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Stratechery
26 Oct 2026 · 2 min · Original

The open internet may be giving way to software built for one person

Ben Thompson argues that AI makes public self-hosting more dangerous and mass distribution less rewarding—while making tiny, private applications economically possible for the first time.

Stratechery
5 Oct 2026 · 2 min

A hacked Mac exposes the mismatch between app permissions and persistent agents

Ben Thompson’s experience puts a practical question behind Apple’s promised security changes: how should users delegate lasting authority to software that keeps creating new tools?

Stratechery
28 Sept 2026 · 1 min · Original

When agents operate the apps, who owns the customer relationship?

Ben Thompson’s missed essay from 28 September argues that personal agents could turn today’s powerful platforms into interchangeable suppliers.

Stratechery
21 Jul 2015 · 1 min · Original

The internet moved power toward whoever owns the customer relationship

Ben Thompson’s original Aggregation Theory essay explains how abundance can produce powerful intermediaries.

Stratechery · Feed