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Looking Back: One Year Of Big Technology's Paid EditionA quick retrospective, and a major thank you for your support
A year ago, I launched Big Technology paid subscriptions with some trepidation. The newsletter ad market was starting to cool and I was growing concerned about this publication’s long-term sustainability. I’ve always believed in making news free — or at least, as much of it as possible — and hated the idea of asking loyal readers for money. Our connection matters most to me, and turning on subscriptions complicates that a bit. Now, one year later — and nearly four and a half years after Big Technology’s founding — I’m thrilled to have made the move. Your response has been terrific, with hundreds of subscribers joining to give Big Technology some staying power. And the program enabled me to scale this publication’s ambitions, bringing in top notch guest journalists, adding a subscriber-only podcast, and hosting Big Technology’s first in-person event. I just looked back at the journalism Big Technology published this past year and it’s turned this thing into the publication I’ve always wanted to run. Subscribers have helped me commission deep, unbiased reporting on the inner-workings of the tech giants and produce the stories I’ve dreamed of writing. Kristi Coulter took us inside Amazon, revealing crucial shifts within its leadership team, dissecting significant changes to employee pay, and digging into whether the company had entered the dreaded Day Two. David Kiferbaum took us behind the scenes at Google, drawing a line between cultural issues and product screwups. And Louise Matsakis shared incredible reporting from China, looking at the rise of Shein and Temu along with the country’s under-appreciated electric vehicle boom. On Big Tech War Stories, we heard from Google LaMDA’s first product manager on why the company’s original LLM bot never shipped, the former head of Facebook’s elections team on its love hate relationship with politics, journalist Walt Mossberg on his connection with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and more. A bunch more Big Tech War Stories episodes are on the way, including one each on the founding of Siri and Alexa, and one later this week on Amazon culture. Stay tuned. Personally, I’ve loved writing for you. I’ve worked hard to cut through the AI hype while remaining optimistic about the technology’s broader direction. This includes stories about LLMs’ resource constraints, ChatGPT’s growth challenges, and the technology’s actual impact on search. I’ve covered generative AI’s ROI challenges and opportunities across multiplestories. This past year, I’ve also written a long profile of Google DeepMind CEO (and recent Nobel Prize winner) Demis Hassabis, a note on Elon Musk’s plans for AI news based on emails I exchanged with him, original columns on OpenAI’s vulnerability and the aftermath of its chaos, and plenty more. Big Technology also held its first public subscriber event with Box CEO Aaron Levie (talk, Q&A). I’ll be looking to do more over the next year, perhaps in San Francisco or London. More on the way. One feature we launched with, The Panel, didn’t catch on. So, alas, RIP The Panel. But I’m glad we tried. Thank you again for your readership and support. Since the moment I launched Big Technology in May 2020, I’ve told anyone who asked that this would be my last job. I’m overjoyed to write for you, to podcast for you, and to hear from you. Nothing beats this relationship between writer and readers. And I appreciate you all helping me live this dream. You can pick up a subscription below if you’re so inclined. And if you’re already subscribed, please keep it up :) Above all, and no matter what you choose, thank you for being here. Thank you all, Thank you for reading Big Technology! Paid subscribers get our weekly column, breaking news insights from a panel of experts, monthly stories from Amazon vet Kristi Coulter, and plenty more. Please consider signing up here.
© 2024 Alex Kantrowitz |
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