Where is My Mind – Nada Surf
Happy cover Friday everyone!
Original version of this song by the Pixies.
Month: October 2008
Apps or Platform
There have been many debates over the past decade about which is more valuable – the platform or the applications.
The question is about value creation to the user, monetization, differentiation and long term viability.
It was a debate in the desktop OS wars (Microsoft vs Lotus/IBM)
It was a debate in the networking wars. (Microsoft, Novell, Sun etc). Same thing with databases.
It was/is a debate in the social networking context (platform vs apps).
It comes up all the time when thinking about the browser
Same thing with game consoles. Would you rather be EA or Sony? On the flip side, would you rather be Nintendo or a Nintendo developer.
And now Roger is asking the same about Twitter. In his post he asks will Twitter apps or the platform will be more valuable.
It’s a very interesting topic. Few thoughts for now:
First, I’m thrilled that developers are building buisnesses and applications on top of Twitter. Stocktwits is off to a fantastic start. I love it. And there are plenty of other 3rd party apps doing different amazing things that I use every day.
Second, I don’t think it’s easy one to pin down and say one is better than the other. Mainly because i don’t think you can just put one company in a box like that. Think about Google for a second. Platform or application or service. Where do they make their money? How do they help others make money?
The best part about Google is they can make money themselves and they have helped other companies generate new buisness models at the same time. That’s a fantastic model.
Oh, and third, I can’t share Twitter’s plans for monetization just yet. But stay tuned :)
Sing Their Souls Back Home – Billy Bragg
I first fell for Billy Bragg’s music in high school. It immediately struck a chord with me. And it’s stayed with me ever since.
Thanks Om
Great companies have been started during the worst of times
We’ve been hearing this over and over again. And there are plenty of examples
But for some reason, people keep talking about Google as the poster child.
Nice story but it’s just not true. Google was started in 1998.
I’ve been meaning to write this post a few times over the last few weeks but I kept forgetting to do it
I’m glad Om sets the story straight with his post last night.
Thanks Om.
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:mtvmusic.com:233511
I spoke to Cory Levy this afternoon.
He’s a young (17 year old) entrepreneur. I really enjoyed talking to him.
He asked me if I was interested in becoming an entrepreneur when I was that young.
I told him that all wanted to do was work for Apple Computer at the time. But that was only half true.
I really wanted to be a rock star. Just like Roger, Pete, John and Keith.
(grabbed this video from the new MTV music video site)
(Source: http://media.mtvnservices.com/)
Letter To My Son – Bloc Party
Listening to the new bloc party record that just came out. This is my favorite song so far.
Polar Opposites – Modest Mouse
I’ve been in a Modest Mouse mode for the last few days. One of my favorites.
“You are getting old”
Me: Hey, in a few months you are going to be 10 years old.
Sophia: I know. I can’t wait.
Me: And guess what, in a few months I’m going to be 40.
Sophia: Oh. You are getting old.