Cass Freight Index marked their lowest reading of 2019 and took another step backwards in terms of y/y growth. There is lots of hope in the stock market and the freight market for a better 2020, but the trends have yet to turn.”
  • Source.

Artificial Intelligence

  • Fantastic resource for anyone interested in AI.
  • Especially worth checking out AI Index which has an absolute treasure trove of data (and makes it available via Google drive) on all aspects of AI.
  • The improvement in capabilities (see analysis and charts in the report) are exponential.
  • AI really has exploded on the scene – the chart shows attendance at big AI conferences. Notice the cyclicality though …
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