Episode 102 — Snakes and Ladders

Ben and James discuss the history of messaging apps, the rise of Snapchat, and why Instagram Stories was such a brilliant move.

NOTE: The original audio file had a problem at the 36:50 mark; if you encounter this, please delete the file from your podcast app and re-download.

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Links

• Ben Thompson: The Audacity of Copying Well — Stratechery (stratechery.com/2016/the-audacity-of-copying-w…)

• Ben Thompson: Snapchat’s Ladder — Stratechery (stratechery.com/2016/snapchats-ladder)

• Ben Thompson: Facebook, Phones, and Phonebooks — Stratechery (stratechery.com/2016/what-facebook-is-and-isnt)

• Ben Thompson: Snapchat User Growth Concerns, What Makes Snapchat Valuable? — Stratechery (stratechery.com/2017/twitter-sells-fabric-snap…)

Hosts

• Ben Thompson, @benthompson (twitter.com/benthompson), Stratechery (stratechery.com)

• James Allworth, @jamesallworth (twitter.com/jamesallworth), Harvard Business Review (hbr.org/search?term=James+Allworth&sort=po…)

Podcast Information

• Feed (exponent.fm/feed)

• iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/exponent/id826420969)

• SoundCloud (soundcloud.com/exponentfm)

• Twitter (twitter.com/exponentfm)

• Feedback (stratechery.com/exponent-feedback)

• Presented by MailChimp (bit.ly/exponent-mailchimp)