Outside Innovation

Apple’s iPad: Just Good Enough to Transform the Publishing/Media Industries

My quick take on the iPad, based on the video footage of Steve Jobs’ announcement, is that it is a transformational device. I believe that the iPad will transform the publishing industry. Magazine and newspaper publishers are breathing a sigh of relief. The iTunes/iPhone model of delivering content encourages people to pay for subscriptions or by the issue. On the Web, publishers worry about charging for content. But once the content is downloadable on a mobile, portable device, people seem to be more willing to pay for it. Steve Jobs pioneered paying for music through iTunes. Jeff Bezos made it work for digital books. Steve Jobs will now do it for newspapers and magazines.

The other good news for book publishers is that Apple’s eReader (iBook) uses the ePub format. Book publishers have already begun to standardize on ePub as their e-format of choice. ePub formats are accepted on a wide variety of e-Readers, so content providers won’t have to publish in a different format for each platform.

  My earlier hope, based on Don Nicholas of Mequoda’s prediction that Apple and Amazon would strike a deal to allow Kindle eBooks to be read on the iPad, did not come to fruition. At least not yet. But remember that all iPhone apps will work on the iPad, and there is already a Kindle app for the iPhone. So, you WILL be able to have both your Kindle books and your iBooks on the iPad. While I’m sure that the iPad will seriously damage sales of the single-function, less-sexy Kindle, it may not eat too far into sales of Amazon e-books.

How the iPad Fits into Our Lives. A lot of people are wondering whether consumers need yet another device with yet another form factor. My take is that the iPad will be the device of choice for leisure activity. We’ll use it at home, on airplanes, and on camping trips.

I envision my iPad sitting on the coffee table, next to my favorite chair, with the latest issues of all of my favorite magazines. In fact, I suspect that I will read a lot more magazines on the iPad than I do in paper form. Why? Because they’ll come alive. Magazines will no longer be flat. They’ll be interactive—the way they are on a Web site—but with greater intimacy and sex appeal due to the high resolution screen and the full motion high def video, combined with the interactivity of social media. Steve Jobs describes it as “holding the Internet in your hands.”

I predict that many households will wind up with several iPads, just the way we now have multiple cell phones and laptops—one for each person. In fact, I am worried about the impact on family life. Instead of sitting together to watch a movie or TV show, family members will be sprawled on their separate couches or chairs, each person watching their own personal movie or show, probably with earphones on. On the other hand, gaming will be another killer app for the iPad, so perhaps instead of each watching our individual shows, we’ll play more games together.

Will we use it for business? Probably. In particular, I suspect we’ll use it for online meetings. Instead of sitting at our desks and staring at a computer. We’ll relax in a comfortable chair on the deck and participate in productive meetings.

As someone who already owns an Apple/Windows laptop, an iTouch, a Blackberry, a cell phone, and a Kindle, I know I’ll be buying an iPad too. Then it will be interesting to see which device(s) I gravitate to the most.

Like the rest of the pundits, I was appalled that Steve Jobs apparently made the mistake of continuing his exclusive agreement with AT&T. I hope it expires soon. In the meantime, I’ll use my iPad with Wifi and avoid paying additional connectivity costs. I can’t wait!

The REAL Reason that Google has Lost China

Amid the flurry of punditry and posturing that has surrounded Google's decision to pull its search business out of China and its accusations of hacking by the Chinese, there's another story. Non-elite Chinese people don't find Google's search (or its other services) useful. Google has failed to gain a foothold in the Chinese market because Google hasn't paid attention to making it easy for Chinese customers to use its search engine or its tools.

 
                            Image: from Tricia Wang

The best "on the ground" explanation of how Google has screwed up in China, comes from Tricia Wang's blog Cultural Bytes. Tricia is an ethnographer who has been working with urban migrants in China. In her fascinating blog post, entitled: "My Suggestions for Making Google Services more Relevant for Non-Elite Chinese Users (Involves Some Ethnography)", Tricia points to three reasons why the Chinese don't use Google:

1. They don't know how to find it (or pronounce its name)!

Tricia writes:

"People didn’t even know how to correctly pronounce and agree on the pronunciation of the name “Google.” When I was with a group of 5 youth, I asked them if they used Google, instead of getting an answer we launched into a 10 minute conversation trying to figure out the correct name.....people were unsure of how to type in the name “Google” on the computer keyboard......IF youth did get to Google’s site successfully by either typing in the name correctly or going to Google.com, Gogle.COM, or Guge.COM/CN, it would usually be on their 5th or 7th or even 8th try - that is if they hadn’t given up yet and by then it was just clear that they were doing it because I had asked them to show me how to get to the Google site. It was quite obvious that going to the Google site was never part of their internet routine"

