Wednesday, July 25, 2007

CNN-YouTube Primary Debate

A few days ago, democratic presidential hopefuls took the stage in South Carolina for a debate sponsored by CNN and YouTube in which all of the questions were submitted by users of YouTube. I wonder if this is a one off or if we are going to see more of these web/TV join activities. The quality of the videos were not good, this will be fixed next time in 4 years for sure. By then, the entire debate might be only on YouTube. In the meantime, YouTube could become the media of choice for developing democracies as a platform for expression. You can block a website, but you can't block a wireless network without significantly impacting your own communications and economy. Digital content will find a way out to the open.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Apple reinvents the phone

People have lined up in front of Apple stores all around the country to get their hands on Apple's new device, the iPhone. There are many things that make the iPhone a truly innovative device and much has been written about it already. I'm really interested in seeing how Apple can work with the developer community to create new applications for the iPhone. This has the potential to create a significant ecosystem and get innovative applications quickly. What Apple has been able to achieve with the iPhone is no small feat. It is incredibly hard to line up gorgeous design, cutting edge hardware, and flawless software together. Apple has been able to achieve this because they control all the elements. It is even harder when you only control software for instance.

Apple is moving in the same direction as Google to better control the user experience.
At the same time RIM, the smart phone leader, hasn't come up with anything close to this kind of innovation. A blackberry phone with a simple messaging application is going to look very bad very quickly compared to an iPhone. RIM and Nokia should be afraid, very afraid of this new product.