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Originally published April 2015 It’s part two of our Amazon founding story. How did Amazon come to completely dominate e-commerce? How did Jeff Bezos’ “Get Big Fast” strategy evolve? How and why did Amazon become the quintessential “dot com” and dot-com-era stock? The answers are within.  Bibliography:  The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon  The Playboy Interview: Moguls  Amazon.com: Get Big Fast  One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com  http://jimromenesko.com/2013/08/11/i-interviewed-jeff-bezos-when-amazon-was-an-insignificant-speck-in-the-book-selling-universe/#more-49306  http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html  http://www.fastcompany.com/50541/inside-mind-jeff-bezos  http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB832204437381952500  http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303339904576405922077032468  http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-corporateTimeline_pf&c=176060  http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,992927-2,00.html

Originally published February 2015. Finally, the long-promised foray into e-commerce, starting with… not the first… but practically the first… player in the space… and ironically enough, the 800 pound gorilla in the space to this day. Amazon. Dot com. We examine Jeff Bezos, the man. We consider Amazon, the idea. We look at e-commerce, the concept. It’s interesting. It’s groundbreaking. It’s available with free 2-day shipping for Prime members. Just kidding. Bibliography:  The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon  The Playboy Interview: Moguls  Amazon.com: Get Big Fast  One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com  http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html  http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/01/11/253770/index.htm  http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/biztech/articles/14amazon.html  http://www.retireat21.com/blog/10-companies-started-garages  http://davidsheff.com/article/jeff-bezos/ Learn more about your ad

Second time the charm for Apple to close above $3 trillion? Google says it will remove news links in Canada. Meta will allow you to download apps directly from Ads. Self driving cars are giving cops more surveillance tape. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Apple’s market cap tops $3 trillion (CNBC) Canada’s ‘link tax’ law could break how the web works, says Google (Android Police) Meta is planning to let people in the EU download apps through Facebook (The Verge) Fidelity Joins Spot-Bitcoin ETF Race With Fresh SEC Filing (Bloomberg) Police Are Requesting Self-Driving Car Footage For Video Evidence (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: When Will AI Generate a Hollywood Blockbuster? “Give It About Three Years.” (Inverse) These Tech Companies Think They Can ‘Solve’ the Wildfire Crisis (Motherboard) Who killed Google Reader? (The Verge) Mixtape Sites Like DatPiff Propelled Rap. Can They Be Preserved? (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph

Satya Nadella had his day in court. Looks like the FTC is finalizing its big case against Amazon. YouTube has advertisers asking for refunds. Big new interesting raises in the AI space. And ahead of the Fourth of July travel weekend, we may not have the autonomous driving we want, but maybe we can get the autonomous rental car delivery we deserve. Links: Microsoft and Activision Chiefs Testify Merger Will Benefit Consumers (NYTimes) Lina Khan Is Coming for Amazon, Armed With an FTC Antitrust Suit (Bloomberg) Advertising industry seeks refunds over YouTube skippable ads (FT) ChatGPT maker OpenAI faces a lawsuit over how it used people’s data (Washington Post) Inflection AI Raises $1 Billion (Forbes) Halo Car launches remotely piloted rental car deliveries in Las Vegas (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even in bankruptcy, even FTX is like, maybe we’ll hold on to these AI investments. Could Windows itself become a fully cloud product? Has Google canceled its AR project? How AI is making even Billy Bean look like old school baseball. And who needs a Mac Pro when you’ve got a perfectly good Mac Studio or even Mac Book? Links: FTX Halts Sale of Its $500 Million Stake in AI Startup Anthropic (Bloomberg) AI Frenzy Draws Hordes to Private Markets in Industry Gold Rush (Bloomberg) Microsoft wants to move Windows fully to the cloud (The Verge) Google killed its Iris augmented-reality smart glasses as it shifts attention to building AR software (Insider) DoorDash launches hourly rates and location sharing for couriers (The Verge) Baseball Scouts Call In Artificial Intelligence Help From the Bullpen (WSJ) The Mac Pro’s biggest problem is the MacBook (The Verge) Eat Your Heart Out, Tesla. Mercedes-Benz May Have the Fastest EV Yet. (Barron's) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/