2. They feel a sense of identity and nationalistic pride in using Baidu (the native Chinese search engine)

"Part of Baidu’s success lies in its successful marketing campaign against Google, using nationalism as one of their publicity strategies. It’s been working well. The campaign is so effective that netizens associate the use of Google with being unpatriotic....Another way that Baidu has had an advantage over Google is that Chinese and Hong Kong TV programming will show screen-shots of Baidu when they refer to the internet. Most recently I watched a a show on the Phoenix Channel (Hong Kong based) on January 22nd that showed several screen-shots of how Baidu helped a kidnapped child reunite with his biological parents after 12 years of separation. There are so many stories that talk about how the internet, as symbolized by Baidu, has helped citizens in everyday life."

3. Google doesn't understand their messaging culture

"Youth didn’t see how any of the services offered by Google were easier to use than the ones that they were already using. This is because Google operates in an e-mail paradigm while other services operate in a messenger paradigm..a youth asked me, ” how do you leave pictures and messages for others?” I would say, “just send them an email.” But here’s the thing - youth don’t have to send emails when they are using MSN Messenger. There’s a major disconnect in communication culture. Messenger-like services don’t operate on an email paradigm. QQ and MSN users can go to a friend’s MSN Live profile or QQ box to leave a message or post a photo. You can check on each friend’s page to see their last update."

Google Hasn't Made an Effort to Understand How Normal Chinese Use the Internet

While it's true that Baidu has received preferential treatment by the Chinese government and on the airwaves, it's also clear that Google has itself to blame for not coming up with a name that people can remember. You would also think that a company as rich as Google could have invested in observing the habits and norms of its target audience in China. Tricia Wang's observations and insights are incredibly valuable. Too bad Google didn't do some ethnography of its own in a market as important as China!

Innovations in Haitian Relief & Rescue

Global/Local Coordination for Haitian Relief and Rescue Efforts

The disaster in Haiti has galvanized all of us. Among the harrowing news reports are all the difficulties in coordinating relief and rescue efforts and getting aid to people in need. Just this morning (Jan. 20), I was reading a press release from Doctors without Borders that its plane containing 12 tons of life-saving medical supplies has been turned away three times from the Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday, despite assurances of its ability to land. 

The logistical and coordination issues are truly daunting. I’ve been trying to visualize how all the different aid groups who are on the ground have been able to coordinate their efforts, particularly since there is no electricity, phone systems are down, and the mobile phone systems have been severely compromised.

Yet, you see occasional calls for help coming from the few people who do have working messaging, like the Parisian who received a text message from a relative who was still buried under the rubble and was able to alert emergency workers. How is that being done, I wondered?

Making it Easy for People on the Ground to Submit Incident Reports

It appears that in addition to the formal communication networks (mostly satellite phones) and the information-sharing protocols among emergency aid providers, there is an ecosystem of open source emergency information systems staffed by volunteers around the world that is being actively used. People in need submit requests for help; people on the ground who have updated information about resources or logistics submit reports. All of this is done via SMS, email, Web, and/or Twitter. At first, reports were coming through Internet channels only. “All of the Haitian mobile phone networks have been down, which means our reports are mainly coming through the data channels (internet). Web reports, email and Twitter are the primary ways we’ve been getting them.” (Patrick Meier/Ushahidi). Within a few days, the Ushahidi team was able to procure an SMS short code--4636--and to disseminate it throughout Haiti (over the radio, among rescue workers, etc.) so that, as the mobile phone network is coming back up, people can use the code to SMS their requests and updates.

These reports are processed in real time to validate the information; geocode the location; and map it, translate, and clarify the message and log the requests and/or updates.

The home page of: Haiti.Ushahidi.com shows the Incidents Reports between Jan. 12th and Jan. 21st. Each one is categorized and mapped.       

Victims, reporters, and rescue workers can submit reports using any of these means:

• In Haiti, SMS to 4636 or internationally to +447624802524
• Send e-mail to [email protected]
• Online at http://haiti.ushahidi.com/reports/submit
• Via Twitter with hash tag #haiti or #haitiquake

The reports are collected and translated in real time by volunteers, including 10,000 Haitian volunteers, mostly from the Haitian diaspora. The messages are coded by type (food, water, medical supplies, people trapped, medical emergency, news about people) as well as geo-coded. Then they are pushed back out via SMS, email, RSS feeds, etc. to organizations and individuals on the ground in Haiti. 

