I have been giving you lots of frameworks and concepts. And after a while, it can all get kind of confusing. Is this new software critical for my business? Is this new business model going to seriously impact our industry? Is this like Amazon completely disrupting retail? Is this more like Mobike, which was nice […]
My standard question is: What is the quality of the business? I go through lots of checklists for this. It generally takes me 40 pages of written notes to get through a basic assessment of company quality. But the simple version is: What is the market size and its growth? Is there a long-term secular […]
It’s easy to get lost in all the factors and phenomena emerging as digital and data technology transform industry after industry. As I have argued before, there are actually four things happening at once: Accelerating digital transformation and / or disruption. New digital tools and data technologies keep emerging. There’s big data and AI. There […]
I like Bytedance. I think they make great apps. Super engaging. With fantastic user interfaces. They are one of the most innovative mobile app companies on the planet. But they suck at internationalization. Their attempt to become China’s first international digital company has been a slow moving train wreck. Lots of us have been predicting […]
The following link is to a 6 Part Primer for Epic Games by Michael Ball. Michael is a highly regarded thinker on US media and entertainment. And media is a space that tends to change quickly with digital. I encourage you to read this. You might have noticed Epic Games in the news lately: They […]
Platforms are becoming increasingly important in the digital economy, but they are also very difficult to build and maintain. Xiaomi and Meitu are two Chinese companies that are trying to build platforms, and they are facing a number of challenges. Jeffrey Towson offers his advice for how to build a successful platform.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses how TikTok can learn from Huawei about the role of the state in China. He argues that TikTok needs to build relationships with key government officials and understand the regulatory environment in order to be successful in China. Towson also believes that TikTok can benefit from Huawei’s experience in dealing with foreign governments.
In this class, Jeffrey Towson discusses how companies can develop digital superpowers to gain a competitive advantage. He compares and contrasts four companies in Asia that have successfully used digital technology to transform their businesses: Lazada, Grab, Luckin Coffee, and Hellobike. Towson argues that digital superpowers can be used to dramatically improve the user experience, enable a platform business model, create network effects, or provide other competitive advantages.
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson interviews He Xiaodong, the Vice President of JD.com’s Cloud & AI division, about conversational AI. They discuss how conversational AI is evolving from chatbots to intelligent assistants with personalities. For example, Xiaodong explains how JD’s Smart Customer Service has been designed to have the personality of a young woman, in order to better connect with its customers.