Mobile Dev Memo Podcast

MobileDevMemo

Mobile Dev Memo is the site of record for mobile advertisers and app developers.

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Avg 53 min
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S7 · E30
Wednesday · 54 min
Season 7, Episode 30: MDM Mailbag #8 (with Thomas Petit)
For the eighth installment of the MDM Mailbag series, I am joined by independent app growth consultant and advisor Thomas Petit. As a reminder: guests for MDM Mailbag episodes of the podcast are practitioners, and questions are sourced directly from the MDM community. Thomas and I discuss the current state of measurement, the necessity of incrementality testing, and the challenges of scaling creative production in an automated environment. We also dive into the technical and ethical considerations of web-to-app funnels, as well as the ongoing legal battles surrounding app store commissions. Among other topics, the questions Thomas fields pertain to: Whether incrementality testing will ever completely replace deterministic last-click attribution models for large-scale mobile advertisers and networks How the proliferation of media mix modeling vendors affects the quality of measurement insights available to smaller app developers Why the mobile industry continues to struggle with ad fraud detection despite the availability of sophisticated third-party verification services If the current trend toward massive creative volume is actually delivering diminishing returns for performance marketing campaigns on Meta What the long-term impact of AI-generated video creative will be on the traditional role of performance marketing creative agencies When the friction of web-to-app onboarding funnels becomes a secondary concern compared to the benefits of merchant flexibility Whether Apple's proposed fifteen percent commission on external links will effectively stifle the growth of independent web-to-app payment ecosystems Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E29
August 19 · 51 min
Season 7, Episode 29: AI's impact on the labor market (with Brian Albrecht)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Brian Albrecht, the Chief Economist at the International Center for Law and Economics. We explore the complex intersection of generative AI and labor economics, alongside a deep dive into the regulatory and economic implications of personalized pricing models. The podcast is tethered to two articles that Brian recently published: You are not a horse, from his Substack, Economic Forces; and Eliminate ‘personal pricing’ and you risk harming consumers, which he published as an op-ed in the Financial Times. Among other things, we discuss: Whether humans will face the same economic obsolescence as horses after the introduction of the internal combustion engine How the redistribution of consumer savings from automated services creates new employment opportunities in diverse service sectors If the historical stability of labor's share of income can survive the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence What long-term productivity gains from previous technological revolutions reveal about the potential economic trajectory of modern AI Why government policy responses to automation might inadvertently hinder productivity by imposing restrictive taxes on data and computation How personalized pricing models actually improve market efficiency by reducing the deadweight loss associated with traditional discounting methods When the public's perception of fairness in pricing conflicts with the economic reality of supply and demand for scarce resources Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E28
August 12 · 47 min
Season 7, Episode 28: Digital Advertising's M&A Resurgence (with Maor Sadra)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Maor Sadra, the co-founder and CEO of INCRMNTAL, to discuss the current cycle of M&A in digital advertising and the industry-wide shift toward intelligence-based measurement. Maor is well-positioned to discuss this topic, as INCRMNTAL was recently acquired by Smartly. Maor and I analyze how acquisitions are moving away from simple inventory reach toward deeper integration of data, identity, and causal signal. Among other things, we discuss: Why causal measurement is becoming a strategic necessity for large-scale creative and media optimization platforms How the transition from legacy to AI-first companies creates opportunities for consolidation across the advertising stack Whether enterprise clients will prioritize deep domain expertise over general machine learning capabilities when selecting partners If the recent investment in AppsFlyer signals a permanent shift toward a collaborative industry-wide attribution infrastructure What the rise of zero-click platforms like ChatGPT means for traditional performance marketing metrics and models How e-commerce and retail media giants are leveraging CTV acquisitions to challenge established advertising platforms When the current wave of AI-labeled startups will face the reality of high-volume performance requirements Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E27
August 4 · 42 min
Season 7, Episode 27: Applying AI to human intimacy (with Offer Yehudai)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Offer Yehudai, the co-founder of Arya, to discuss the intersection of artificial intelligence and human intimacy. We explore the development of AI-driven companions designed to improve relationship health and the delicate balance between automation and human expertise. Among other things, we discuss: Whether the lack of human judgment in AI interactions encourages users to share more intimate personal details Why a hybrid model combining automated intelligence with human oversight remains necessary for maintaining consumer trust in sensitive topics like intimacy What role long-term contextual memory plays in developing sophisticated AI tools that truly understand complex human dynamics If the current explosion of low-quality AI applications will lead to a permanent erosion of consumer confidence How utility app developers can leverage community roll-ups to achieve sustainable growth in a competitive advertising market When the integration of commerce and physical products will become a standard component of digital wellness subscriptions Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E26
July 28 · 48 min
Season 7, Episode 26: Demystifying open source MMM (with Michael Kaminsky)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Michael Kaminsky, co-founder and co-CEO of Recast. We explore the rise of open-source Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) tools and the challenges of measuring modern ad spend. Among other things, we discuss: Whether open-source MMM libraries like Robyn and Meridian are truly unbiased tools or subtle instruments for big tech self-grading How marketers can effectively evaluate the accuracy of MMM outputs through techniques like parameter recovery and predictive forecasting Why smaller, performance-driven brands might actually find more value in last-touch attribution than in complex econometric modeling If the inherent uncertainty in MMM estimates makes them fundamentally incompatible with the fast-paced feedback loops of digital advertising What role generative AI and large language models play in democratizing access to sophisticated marketing data science analysis When a brand should transition from simple attribution methods to a multi-layered approach involving incrementality and econometric modeling How the shift toward CTV and non-trackable channels is forcing a resurgence in probabilistic measurement frameworks like MMM Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E25
July 21 · 46 min
Season 7, Episode 25: Quantifying the impact of AI Overviews on outbound clicks (with Ananya Sen and Saharsh Agarwal)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Ananya Sen and Saharsh Agarwal to discuss their research on the impact of Google's AI Overviews on web publisher traffic. We explore the results of their field experiment, currently in pre-print, which utilized a custom browser extension to measure how generative search results influence outbound clicks and user satisfaction. The results of the field experiment suggest a significant reduction in traffic for certain queries, challenging the narrative that these interfaces only filter out low-quality interactions. We dive into the implications for the broader web ecosystem, including the risks posed to smaller publishers and the role of data licensing deals. Among other things, we discuss: How generative search interfaces might fundamentally alter the symbiotic relationship between search engines and the publishers who provide their data Whether the removal of low-quality clicks truly compensates publishers for the overall decline in traffic driven by AI-generated summaries What happens to smaller publishers when major outlets secure exclusive data licensing deals that prioritize their content in search results Why AI Mode represents a potential endpoint for search that could essentially eliminate outbound traffic for a majority of queries Whether the long-tail of the internet can survive a transition where search engines become information destinations rather than mere conduits Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E24
July 15 · 44 min
Season 7, Episode 24: Understanding rewarded user acquisition (with Tricia Han and Sampsa Jaatinen)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Tricia Han, CEO of Mistplay, and Sampsa Jaatinen, Chief Data and AI Officer at Mistplay, to explore the rapidly evolving world of rewarded user acquisition. We dive into how the rewarded model has matured from a niche Android-focused strategy into a primary growth engine for mobile gaming across both major platforms. Among other things, we discuss: Why rewarded user acquisition has moved from a niche tactic to a cornerstone of modern mobile gaming growth strategies How the shift in Apple's App Store policies regarding incentivized installs has created a new frontier for iOS developers Whether the rich behavioral data sets generated by rewarded platforms provide a significant competitive advantage over traditional ad networks What role machine learning and reinforcement learning play in optimizing the timing and nature of user rewards and recommendations If the play-and-earn philosophy can be successfully exported to non-gaming industries like retail, finance, and quick-service restaurants How the blurring lines between mobile and console gaming will influence the way platforms compete for limited user attention When the industry will fully realize the potential of direct-to-consumer web shops coupled with highly personalized reward mechanisms Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E23
July 8 · 48 min
Season 7, Episode 23: Building ad tech for the chatbot era (with Tal Shoham)
We discuss the transition of AI-native applications toward ad-supported monetization models. Among other things, we cover: Whether AI-native apps will follow the mobile gaming trajectory by adopting hybrid monetization models to reach massive global audiences How the high operational costs of AI inference necessitate a move toward ad-supported tiers to maintain sustainable profit margins Why the granular intent signals captured in LLM conversations offer a superior alternative to traditional search-based advertising targeting mechanisms What new native ad formats will emerge to integrate seamlessly into AI workflows without disrupting the core user experience When the venture capital funding environment will demand more disciplined monetization strategies from AI startups over pure user growth How established ad-tech infrastructure from the mobile gaming era can be adapted to serve the unique needs of AI developers Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
July 3 · 2 hr 53 min
The Prosperous Society
The Prosperous Society is a three-hour, four-part series by Eric Seufert of Mobile Dev Memo that explores the political economy of artificial intelligence, grounded in the liberal tradition of the Western canon. Framed as an extended response to John Kenneth Galbraith's The Affluent Society, which serves as the intellectual foil for the series, The Prosperous Society makes the case that AI is not principally a story about intelligence, but about economics: it represents a progressive technological revolution that shifts the binding constraint on economic growth from production to distribution. In doing so, it redefines the role of digital advertising as the coordination infrastructure of an increasingly personalized economy. Last summer, when I began outlining The Prosperous Society, I set out to write an economic defense of artificial intelligence to serve as ballast for more pessimistic narratives. It was originally intended to be a short book. I pivoted to the podcast format when those narratives reached fever pitch earlier this year because I wanted to respond quickly and release new episodes on a regular cadence. But The Prosperous Society evolved into something broader: a defense of liberal political economy in the age of artificial intelligence. Over the course of three hours, I develop that thesis through four linked but distinct arguments: Part 1: Why AI makes distribution more important than production. Part 2: Why autonomous commerce is a false ideal. Part 3: Why personalization changes the economics of the long tail—and of identity itself. Part 4: Where the moral boundary lies between AI that expands freedom and AI that robs us of it. If the series succeeds, I hope it provides a rigorous intellectual case for why AI, if properly constrained and thoughtfully applied, can reaffirm the liberal tradition of Western political economy while helping to usher in one of the great periods of economic expansion in human history.
S7 · E22
June 30 · 45 min
Season 7, Episode 22: Quantifying the advertising value of cookies (with Garrett Johnson and Shunto Kobayashi)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Garrett Johnson and Shunto Kobayashi, professors at Boston University who have co-authored a paper titled "Can privacy technologies replace cookies? Ad revenue in a field experiment." The paper quantifies the impact of Google's Privacy Sandbox on publisher revenue, user experience, and market competition through a field experiment conducted in collaboration with Raptive, a digital advertising management platform. Our conversation highlights the specific challenges faced by the digital advertising ecosystem as it moves away from traditional identifiers and toward a new, more restrictive privacy regime. Among other things, we discuss: How the loss of third-party cookies specifically affects regional markets with stricter privacy regulations like the European Union If the adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies like the Privacy Sandbox could truly bridge the revenue gap created by the deprecation of cookies What role browser vendors should play in establishing technical guarantees that satisfy both regulators and advertising stakeholders Why the industry tends to respond to identity restrictions by developing more complex identifiers instead of contextual alternatives When the concentration of traffic toward larger platforms will reach a tipping point for small-scale content creators How the removal of personalization features on platforms like YouTube serves as a blueprint for future privacy-driven market shifts We also cover another paper by Garrett Johnson, "COPPAcalypse? The Youtube Settlement's Impact on Kids Content." Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E21
June 24 · 49 min
Season 7, Episode 21: The AppsFlyer investment and the new dynamics of mobile attribution (with Olivia Kory)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Olivia Kory, the CMO of Haus, to discuss the recent $1BN investment in AppsFlyer by Meta, Google, Unity, and Moloco, and the shifting landscape of mobile measurement it portends. We explore the strategic motivations behind major ad platforms banding together to ensure measurement neutrality and how the industry is moving toward more sophisticated incrementality models. Among other things, we discuss: Why a consortium of major ad platforms decided to invest in a major mobile measurement partner at this time How the tension between platform-owned measurement tools and independent third-party services will influence advertiser trust moving forward Whether the failure of Apple’s SKAdNetwork to provide actionable insights has forced the industry back toward traditional attribution If the entry of private equity into the measurement space changes the long-term incentives for data neutrality and transparency What the rise of connected television as a performance channel reveals about the limitations of current mobile measurement frameworks When advertisers should prioritize long-term incrementality testing over the immediate gratification of last-click attribution data in their dashboards Whether the consolidation of ad tech assets under single entities creates a conflict of interest that ultimately hurts performance Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E20
June 17 · 37 min
Season 7, Episode 20: Shopify as a marketing operating system (with Venkat Prabhu)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Venkat Prabhu, Director of Product for Shop Campaigns at Shopify, to discuss the platform's evolution into a comprehensive marketing operating system for eCommerce merchants. We explore the major announcements from Shopify's Spring Editions, specifically focusing on how the platform leverages commerce data and AI to simplify advertising for businesses of all sizes. Among other things, we discuss: How AI-driven automation empowers small businesses to participate in the digital marketing ecosystem Whether centralized platforms like Shopify can solve the persistent problem of cross-channel attribution If risk-free advertising models will become the standard for merchants entering the digital economy Why the integration of commerce data into advertising algorithms creates a unique competitive moat What happens when a commerce platform evolves into a holistic marketing operating system How deep integration with AI agents like ChatGPT will redefine discovery for online shoppers Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
June 10 · 47 min
Season 7, Episode 19: Can AI Save Journalism? (with Peter Stuart)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Peter Stuart, the co-founder of Velora, an AI operating system for specialist publishers. Peter returns to the podcast to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of AI in journalism and to explore how editorial teams are integrating these tools into their daily operations. Among other things, we cover: How AI tools like LLMs can effectively augment journalistic research and fact-checking processes without compromising editorial integrity If the increasing efficiency of AI content pipelines will ultimately diminish the perceived value of human-led investigative reporting Why some media organizations remain hesitant to integrate AI while others aggressively leverage it for content curation and distribution When the line between AI-assisted writing and pure machine generation becomes indistinguishable to the average consumer of digital news How AI platforms can help journalists reclaim time for high-value reporting by automating mundane administrative and formatting tasks Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E18
June 4 · 48 min
Season 7, Episode 18: Understanding Amazon's advertising advantages (with Adam Epstein)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Adam Epstein, the co-founder and CEO of Gigi, to talk about Amazon’s strategic advertising advantages. Among other things, we discuss: The value of Amazon’s deterministic identity spine, which spans ninety percent of US households Whether Amazon can successfully transition its e-commerce data dominance into non-endemic categories like automotive and pharmaceutical services The risks faced by independent demand side platforms like Trade Desk as tech giants internalize inventory What role agencies will play in a future where AI agents manage cross-channel programmatic media buying autonomously When shoppable TV transitions from a niche consumer behavior to a primary driver of performance marketing results How the integration of Amazon’s retail data with AI chatbots might permanently displace traditional search-based product discovery Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E17
May 27 · 53 min
Season 7, Episode 17: The New Economics of Building an Audience (with Danny Frankel)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Danny Frankel, the founder of Punchup Live, a digital platform and ticketing ecosystem built for stand-up comedians. We explore how the economics of content distribution and audience building are being fundamentally rewritten. Danny provides a unique perspective on the shifting landscape of social media, the rise of clipping farms, and the digitization of live entertainment markets. Among other things, we discuss: How clipping farms and Discord communities are distorting organic distribution algorithms for independent creators across social media platforms Whether the extreme efficiency of AI-driven content recommendation engines is leading to user burnout and eventual platform rejection Why the traditional touring model is inverted for comedians compared to musicians and how that affects audience building strategies What the phenomenon of blue dot fever reveals about shifting consumer behavior and transparency in the secondary ticketing market If the current fragmentation of the live entertainment ecosystem prevents artists from accurately predicting and capturing true market demand How the lack of audience portability across major social platforms forces creators to adopt direct-to-fan communication tools like email When the innovator's dilemma will force legacy platforms to choose between advertiser needs and the long-term health of creators Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising.
May 19 · 47 min
The Prosperous Society, Part 4: Per commercium virtus
The Prosperous Society is a podcast series by Mobile Dev Memo that articulates an AI Bull Thesis for the digital economy. It argues that the pervasive application of AI to the digital economy will be broadly economically expansionary, leading to increased individual prosperity, expanded consumer choice, and greater human agency. In Episode 4, the conclusion to the series, I outline the AI-enabled flywheel to the Prosperous Society and make the case that it results in a more differentiated, more personalized, and economically expansive new digital economy: AI increases productive possibility, and Advertising increases matching precision, and Matching precision increases specificity, and Specificity increases expressive individuality, so Society becomes more differentiated, not less. But I also consider the existence of an acceptable boundary for this personalization. At what point do siloed, wholly unique digital experiences become corrosive to social cohesion? And how should that boundary inform the investments that are currently being made into AI infrastructure, such that they are put to the best possible use? Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts
S7 · E16
May 13 · 44 min
Season 7, Episode 16: AI and video games (with Julian Togelius)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Julian Togelius, a professor of computer science at NYU and director of the NYU Game Innovation Lab. We delve into how games serve as the perfect sandbox for AI development, the potential for generative tools to revolutionize production workflows, and how the future of play might involve infinite, procedurally generated worlds that adapt to every player's unique style. Among other things, we discuss: How AI researchers leverage the inherent fun and learning mechanisms within video game environments Whether the financial markets function as a complex game requiring the same reinforcement learning strategies used in digital play If consumer backlash against AI-generated assets will ultimately give way to the promise of faster and more ambitious development cycles What possibilities exist for truly open-ended games that utilize real-time world generation to create infinite, personalized player journeys How the role of the game developer shifts toward system architecture and critical thinking as coding becomes increasingly automated When and if world models will transition from impressive tech demos to foundational tools for interactive entertainment Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising.
