Apple – The Age of the Platform

Microsoft, Choice, and the Age of the Platform

According to TechCrunch, there will be nine (count 'em, 9) different versions of Windows 8. From the piece: There isn’t a winner here. Microsoft and Apple have different approaches and goals in regards to its desktop operating system. It’s easy to stand on a soapbox and at Redmond, “You’re doing it wrong! No one wants Read More

Platforms Keep Colliding

Amazon may be the single biggest threat to a post-IPO Facebook based on patent issues. Apple rejects iBooks that contain links to Amazon books, as Seth Godin recently discovered. Google's trying to glean user information from Safari users. Apple's integrating Twitter heavily into its next operating system and keeping Facebook at a safe distance. In the Read More

Is Udemy a True Platform?

Just because you claim to be a platform doesn't make it so. Today, let's look at one company and see if it really qualifies as a platform.

Udemy

Udemy ("academy of you") bills itself as an online learning platform. It allows users to create their own courses for which they can charge whatever they want--or nothing at all.

On Platforms and Choice

The CALSTR folks are upset that Facebook's board of directors is comprised of seven white men. There's not enough diversity, they say. That may well be true, but aren't Facebook's current powers that be in the best position to know what's good for Facebook? After all, they have done pretty well so far, right? And what Read More

Understanding Apple’s Success

The results are in and they are beyond impressive. Apple's stock is at an all-time high and the company recently eclipsed Exxon as the world's most valuable company. Note that the last quarter contained 14 weeks, as my friend Mark Cenicola of BannerView pointed out. And you had the holidays. So, maybe things are a little Read More

It’s not the Age of Conscription

Google isn't Wikipedia. It exists to make money--among other reasons. Apple, Amazon, and Facebook don't charge for many of their products and services. Amazon offers many free Kindle books and one can do a great deal of research on its site gratis. Apple gives away free songs and apps. Facebook promises to always remain free for Read More

Netflix and the Age of the Platform

Article first published as Explaining the Troubles of Netflix in the Age of the Platform on Technorati. With the possible exceptions of Yahoo! and HP, no company has struggled more in the last few months than Netflix. While it's been a few weeks since the company backed off of its decision to split its business into two parts, Read More

Why [insert name] Will Win?

Next month's issue of Fast Company isn't really an issue at all. It's four separate issues about why Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google will win the forthcoming tech war. Click here to watch this fascinating five-minute video on these four dynamic companies.

Editor's note: I damn near fell off of the treadmill while watching this at

This Is Not a Tactical Book

Among the endorsements for the new book, my favorite comes from my friend Jay Baer, co-author of The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social. Jay writes:

“Phil Simon sees a forest when the rest of us just see trees. In this compelling mix of research and interpretation, Simon