I like the idea.
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September 14, 2009 5:45pm
Subscribe [2]#1 / Sep 14, 2009 5:45pm
I like the idea.
#2 / Sep 17, 2009 11:57am
It takes balls to attack a giant like Google so openly.
But between you and me, the scenario could be much worse. They have full control, but they do not use it in a bad way (from what we know). I prefer them than real crooks!
#3 / Sep 17, 2009 12:23pm
Who’s attacking Google, exactly? That’s a project by Google engineers…
#4 / Sep 17, 2009 4:54pm
Who’s attacking Google, exactly? That’s a project by Google engineers…
It pays to read the fine print. My first thought was the same (too many sites in my RSS list; too many pages); that some group wants to liberate our data from Google. Which is not a bad idea.
An even better idea is that Google is leading the liberation effort.
If there are no fences, people will leave, but only for something better. If what you have is very good, most customers will stay. Many who leave will come back.
#5 / Sep 17, 2009 4:58pm
Yes, it’s all about choice. Only inferior products need to lock people in.
#6 / Sep 17, 2009 5:25pm
Yes, it’s all about choice. Only inferior products need to lock people in.
Sometimes the perspective can be the ‘lock in.’
For example, we often read of Apple ‘locking in’ their iPod and iPhone customers to iTunes. With the exception of FairPlay DRM (not something Apple would prefer to embed, but do so at the behest of media companies), not much is locked in. All my music and movies can go elsewhere rather easily.
Another perspective is the de facto ‘lock in’ which occurs when you buy an iPhone or iPod touch and load it with apps, utilities, and games. People depend on those utilities and apps sufficiently that their use creates a barrier to leaving.
Hence, the Apple ‘Get a Mac’ TV commercial where PC says, “The fear of switching is the foundation of customer loyalty for PCs.”
To go through the pain of switching from product A to product B means that A must really be bad, and/or, B must be better in some valuable way. Not many users switch from Macs to PCs. Usually, the reverse is true. Not many iPhone users switch to anything else. Usually the reverse is true. Yet both platforms are often considered ‘lock in’ by competitors and pundits.
#7 / Sep 17, 2009 5:30pm
For example, we often read of Apple ‘locking in’ their iPod and iPhone customers to iTunes. With the exception of FairPlay DRM ... not much is locked in.
That’s very much open to debate, I think. Apple routinely goes out of its way to break third-party apps that allow users to use other programs but itunes.
Not many iPhone users switch to anything else. Usually the reverse is true. Yet both platforms are often considered ‘lock in’ by competitors and pundits.
I’d switch away from Itunes in a heartbeat. I only use it because I have to in order to fill my iPod.