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I don't think most of his investments are good examples of the power of software. I would point to embedded systems as the best examples (iOS, Android, modern

• notahacker 15y ago
  Agree. When you look at someone like Groupon their competitive advantages are "brand", "voice" and "scale", none of which are technological. Facebook, Twitter and Zynga might depend on really impressive development work to widen their moat; but again their potential for profitability is down to a business development team's ability to sell ads and sew up strategic partnerships. They're selling eyeballs, not tech, and the people shouting Bubble are pointing out that eyeballs are fickle, possibly even more so when placed in front of a computer. Advertisers can find other channels too, especially if they're not getting the ROI they want (given the conservatism of media buyers it might even be a disadvantage that unlike display advertising, Groupon, Facebook and Foursquare campaigns can conclusively be proven not to have worked). You can't really compare FedEx's business model being dependent on software-driven superior logistics management with the public current preferring Facebook to other distractions.