I just subscribed to these alerts on Wednesday, Jan 20th, and here are a few of the 35 messages I received in just two hours:

• MARTINE PIERRE IS STILL SENDING MESSAGES ! SHE IS ALIVE UNDER THE RUBBLES AT UNIVERSITE CARAIBES located in DELMAS 29. THere are students that are still alive as well! SEND HELP.

• Innocent Renar - 27 year old is dying like most of the population in Haiti... we have used all our resources! and came to an end. Yesterday we managed to bring him to the French hospital (in Bellevue) and they dumped him back to the Hopital General this morning. He needs to have a dialasys done ASAP or he will die. Internal bleeding and cardiac arrest this morning, his blood is now intoxicated , he hasn't urinated since last Wednesday!!!.. please help him... please he needs to get to that hospital boat arriving tomorrow or be evacuated to the US..Is there anything you can do to save another life?? plz plz plz .. we are desperate...... please contact Lionel @ 3 454 0419 or Sandra 718 810 4628

• Daphney Sylvestre still trapped and alive in car in Carrefour Mahotiere#28 SW

• WFPlogistics so clos 2 airprt, can u help get help? 18°35'36.24"N, 72°16'40.37"W Othopedic clinic,needs narcotics,IV antibiotics,diesel,gas

• Riviere Froide has a collapsed school with more than 100 kids trapped. Is up a river valley that comes out at Carrefour. #haiti

• About 130 trucks (1200 gallons each) of drinking water delivered today in Kenscoff

• Midwife clinic transformed into surgery unit working with Simone Poule neighborhood #loc Taberre at rue glein #6

This feed of up-to-date requests and reports is currently being used  and acted upon by (at least) these organizations:

• Red Cross
• United Nations Foundation
• Plan International
• Charity Water
• Clinton Foundation
• US State Department
• International Medical Corps
• AIDG
• USAID
• FEMA
• US Coast Guard Task Force

Local aid groups focused on particular needs (water, children, and shelter, etc.) receive updates via email, sms, and/or through daily email or print-out reports given to them by their team leaders.

Among the success stories reported on the Ushahidi Web site are:

• Maison des Anges, an earthquake-damaged orphanage with 80 children between 0 and 2 years requested food and water for the children on January 18th. The children were moved to safety and supplied with food and water. Then a subsequent request came in for more anti-diarrhea medication, more beds and tents

• Several missing people were reported and found thru the system, e.g.:

“We're looking for Marie Edmonde Deville (red T-shirt in photos). She's 31 years-old and lived in Tabarre, Gerald Bataeil Impasse des Mangues #27.”

“We found her! She’s Alive! God Bless you all!!”

• 150 children at the Foyer de Sion orphanage were running out of water. The Latter Day Saints got the message and delivered the water on the same day.

• God's Littlest Angels Orphanage also needed water desperately. It was supplied on the same day by the World Water Relief foundation which also installed a solar-powered water filtration system.

The details about each request that are provided by the volunteers who are coding and translating are incredibly good, since many of these are Haitian expatriates who have local knowledge.

Here’s an example of a chat exchange between volunteers that demonstrates the point:

(12:52:55) (Dalila): I need Thomassin Apo please
(12:53:02) (Apo): wait
(12:54:53) (Apo): Kenscoff Route: Lat: 18.495746829274168,
Long:-72.31849193572998
(12:57:25) (Apo): This Area after Petion-Ville and Pelerin 5 is not on
Google Map. We have no streets name
(12:58:05) (Dalila): @Apo I thank you for ur help
(12:58:24) (Apo): you are welcome
(12:58:53) (Apo): I know this place like my pocket
(12:59:08) (Dalila): :)
(12:59:14) (Dalila): thank God u was here

Addressing a Customer Pain Point as the Basis for a New Business

What’s at the heart of a good customer-centric business model? We believe that it has four significant components:

1. Ensure that the model is designed to address or mitigate customers’ moments of truth.

2. Ensure that you address those moments of truth with innovative approaches that take full advantage of available technology.

3. Hone an efficient execution engine that: a) lets you make money while you’re meeting customers’ moments of truth, and b) builds barriers to entry through experience, scale, and distance traveled on the learning curve.

