Lumpy's Corner

Lumpy, however, feels there is something much, much greater going on here. No offense to David intended but there is something much greater going on here. Corporations, and any other business for that matter, have always tried to lever for position. This is nothing new. Microsoft did it during the browser wars. What I feel is occurring that is much greater than leverage.

Leo mentioned the fact that we are in a computer renaissance at present. This is very much true and a very good analogy. Just as the printing press brought about a new era of information sharing, the world wide web has done it anew. Google, almost undeniably, has been instrumental in it. Google has, at the very least, considerably fueled the fire. They are not merely gaining consumers but they are, in fact, arming them in a new revolution.

Leverage is an attempt to outwit and/or maneuver your competitors for market share. Bill Gates did that rather well. He practically forced his product on the consumer. Google is doing things a bit more egalitarian. They are masters of finding out what the consumer wants and giving it to them. With the information super-duper-highway that is the new game.

More information means more choices. More choices means more voice and more power. Thus the revolt has begun. A more egalitarian consumer democracy is upon us.

A few decades back us consumers could only take what was available and we would have to read printed material for better information as to what was available. Our only other source of electronic info was Mr. Cronkite on the evening news. In reality, a very select few; your librarian, teacher and news program director were in control of what information was available.

Now things are much different and, in fact, the tables have turned. This past Sunday 3 of the 6 local network channels featured infomercials. We have rebelled.

The program directors of the networks and cable companies are desperately seeking viewers. Some have gotten smart and make shows downloadable. Others, in the Spirit of RIAA and MPAA, are turning into professional lobbyist and hiring lawyers in an attempt to force things on the consumer.

The libraries are now turning to Google to digitize things, well the progressive ones anyhow. The others are now closed on Sundays and screaming about copyright violations.

Now that we have more information through cable, satellite and internet, we have more choices. We will gravitate to what we want. That is the simplest of consumer behavior. It is less and less a marketing game. It is more and more of a meet the needs game.

Currently, technology does play a role. Microsoft is smart in placing a lot of chips on phone technology. In the long run though, it will be placing chips on consumer desires. Google is very good about this. Gates may well be right about Apple not remaining dominant in the music business but is it not the fact that Apple dominates the current MP3 scene because they identified with the consumer needs before Microsoft?

Google is proactively meeting the needs of the consumer. Apple proactively met the needs of the MP3ers out there. Microsoft reactively dealt with spyware and, in the near future, XML. (Future versions of Office will store documents in XML.)

So yes, Google is leveraging but in a manner conducive to today's new environment. Microsoft, in the recent past, could lever by making its product exclusive. The consumer never really desired that but had few options. Competition changes all of that.

Now do not misinterpret what I am trying to say. Google is leverageing but, more and more, that will equate to adapting to the consumers needs. As informations flows quicker and quicker, this will be the name of the game. Since we do not want to "go" to the library our needs are, more and more, having someone bring it to us.