And You Hate Microsoft Because?

There’s a little regarded saying that goes “those who fail to learn history are destined to repeat”, which can only mean that Bill Gates has never heard of John D. Rockefeller. Back in John’s day, the late 1800s to the early 1900s, the most feared and hated company in America, and the world, just happened to be the one he controlled. In the Economist article, Professor George David Smith of NYU’s Stern School of Business, states:

“Throughout our history we don't mind that people become rich but we do mind that people become powerful. Standard Oil had the first real problem with that among public companies."

Jump to the present, and John D has been replaced by Bill G.

"Type “hate Bill Gates” into Google even now, and you will probably get over 15,000 hits. Type “love Bill Gates”, and on a good day (for Mr Gates) you may get 2,000."

But no matter how much people despise Billy G, or his products, Mr. Softie's actions are princely compared to those of the one modern day company which came to be dispised the old fashioned way: it earned it. Of course, I'm talking about Enron. From there, the jump to WalMart is more of a hop, or even a shifting of the weight. Nevertheless, Microsoft and WalMart, much like Standard Oil, provide goods and services that people want, or even feel they need. Cannot fault the companies for being there for its consumers, can we? No, but, as Prof. Smith said, we can certainly hate them for getting too powerful. Maybe Aussie rules should apply when America's poppies grow too tall.

Shifting the Risk

On the topic of lower valuations attached to venture-backed biotech companies at the time of their initial public offering, one VC, Lowell Sears of Sears Capital Management, came up with one of quotes of the year: "IPO's are no longer liquidity events, they are financing events." Can this be another sign that the VC industry is reverting to the mean in terms of both the amount of work that goes into a company's development and the money made on exit, even if that latter mean has moved up on the scale? The IPO is simply another financing round in a long-term business strategy, not the end-game in the world of small business development seems to be the point.

Playlists from the Long Tail

The depth and breadth of the music the iPod is capable of putting at one's fingertips is revolutionary, and this year, the rest of the world caught on. Yes, there have been and are available other MP3 players with more features, but let's face it: none of the others has achieved a market penetration on par with the iPod, or been nearly as successful at convincing You that you need to have your entire music collection close at hand. There are those that dismiss out of hand the very notion of having a vast collection of music to enjoy whenever and where ever. (They are usually the ones without any form of MP3 player, let alone one of the overpriced offerings from Apple.) I discount their opinions at the appropriate rate, and I pitty them their unwillingness to evolve. I mean, where would we be if the monkeys hadn't started messing around with the sticks? The proper uses of tools can help us grow, and among the many thus far discovered with respect to the iPod, my current favorite is the Long Tail Playlist. It's funny how the use of this tool helped me to travel back in time!

One of the most difficult things I've encountered since I got my shiny new iPod involves the construction of a Playlist. At first, the similarity between the initial playlists was comically tragic, particularly given the amount of music I have loaded on the device. Some even had the same first three songs in the same order! What's the point? Perhaps, once the number and variety of playlists has developed can one allow oneself to do such a thing. Probably not. The solution? iTunes, obviously. (Or p2p for those less encombered by, shall we say,... Nevermind.)

I had discovered the "crack" in Apples plans for the consumer. (Any coincidence this thing is 'as white as snow'? Just asking. I rediscovered songs I had not listened to since before my college days, let alone during them! I reconstituted mix tapes I used to loop for hours at a time. I downloaded songs from one hit wonders (even the ones I was never crazy about). I went LOOKING for stuff to download. Then I started looking at the receipts. Yeah... I better introduce some discipline to this process. So I set myself a max number of downloads per session. (If I get up and move away from the computer to have diner, then come back afterwards, that counts as TWO sessions, n'est-ce pas?) If you've read down this far, you know exactly what I'm talking about: iTunes is crack for the iPod. Who's yer daddy?

One of the benefits to come out of this, as I said, is the reaquaintance with music long forgotten or no longer on hand or only available on a cassette tape. One of the gems I 'rediscovered' for myself was the British duo known as Curve. I have yet to let a day go by when my Curve Acious playlist is not pumping through my 'buds. In fact, later I will do a post on Curve and other music I've pulled from the Long Tail thanks to my willingness to evolve and get an iPod. -- Shot out to the monkeys! Holla back!

iChristmas

Christmas 2005 will most likely go down in history as the one marking the resurgence of Apple in the hearts of the electronics consumer. Perhaps, in some history textbook not yet written, let alone in anyone's in box, it will be referred to as the iChristmas.

On iChristmas morning, Eden had one of her most wanted items waiting for her under the tree: her new iPod shuffle. After I had finished loading some songs on it, I sat at the computer a bit longer, enjoying a lazy morning, sipping a second cup of coffee, reading the news from around the crazy world. About half an hour later, I saw my little girl as if she were on the verge of being iPoded into an ad!

Though she had on the customary Christmas colors of red and black, the iPod-white cords of the headphones and lanyard really popped out from the colorful canvas of her clothing, suggestively muting the red of her top, making themselves seem to glow with bright-whiteness. It must be said, those white cords really stood out! My immediate thought was about how different the world of this 9 year old is from the one I inhabited at her age.

Happy Holidays.

I'm Sorry, Could You Repeat That, Only A Little Louder?

Be careful about what you say, someone may be listening. It seems the reports of the Total Information Awareness program's demise were indeed premature. Just as I said when the spin about TIA's death began to hit the MSM, 'there is no way this administration will let a program as rich in information as this be sidelined.' Hate to say 'I told you so', but... (Actually, I do like to say it, but that's not the point.)

Will the Record Companies Ever Change? Yes, Under New Management

I find it absolutely amazing that payola persists between the record companies and radio stations. Is it any wonder that the vast majority of music heard on mainstream radio is so damn dull? Not to besmirch anyone's taste in music, or engage in playlistism, but when I turn on the 'popular'(with whom?) radio stations it sounds to me as if the executives are making decisions on what should receive radio airtime guided, by and large, by the amount of money their firm has sunk into the development of the lackluster 'artist' of the day.

Now the scales seem to be falling from the eyes of the nation's law enforcers (that is, if the actions of New York's Attorney General help the other 49 to get a clue), allowing them a clearer vision of the large record companies attempts to stiffle (i.e., control) the ebb and flow of digital music's movements. Given the enormous popularity of the iPod and iTunes, it will be interesting to see how much attention this receives in the MSM beyond blurbs like to one above from Reuters. Perhaps the involvement of the NY Attorney General's Office will help in popularizing it, given what that office has accomplished in other fields, but this story deserves attention in its own right. Digital music may no longer be in its infancy, but I believe it still has a long way to go, and the number of possible routes it may take on its journey would only be reduced if the large record companies are given free rein to control the drawing up of the map.

So, this is what its all about then, is it?

We're just a few days, actually a couple, before Christmas , and I've decided the time has come to share my special talents with the world, and when I come across them, I shall do just that. I don't remember who said words to the effect that "A gift not shared with the world is a gift wasted", or something in that general vane, but the words, no matter their particular order, have stuck with me just the same. (Don't ya just love Snapple? Refreshing and educational. Deep.) In the interim, while I give long, deep and serious thought to which of my abilities might, when viewed from the right angle, with a soft focus lens, maybe some 1930s Hollywood mood lighting, possibly be considered a talent, I thought it might be a hoot to kick off my first blog! I'll experience the vicarious from a new perspective, what? Until such time as the deep contemplations have produced a family-friendly talent (or talents even:) to share, I can, at the very least, share one, two or four thoughts with the cyberworld. Baby steps, my friends. Baby steps.