Checking in with the FTC vs. Microsoft case. Checking in with the effort to recover funds from FTX. What if OpenAI did its own Copilot? Would Microsoft be pissed? And reviews of the Pixel Fold include one reviewer’s unit dying after a mere few days. Sponsors: stpp.co/techmeme ZocDoc.com/techmeme Links: Microsoft exec was ready to ‘go spend Sony out of business’ to strengthen Xbox (The Verge) FTX Bankruptcy Team Says the Exchange Owed Customers $8.7B (CoinDesk) Thomson Reuters buys Casetext, an AI legal tech startup, for $650M in cash (TechCrunch) OpenAI Plans ChatGPT ‘Personal Assistant for Work,’ Setting Up Microsoft Rivalry (The Information) RIP to my Pixel Fold: Dead after four days (ArsTechnica) Google Pixel Fold review: closing the gap (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, this AI moment is only about 6 months old, but it looks like the mergers and acquisitions are beginning in earnest. Wait, we’re still worried about 5G interfering with airplanes? Amazon wants your local florist to deliver your packages. An Amazon/FTC kerfuffle we missed. And what are the OTHER Apple products we can expect in the next year or so? Sponsors: JoinDeleteMe.com/techmeme The Traceroute Podcast Links: Databricks Strikes $1.3 Billion Deal for Generative AI Startup MosaicML (WSJ) Pete Buttigieg Warns of Flight Delays as 5G Deadline Looms (WSJ) Exclusive: Amazon launches local business delivery network (Axios) FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process (CNBC) Amazon, Friction, and the FTC (Stratechery) Apple Has Finally Unveiled the Vision Pro. Here’s What It’s Launching Next (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Are Canadians about to lose their access to news on Instagram and maybe Google too? More details about what that Apple headset will actually be like to use. The newest claimant to the supercomputer crown is about to come online. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go Collective.com Links: Meta says it's blocking news on Facebook, Instagram after government passes online news bill (National Post) Apple Vision Pro has a speed limit, Travel Mode required for use on flights (9to5Mac) The Aurora Supercomputer Is Installed (AnandTech) Randomly received a smartwatch? Don’t turn it on, investigators warn. (ArmyTimes) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Dolby Atmos Wants You to Listen Up. (And Down. And Sideways.) (NYTimes) The hottest new perk in tech is freedom (Vox) This Bay Area woman is on a crusade to prove Yelp reviews can’t be trusted (SFGate) Meet the Vocal Coach Who’s Helping Timothée Chalamet Sound Like Bob Dylan (GQ) Learn more about your ad

Well, I guess Elon and Zuck are gonna fight? Literally? New Stability AI. Xbox prices are going up. The visionOS SDK is out. A Motorola Razr Plus review. And why celebrities are racing to duplicate themselves using AI. Sponsors: JoinDeleteMe.com/techmeme Grammarly.com/go Links: Mark Zuckerberg is ready to fight Elon Musk in a cage match (The Verge) Startup Stability Debuts a New AI Model For Stable Diffusion (Bloomberg) Microsoft is hiking the price of Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass (The Verge) Apple releases visionOS SDK for creating Vision Pro apps, dev kit applications opening soon (9to5Mac) Motorola Razr Plus review: the right moves (The Verge) Celebrities Use AI to Take Control of Their Own Images (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dropbox joins the AI bandwagon. Lots of news from Twitch. Netflix changes how it calculates its top 10. Mark your calendars for Prime Day. And what all the things Apple DIDN’T demo for their new headset might reveal about the directions in which the product could evolve. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go NewtonX.com/techmeme Links: Dropbox’s AI tools can help you find your stuff — from everywhere on the internet (The Verge) Twitch will require new labels for streams with sexual themes, gambling and M-rated games (TechCrunch) Netflix Tweaks Its Top 10 Rankings, Adds View Count (THR) Amazon will hold Prime Day 2023 on July 11-12, adding invite-only deals and ‘Buy with Prime’ sites (GeekWire) What Apple Didn’t Reveal About the Vision Pro (The Information) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spotify is thinking of bucking the “max” and “ultra” naming convention and might introduce “supremium.” What if FTX, the exchange, makes a comeback? One of the hottest sectors in VC right now is defense. And the story of how Meta is playing catchup when it comes to AI. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go go.tech/tm Links: Spotify Plans New Premium Tier, Expected to Include HiFi Audio (Bloomberg) FTX paid over $120 million in advisor fees between February 1 and April 30 (The Block) Masayoshi Son Ends Seven-Month Silence to Make Case for SoftBank’s Future (Bloomberg) Silicon Valley VCs rush into defence technology start-ups (FT) Mark Zuckerberg Was Early in AI. Now Meta Is Trying to Catch Up. (WSJ) When AI Overrules the Nurses Caring for You (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No joke, this is one of my favorite episodes we've ever done. Eugene Wei was an early employee at Hulu, so we get some details on that company for the first time, and he also worked at Flipboard and Oculus, so we get some important context especially on the future of VR and the like. But the most fascinating stories you'll hear will be about Amazon, where Eugene was the first analyst in the strategic planning department. As you'll hear, Eugene had a unique perspective on Amazon's early strategy and business structure, almost a historically unique perspective... he could see month to month, how Amazon was built, what Amazon was trying to do, and why. This is such an amazing perspective on such an important company. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go Hillsdale.edu/ride Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google does it again. For like the 10th time just since I’ve been doing this podcast. What is “it?” You’ll hear in a second. The whole Reddit thing is simultaneously seeming to calm down, AND heat up, largely thanks to Reddit’s CEO. Will we finally get a bitcoin ETF this time? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: TryNom.com/ride CrashPlan.com Links: Alphabet Selling Google Domains Assets to Squarespace (Bloomberg) Reddit says it won’t force subreddits back open (but will it?) (The Verge) Reddit CEO slams protest leaders, saying he'll change rules that favor ‘landed gentry’ (NCBNews) AI and media companies negotiate landmark deals over news content (Financial Times) BlackRock files for bitcoin ETF in push into crypto (Reuters) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Microsoft’s Sudden AI Dominance Is Scrambling Silicon Valley’s Power Structure (Bloomberg Businessweek) How Nvidia Became ChatGPT’s Brain and Joined the $1 Trillion Club (Bloomberg Businessweek) How MrBeast Beca

The every platform can be an ad platform too march continues. This time, it’s Uber. Intel drops the “I.” Google lens can check your skin condition. Another breakthrough in quantum computing. And why Apple bringing back the answering machine is a feature lots of folks, including me, are actually happy about. Sponsors: CrashPlan.com Links: Video Ads Are Coming to All Your Uber Apps (The Wall Street Journal) Intel To Launch New Core Processor Branding: Drop the i, Add Ultra Tier (AnandTech) Google Lens can now identify rashes and other skin conditions (9to5Google) Mechanical Turk workers are using AI to automate being human (TechCrunch) Fake zero-day PoC exploits on GitHub push Windows, Linux malware (BleepingComputer) Quantum Computing Advance Begins New Era, IBM Says (NYTimes) iOS 17 Live Voicemail will return the glory of the answering machine to your iPhone (TechRadar) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The European Commission might have just taken the first steps toward separating Google from its cash cow. Reddit’s CEO keeps saying not so soothing things. New Open AI and Meta releases for… AI stuff. Cybersecurity premiums are skyrocketing. Spotify has fully shifted its podcast strategy. And a look at the tech job market as AI takes over. Sponsors: NewtonX.com/techmeme CrashPlan.com Links: EU suggests breaking up Google’s ad business in preliminary antitrust ruling (The Verge) Reddit CEO tells employees that subreddit blackout ‘will pass' (The Verge) Google is getting a lot worse because of the Reddit blackouts (The Verge) OpenAI intros new generative text features while reducing pricing (TechCrunch) Cyber Insurance Premiums Surge by 50% as Ransomware Attacks Increase (Bloomberg) Spotify Takes a Sharp Turn With Its $1 Billion Podcast Division (Bloomberg) Meta AI researchers unveil I-JEPA, a computer vision model that learns more like humans do (SiliconAngle) Layoffs and AI Are Changing Te

The FTC has filed an injunction to block the Microsoft/Activision tie-up. Netflix is dipping its toe into live sports. Why Larry Ellison is thankful AI showed up on the scene. The whole Reddit situation came to a head partially cause of AI. And one guess why we’re about to get a new Beatles song. Sponsors: CrashPlan.com notion.com/ride Links: FTC files to block Microsoft-Activision as deadline approaches (CNBC) Netflix to Enter Live-Streamed Sports With Celebrity Golf Event (WSJ) Reddit goes dark (Platformer) Larry Ellison Rides AI Boom to Highest Wealth Ranking Ever (Bloomberg)\ Sir Paul McCartney says artificial intelligence has enabled a 'final' Beatles song (BBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why your favorite subreddit might be going dark. Why a16z opened an office in the UK. Why AI seems to be recycling the same few dozen jokes when you ask it to be funny. A new AI music generation tool. And the first reviews of the 15-inch Macbook Air. Sponsors: CrashPlan.com go.tech/tm Links: Thousands of subreddits pledge to go dark after the Reddit CEO’s recent remarks (The Verge) Andreessen Horowitz believes that crypto's future may be in the U.K. (Axios) Meta's open source AI MusicGen turns text and melody into new songs (The Decoder) Researchers discover that ChatGPT prefers repeating 25 jokes over and over (ArsTechnica) How AI art killed an indie book cover contest (The Verge) Apple MacBook Air 15-inch review: exactly what was asked for (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Scott is the current Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft. We talk about his entire career, how being an academic seemed to be his path before he transformed the ads system at Google. Then he revolutionized the entire advertising industry at AdMob; is credited by some people by saving LinkedIn from technical rot; and now, today, oversees Microsoft's efforts in AI, VR/AR all the future things. Fantastic conversation. Kevin's podcast is: Behind the Tech Originally Aired: May 2019 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots of juicy nuggets from a recent all hands over at Meta. Binance.US looks like it’s on the road to shutting down. The first trials of AI tutors for kids are happening. The self-driving revolution I’ve been waiting for seems to be happening. And the Weekend Longreads are happening. As always. Links: Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg thinks about Apple’s Vision Pro (The Verge) This is what Instagram’s upcoming Twitter competitor looks like (The Verge) Meta plans to put AI everywhere on its platforms (Axios) Binance.US Set to Be Cut Off From Banking System After SEC Lawsuit (Bloomberg) Spotify says it’s testing an ‘offline mix’ for when your connection’s patchy (The Verge) New A.I. Chatbot Tutors Could Upend Student Learning (NYTimes) Netflix Subscriptions Jump as U.S. Password-Sharing Crackdown Begins (WSJ) Mercedes first to sell vehicles in California with hands-free, eyes-off automated driving (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Binge Purge TV’s streaming model is broken. It’s als