Social Sharing

This is a particularly interesting topic because everything these days seems to be leaning towards social sharing. Everyone is familiar with Facebook, but have they heard of Facebook connect? It basically is centralizing social networking so that you can log into other websites by using your Facebook account to log in instead of having to create an account with that website.

We are really starting to see social networking in many aspects of technology. Another big example is the iPhone and iTunes. Itunes has recently released their latest version containing a feature called "Ping" where you can share what you are listening to and so on. Also Apple also recently released game center which basically allows networking between different phones running the same app. It will be interesting to watch this in the future.

Change in IT

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/22/roku-launches-revamped-hd-xd-and-xds-players-starting-at-just/?icid=engadget-iphone-url

The above article is about the introduction of the Roku streaming device. Netflix has been a real game changer in the entertainment business and when they introduced instant streaming of movies and tv shows this furthered their innovation. This box will really be great to introduce people into streaming movies over the internet to their tvs. The people that were resistant to change really have no excuse for not getting into the streaming era now. Originally the devices that streamed movies were fairly expensive running about $300 (like the xbox, original Apple TV), but with this device being $59 there is really no excuse for people to not pick one of these devices up and make the change.

Changing Products to Compete in the Markey

Google has recently announced that it is releasing it's device called google TV which will be a big competitor of the Apple TV. The big advancement of the Google device is that it allows you to search the web, which the Apple TV does not. Since I am an Apple Addict this competition is actually a good thing, because that means that to compete with this device Apple will have to follow this trend. So because Google has web browsing Apple will eventually have to add it to be competitive and that is great for the consumer, me. Apple and Google are two large companies that have very different views on products and software. Google is normally quick to release things that have more features than other products that are already on the market. On the other hand Apple tends to release products that are mind blowing and trend setting, but they often lack basic features that people desire and this is where Google jumps in. So this way Apple can sell you three devices instead of one, because each new device adds a feature the original one should have had, but instead you have to buy a whole new device each time to get the features that Google will put in one product the first time it releases. Anyway, however you look at it the competition in the tech market yields better products to the consumer.

Apple Organizational Structure

Apple is a company that has done a great job with centralization, and organizational structure specifically with product development. They have a great development team that is very innovative. The way they are so successful is by keeping their organization very flat and working in small teams. Many people see Apple as such a large company that their new products must be the work of a bunch of people when in fact a lot of their new products and software are developed by one or two individuals. The way they accomplish this is by constantly moving people around and focusing them on projects that are the most urgent. So the guy, thats right one guy, that writes the most of the Apple Apps you see in the App Store will write those apps one day and the next day he might be pulled off to write code for the next Mac OS X update. By moving people around Apple keeps a very flat organizational structure that has proven itself to be very successful. Don't believe me? Check out Apple stock over the last few years and it will speak to you...