This Week in GAFAnomics #3
GAFAnomics [ga-fɑː-nom-iks], noun:
A modern, networked, economic system spurred by the eponymic GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple) but also encompassing Unicorns, Chinese tech giants and all other companies changing our lives through computer technology.
“This week in GAFAnomics” features top articles from FABERNOVEL’s internal Slack discussions. Subscribe to our “Inside GAFAnomics” publication for your weekly dose of curated news about the Network Economy.
So what happened this week in GAFAnomics ?!
Amazon keeps quietly raising its free shipping minimum… It used to be $25, then $35 in 2013, and now $49. Obviously a move to promote Prime memberships.
It is pretty uncommon to see Amazon ready to encroach on customer experience to promote its own products. Is Amazon starting to shift to a profit making mindset ? — Curated by Louis Moullard
Even without a Prime membership, Amazon always offered free (and slow) shipping for orders over a certain minimum. For…techcrunch.com
Facebook rolled out new Emoji reactions as an extension to the “like” button. 1.5 billion Facebook users now can “love”, “haha” or “wow” a post.
By enhancing your ability to quickly express feelings, Facebook gathers a huge amount of data about what content you want to see on your news feed. A first step towards emotional advertising? — Curated by Joachim Renaudin
For years people have clamored for Facebook to add a “dislike” button alongside its iconic like button. That was never…www.slate.com
Facebook launched a Social VR team. As mentioned on Facebook’s blog: “In the future, VR will enable even more types of connection — like the ability for friends who live in different parts of the world to spend time together and feel like they’re really there with each other.”
Social VR is the missing piece that Facebook needs to “make the world more open and connected” (and get a return on its $2bn acquisition of Oculus VR !) — Curated by Louis Moullard
Today we’re announcing new advances in our long-term efforts to build the future of virtual reality. Mobile VR grows…newsroom.fb.com
Google, Microsoft and Facebook are showing support to Apple’s stance against on iPhone Encryption, and Amazon is expected to join the crew. The public opinion is divided, Republicans are supporting the FBI and the Democrats remain mostly silent… Ironically enough GAFA seem to be the only ones able to stop this privacy breach. When did Google and Facebook become experts in defending privacy rights? — Curated by Joachim Renaudin
DOW JONES, A NEWS CORP COMPANY News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news…www.wsj.com
Nokia is a great example of a company that chose the “Compete head-on” GAFAnomics strategy (stick to proprietary Symbian OS instead of going with iOS and Android) and lost its direct to customer relationship. Nokia now focuses on its wireless equipment business and is thinking about licensing its brand to phone manufacturers such as Foxconn. Two options for traditional business :
1. Open to the GAFA (e.g. Microsoft Office on Android or Nintendo games on iOS)
2. Or get pushed back to being an old infrastructure and once you’re there, either you’re good (Intel) either you die… — Curated by Louis Moullard
That’s all for this week, but follow us for more news about GAFAnomics next week ! In the meantime, you can check out our latest article to learn more about platforms, their strengths and their projected future:
