On Thursday, at Apple Town Hall auditorium in Cupertino, California, Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down for an interview with a representative of Bloomberg Businessweek. With little fluff, Cook dove right in the Apple business.
You can go to Buisnessweek’s website to read the interview, so I’m not going to talk about everything, but there are some things that intrigued me. To hear Cook tell it, their products aren’t price driven, as in, when they decided to sell the iPhone 5C, they didn’t obsess if this price is low enough.? That’s why we see a price span of $49-$400. It was never their intent to sell a low cost phone, but now I think they’re seeing to he advantage of doing so. They can pass on the lower cost and sale to more consumers. It’s also interesting he compared Toyota to BMWs as far as low cost products are concerned. He even went as far as to call low cost products ‘junk’. Cook ended the interview with the Apple mission people.
Well, in one way, Apple products have enriched people’s lives. Now I’m beginning to wonder does it control people’s lives. After critic after critic bashed the latest iPhone 5C and 5S, they were long lines all over everywhere for this phone. When I went to pay a bill, there was a line there about this phone. It’s amazing people are still into a frenzy over this possible monstrosity. Have we become that brainwashed? I guess if I was there to ask Tim Cook a question is, “What kind of hold do you have over people?”
In 2010, Kevin Systrom dreamt of a revolutionary way to?take and ?share photos and short videos through social media. Instagram was launched. As of September 2013, it has over 150 million active users (those who use it on at least a monthly basis). But wait; there’s more.
Enter Emily White, Instagram’s new Director of Business Operations. She seems dissatisfied with Instagram being just another app. I can see why; it worth at least a billion dollars. Under White’s guidance, advertisers will be allowed and encouraged to use Instagram for commercials. The ads should begin next year; right now it’s just the courting and wooing phase. She and her team are meeting with marketing companies and potential advertisers. In fact, Levi Strauss and Company are having a marketing campaign featuring Instagram. This campaign artist traveling in major cities and uploading pictures on the app. The ad team is looking at Instagram’s Discover app to launch these future commercials.
I say it’s worth a try. I know there are some of you who say social media is already littered with ads. But if that’s what it takes to keep it free for you and me, then I say advertise on! Plus, Instagram is worth billions and has hundreds of millions of viewers. And advertising is a great way to make money, and to show it’s might. It happened with other social media sites, and they can learn lessons from Facebook’s failures. What do you think about Instagram accepting advertisers?
President Barak Obama once said, “We’ve got to have the brightest minds to help solve our biggest challenges.” San Francisco, California attempts to live out that call.
This city is launching the Entrepreneurship-in-Residence program from mid-October to mid-February. People who own technological start-ups or small businesses who can contribute in making their community a better place can still apply. During this four month program, participants can get mentorship and connections from San Francisco government and business leaders. They can attend trainings on working with the government on issues like security and data standards. You can get on a platform and offer your services to local governments. Big time tech companies like Yahoo and Nokia are taking part. This could be the jackpot for many struggling startups and small businesses. They estimate there is up to $142 billion dollars worth of opportunity. The application process is still open. If successful this program will go to Los Angeles next.
You know, I hope this program is successful. Stats don’t lie: some polls have government approval rates as low as 13 percent. People don’t have a high opinion of big business either. If theses two entities can team up and help smaller business prosper and help their neighborhoods prosper, I think people will see them in a different light. San Francisco is a great start, with Silicon Valley being nearby. In the next several years I hope every major city in America has this kind of program. Think about it: it this is successful nationwide, jobs can be created, community relations can be strengthened, and business can prosper. Wouldn’t that solve a lot of city problems?
Detroit, once an American jewel of cars and music, has declared bankruptcy and is now a shell of it’s former self. In Nov. 2011, so did Jefferson County/Birmingham, Alabama. According to some articles and experts, Chicago, San Diego, and Silicon Valley’s own San Jose, CA are on the chopping block. One tech pioneer is trying to do something about it.
Here comes Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and CEO of Square, a service that helps merchants take debit and credit card?payments over smartphones. Starting Aug 29, he’ll be hosting a forum with merchants and small business owners in St. Louim s. St. Louis is Dorsey’s home town and a city that’s struggling on many sides. In the near future, Dorsey plans to host forums in Bronx NY, New Orleans, and Detroit, among other cities.?Focusing on cities that are facing?hard times, he wants to build dialogue and community.?He’s focusing on the small business for two reasons.?One, people actually want to buy locally and keep their dollars in their communities. Two, he recognizes small businesses are the social backbone of?a town, even?major cities. Merchants?can even?use these forums to share their works, sort of like a show and tell for?small business owners. ?Dorsey admit this may not solve all problems, but at least dialogue and plans and a re-building progress can be started.
And I have to agree with him. Think about it: for the longest time, meeting places have always been the local tavern, pizza parlor, salon/barber shop, pool hall, bowling alley, skating ring, coffee shop, etc. Sure, with today’s social media, we can keep virtual contact with anyone anywhere, and that’s a great way to build community. But there comes a time when we all want human contact, and these small businesses allow us that. Plus, I’ve notice a movement going on. I think people are tired of globalization being shoved down their throats. And since so many jobs have been shipped overseas, there’s a hunger for local businesses and an insistence on keeping dollars in the community. Thus, jobs are created, because people need to run and manage these businesses and services. So I say hats off to Jack Dorsey. If these forums come to your town, would you attend?
No, the headline isn’t a typo. Yahoo is #1 in web property, as far as unique visitors per month. Why is this such a tremendous story and feat?
The last time Yahoo was #1 in web property visits, George W. Bush was president, few people had ever heard of Twitter, and the iPhone was in it’s first generation and in it’s infancy. That’s right: March 2008 was the last time Yahoo beat out all competitors in getting first time visitors to their site and keeping overall visitors (although some stats say 2011 was the last time Yahoo was #1, I’m sticking to my March 2008 stat). Google has held this honor for five years running, with Microsoft running a fairly distant third. Also, note that Tumblr, Yahoo’s biggest acquisition, isn’t even included. And they were ranked #28 out of the top 50. So this could be the beginning of a major run.
This also goes to show people that Yahoo’s comeback is real. I was a little skeptical about all these acquisitions and CEO Marissa Meyer changing the office culture, but I must say, it seems to be working. At one time in the past 12 months, stocks were at $14.59. As of today, they’re around double that. Though this is off the subject, I noticed in ’08, Facebook was #15 on the list. Today, it’s #4. Just an observation. Is this a sign Yahoo is coming back, or is this just a one hit wonder?
In much of the country, especially in my circles, the Internet is something taken for granted these days. Then I saw this map. There are nations in which less than 10% of people have Internet access. Even in rising economies like India and China, the number is lower than I thought. There are people and companies trying to change that.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg is leading the charge to make the Internet accessible to those that don’t have it. Samsung, Nokia and Qualcomm are among those helping with this cause. Their tool is called Internet.org. They want to cut the cost of delivering Internet services, through computer or smartphone. They also want to make apps run more efficiently and improve networks to transport data better with less battery power. In one Interview, Zuckerberg claims, “The Internet is such an important thing for driving humanity forward, but it?s not going to build itself.”
On one hand, I applaud these efforts. These days, everyone around the world should have the right to have Internet access. In 2013, the Internet shouldn’t be a privilege, but a right. In many cases, it’s not a luxury, but a necessity. And people should have that choice and opportunity to use online services. But then the cynic in me kick in. There’s a part of me that wonders if this a tool to make more money for these companies. They know developed nations can only give them so much business, and here is a new source of revenue. So why is Zuckerberg and this Internet.org coalition doing this? Is it humanitarian, business, or a bit of both?
