How to Have Interesting Ideas (The Ben Thompson Playbook)

[@DavidPerellChannel]

Ben Thompson is the king of subscription newsletters. He makes millions of dollars per year by writing about the business of technology, and has become a whisperer to Fortune 500 CEOs. Some lessons below: 1. This is the age of one-person media companies. 2. The fundamental thing to understand about the economics of media and tech is that the marginal costs of distribution are zero. This changes everything. 3. Writing on the Internet rewards people who are a bit arrogant and highly disagreeable. You need arrogance and disagreeableness to speak your mind and handle the armies of critics. 4. On the Internet, power comes from owning the relationship with your audience... from being able to reach them directly. 5. The Internet rewards the hyper-niche and the ultra-scaled, but things in the middle tend to die. Pick a side. 6. Before the Internet, there was no effective way to target individual people with niche products, so the companies that succeeded were more mass-market. 7. The Internet rewards one-person companies because distribution has been commoditized. No longer do writers need printing presses or distribution trucks to distribute their ideas. 8. If you want to build an audience quickly, get specific with what you write about and write about it well. For Ben, it was the business of technology. 9. Ben’s strategy was to write about the business of technology while the rest of tech media focused on gadgets and hot new releases.

[@iLoveWriting365]

Whoa! Ben is one of my favourite tech writers. And he doesn't do many interviews so this one is special!

[@DavidPerellChannel]

Agree! Was super excited to do this one because of that

[@ReaEarth]

How I Write is quickly becoming my favorite podcast. Such a great episode!

[@bookwashington]

David, I've been following you for what feels like ages now, from twitter to your writing to here. I've been consistently infuriated by the lack of traction you've had here. Especially with How I Write - the quality increase, the potency of conversation. And then boom! I looked at the Harry Dry interview and saw the views. I'm truly delighted for you man. You're an inspiration and I'm so glad it finally hit (with that thumbnail how could it not!). Glad it was Harry's that blew up too. Congrats and 🤞 for more success here!

[@DavidPerellChannel]

Been feeling a bit of the same frustration and it's been nice to see the tide turn a bit

[@producedbypodcast]

David, your interviews feel like a cinema experience. 🎬 Beautiful settings, engaging questions, interesting guests... As a podcaster myself, you're a great source of inspiration. Thank you!🔥

[@DavidPerellChannel]

Love to hear that... "cinema experience" is what we're going for

[@theuberman]

You're a very Active Interviewer...Questions are Spot on, Fell in Love with this Channel 💎

[@DavidPerellChannel]

Thanks!

[@JoeRobisonGFD]

He’s basically my spirit animal

[@DavidPerellChannel]

Legend

[@otp780]

you and me both

[@HarryJoiner]

Ben is absolutely head and shoulders above most (like 90% of) Analysts

[@DavidPerellChannel]

One of a kind

[@HarryJoiner]

@@DavidPerellChannel I say 90%, only because I don’t have access to the work of Morgan Stanley’s best analysts, etc. But the real number is probably closer to 99%. He’s up there with Mary Meeker in her prime.

[@NishatShahriyar]

Hollymolly! What an interview! ❤‍🔥

[@DavidPerellChannel]

What stuck out?

[@naturehuman]

Great interview. Listening to Ben and remembering some of his articles, I realise he has influenced my worldview as much as any writer, including Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Shakespeare. Pretty astonishing.

[@PaddyLamont]

I listen to other podcasts - I study yours. Another great interview, thank you!

[@varo09111991]

It feels like the whole podcast was a prelude to this episode

[@DavidPerellChannel]

Hahahaha... feel you on that

[@LaszloMag]

I've been a long time subscriber of Stratechery - one of very few publications I pay to read

[@itskrox-johnochuro]

Wow, all my tech deep dives come from this one guy!!

[@MorePlausible]

Fascinating interview.

[@carpediemcotidiem]

00:07 Consistency in writing volume leads to success 02:12 Creating compelling stories in tech writing sets apart successful writers 06:06 Challenges in starting the writing process 07:55 Creating a common thread in updates for reader satisfaction 11:54 The blog style suits the author personally and helps with productivity. 14:07 Analyzing news events for prediction and articles 18:05 The value of writing in forming thoughts and structuring ideas. 20:02 Structured approach for decision-making 23:38 Strater: A evolving journal of technology and media exploration. 25:24 Importance of editing and tightness in writing 28:52 Intense work schedule compressed into three days 30:34 Consistent editorial writing led to successful outcomes 34:03 Continuous learning and self-correction in research workflow. 35:55 Writing with authority is important for effective communication 39:29 Importance of actual results and specifications in company narratives 41:14 Transition from teaching to tech industry 44:53 Started from scratch, no handouts 46:54 Importance of getting historical facts right 50:28 Blogging success story and pricing strategy 52:18 Writing about topics of personal interest to avoid burnout and reflect accurate analysis of media and tech 55:45 Identified best cohort for subscriptions 57:24 CEOs find value in reading the blog as it provides unbiased insights. 1:01:03 Solo media companies gaining popularity and disrupting traditional media 1:02:46 Media scalability on the Internet 1:06:19 Balancing customer acquisition with product development 1:08:10 Building consistency and expectation through unique branding and content strategy. 1:11:36 Traditional media struggles with adapting to online cost structures and niche markets 1:13:20 The internet's vast reach and potential for niche content 1:17:04 Embracing massive creation as positive for large platforms 1:18:55 Challenges of crafting conclusions 1:22:09 Maintaining discipline in writing blog content 1:23:50 Importance of clearly articulating value and being assertive in pricing 1:27:04 Consistently generating new and interesting insights is key to success 1:28:51 Churchill's speech emphasizes never surrendering 1:32:32 Persistence and determination lead to success Crafted by Merlin AI.

[@osirisra1476]

Great interview.

[@briannaford3187]

How do you do your text animation?? Thank you in advance!!!

[@banellie]

Is this the real Ben Thompson? He didn't mispronounce any words at all.

[@allisonnottingham7342]

Gell-Mann Amnesia was pronounced “jell-man”… ;)

[@ezekiellengaram2245]

Decreasing cost industries in actually in the literature (his quote on 41:45 is not correct) the concept of decreasing cost (AC/MC) is widely covered in undergraduate econ-courses- see Varian Intermediate Micro, Jehle -Advance micro etc

[@alexPsanz]

His point is that zero MC is fundamental different from decreasing MC