Network Effect

Will eBay Spin Off PayPal and Skype?

Paypal is the golden egg. Why would they spin this off?

Apple's Walmart Deal Will Effectively Kill Google's Android

Anyone who thinks that sitting and waiting in this game is an acceptable strategy is missing the point. The entire business model centers on the ecosystem around the phone. The cell phone itself is just the trojan horse to the customer, or gateway to the ecosystem. The key is to develop the self-perpetuating cycle between buyer and seller within the ecocystem. The more people that have these phones, the more companies need to sell / develop products and services for the ecosystem. If Android doesn't have any customers, why would people keep developing for it. Look at Google Base and Google Wallet. These are free - but no one buys through them so early adopters just give up and the spiral starts the other way. The whole key, as evidenced by Ma Bell, MSFT, eBay, PayPal and a whole host of other networks that dominate their industry is the network effect of the ecosystem around their business. Apple won this game a long time ago. This will be yet another area where Google tries to win against an 800 pound gorilla and fails miserably.

Online Holiday Sales Up, But Is It Enough?

I take back everything I have said about the Kindle. Has anyone seen how many of these things are selling on eBay and what they are selling for? Even if Amazon manufactured a shortage, there is clearly demand for these products - currently selling at 150-200% of retail on eBay in relatively large quantities. Maybe they didn't manufacture a shortage after all and it really is a hot item.