S7 · E15
May 5 · 1 hr 7 min
Season 7, Episode 15: The modern mobile gaming economy (with Phil Black)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Phil Black, one of the co-hosts of the Game Economist Cast, a podcast dedicated to game economy design, and a consultant with Game Economist Consulting. Previously, Phil held game economist and analytics roles at Amazon Games, DICE, and Scopely. Phil is also a panelist on the This Week in Games (TWIG) podcast. Phil joins me on this episode to examine the shifting dynamics of the mobile gaming economy, from the consolidation of high-revenue genres to the strategic adoption of AI and direct-to-consumer models. Among other things, we discuss: How the concentration of mobile gaming revenue into puzzle and 4X genres reshapes the competitive landscape for independent developers Whether the integration of hyper-casual mechanics into core loops represents a fundamental evolution of the modern mobile gaming economy Why the transition from visual AI outputs to deep personalization remains the primary value proposition for future game monetization What the divergence between Android and iOS installation gates reveals about the health of the global mobile marketing ecosystem If the rise of third-party web shops and direct-to-consumer models can effectively counteract the platform fees of major stores How the emergence of warbonds and sampling-based monetization strategies signals a shift away from traditional battle pass reward structures When the mobile gaming industry will move beyond post-ATT recovery strategies Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify
S7 · E14
April 28 · 52 min
Season 7, Episode 14: Re-evaluating agentic commerce (with Andrew Lipsman)
On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Andrew Lipsman to discuss the evolving landscape of agentic commerce and retail media. Andrew is an independent analyst and consultant who runs the Media, Ads + Commerce blog, which covers the retail media landscape. Prior to this, Andrew held roles at eMarketer and comScore. This is Andrew's third appearance on the podcast. In our conversation, Andrew and I take stock of the evolution of the concept of agentic commerce since we last spoke six months ago, moving from the initial hype of autonomous AI agents to a more grounded reality of AI-assisted shopping experiences. Our conversation examines the failure of independent instant checkout experiments, the strength of established retail ecosystems like Amazon and Walmart, and the emerging opportunities in performance television and in-store digital advertising. Among other things, we discuss: Whether the failure of instant checkout experiments signals a permanent preference for direct retailer relationships over AI intermediaries How the paradox of choice and the need for basket building hinder the efficiency of single-option agentic transactions If the success of Amazon's Rufus proves that AI utility belongs on retail platforms rather than independent LLM interfaces Why the western market's fragmented ecosystem makes the development of a Chinese-style shopping super app highly improbable What the massive investment in AI infrastructure means for the competitive landscape against established giants like Amazon and Google When performance TV and in-store retail media will finally become a core priority for brand-focused chief marketing officers How Shopify's role as an audience network might evolve as direct-to-consumer brands seek diversification beyond Meta and Google Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify
April 21 · 41 min
The Prosperous Society, Part 3: The Collapse of the Pareto Principle
The Prosperous Society is a podcast series by Mobile Dev Memo that articulates an AI Bull Thesis for the digital economy. It argues that the pervasive application of AI to the digital economy will be broadly economically expansionary, leading to increased individual prosperity, expanded consumer choice, and greater human agency. In Episode 3, I make the case that artificial intelligence stands to erode the Pareto Principle as it applies to production, as AI-enabled distribution efficiencies will enable firms to reach niche, specific audiences profitably. This will result in a wider diversity of goods being produced, creating a compounding effect on economic expansion and allowing consumers to better explore and define their own preferences and tastes. Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast: ⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on. Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics. ⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising. The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on: Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts

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