The Best Technology Doesn't Always Win

When we think of technology, we tend to think of computers. But humans have used all sorts of technologies through the years to organize and expand our activities—from the U.S. Constitution to the Sears catalog. Listen in as Dan and Jeff explore the technologies that amplify entrepreneurship and the monopolistic practices that stifle it.

Show Notes:

"If the product is free, then you're the product."

FM radio started today's political polarization: The political left gravitated to FM, so the political right seized AM.

A distinction: platforms, programs, and apps.

The Catholic Church is a platform with 1.2 billion adherents and only three levels of management.

The U.S. political parties are actually programs running on the platform of the Constitution.

The Constitution is designed to limit how much change any one government can enact.

The Constitution is a platform for creating an entrepreneurial economy.

Beyond a certain point, corporations become less about innovation and more about preserving position.

Breaking up the AT&T monopoly in the Seventies freed up the talent to create the internet in the Nineties.

FM, DC, Betamax — the best technology isn't always the one that wins in the marketplace.

Why the U.S. won WWII: logistics!

The first "internet" was the mail-order catalog. Sears and Roebuck was a platform.

More than originality, Apple's success comes down to focus and taste.

Jeff's musical made it through COVID like a cartoon baby wandering through the worst part of town and missing every hazard.

What part of your business could be a platform, a program, or an app?

Author recommendations: Tim Wu, Adrian Daub, James Gleick

Jeff: There are no boring topics, but there are lots of boring teachers.

Resources:

Jeff Madoff: https://creativecareer.com and madoffproductions.com

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach: https://strategiccoach.com

Tim Wu, author: http://www.timwu.org

What Tech Calls Thinking by Adrian Daub 

The Information by James Gleick