4. Entice customers into contributing value to your business as they reap the benefits from the products and services you provide

Back in 2003, we described Netflix as a good example of a company that built its very successful business by addressing moments of truth in the “I want to watch a movie at my convenience” scenario. Netflix’s innovation was to eliminate the guilt and inconvenience associated with returning rental movies and the affront of being charged late fees. The new Netflix customer scenario was a big hit: Pay a monthly fee. Rent as many movies as you want each month. Return them when you’re done with them and get a new one in the mail within 2 days. No pain. No fuss. No bother. And a great database of movies to choose from.

Now that digital downloads are easy, NetFlix still continues to thrive, having built customer loyalty by addressing the rental movie convenience issue and by embracing digital downloads aggressively. Although I have lots of other choices for digital downloads (on demand from my cable supplier, Amazon, etc.), I still think of Netflix first when I want to watch a movie or a television re-run.

Most NetFlix customers now enjoy both forms of movies—the ones they receive in their physical mailboxes each week and the ones they download on impulse. (The fact that Netflix is still thriving is reinforced every time I go to my local U.S. Post Office, which has three mail slots: Our Town, Out of Town, Netflix.)

An Amazon/Apple Deal?

Yesterday I attended an informative Webinar from the folks at Mequoda—a firm that specializes in helping publishers make money online. The topic was How To Publish on the Amazon Kindle, but they also covered all of the eReaders.  

During his presentation, Don Nicholas made a prediction that caught my attention. He said that when Apple announces its eagerly awaited Tablet later this month, they will also announce deals with Amazon and perhaps Barnes and Noble, to enable their e-reader software to run on the iTablet (or whatever it will be called). Whoa! Everyone has been thinking that Apple’s iTablet will be a Kindle killer. But here’s a better idea: coexistence and mutual back scratching – and happy customers!

This makes sense. Amazon already offers Kindle for the iPhone. Why not Kindle for the iTablet? The Kindle iPhone app is great. It lets me start reading on my iTouch and pick up where I left off on my Kindle. Amazon wants to sell digital content more than it does Kindle hardware. Apple wants to sell hardware and attract great apps and content.

Don Nicholas expects the Apple Tablet to be the first eReader that magazine publishers love. He expects that it will offer saturated color that will make the high res photography in magazines look great. And I can already imagine how cool it will be when that still image turns into a video!

I’m a Kindle devotee. I use it to read novels primarily. It’s wonderful to be able to carry a whole slew of books around in a lightweight eReader and then be able to download a new book, or newspaper or journal article on demand. I cuddle up on bed with my Kindle every night. I read it in the bathtub too (in its ZipLock bag I use just in case). But it would be nice to be able to have color illustrations and animation and the kinds of things that Apple is so good at.                                                                                                 iTablet?? Credit: Boy Genius

Now I really can’t wait for the Apple announcement! I hope Don is right!

Google Nexus One & T-Mobile: How NOT to Announce a Product!

Like many technology pundits, I was eager to find out more about the latest Google Android mobile phone, the Nexus One. Although I had been following the other Android phones, I, like many folks, was particularly intrigued with Google’s first foray into hardware design. So, on Tuesday, January 5th, I logged onto watch the Live coverage of Google's Android phone announcement in near real time by Tom Krazit at CNet.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t find any way to watch the announcement on streaming video, the way Apple always does its big product launches. Instead, Google invited the technology press to attend a closed press conference, from which they all blogged.

I had already downloaded and watched many of the “leaked” demos of the Nexus One, so I knew what to expect about the features and functionality. And, I was happy to learn that T-Mobile would be the first carrier to offer the Nexus One, since I already have a T-Mobile contract for a very old Blackberry that isn’t working very well (makes phone calls on its own and my voice can’t be heard—so it annoys everyone in my phone book with dead air calls and racks up fees in the process!).

I was able to follow the press conference pretty well by refreshing my browser every few minutes to get the latest snippets from Tom Krazit. At the same time, I tweeted and surfed to both the Google Nexus One Web site and the T-Mobile site. That’s where things went south. Although the Nexus One Web site was up and running, the information on it was very minimal. There was absolutely nothing on the T-Mobile site at the time of the launch, nor in the hours that followed. I tried to order the T-Mobile version of the Nexus One from the Google site and was given an uninformative error message.

 
On Jan. 5th, the T-Mobile write up didn't include the details of the service plan you needed to have from T-Mobile. This version (Jan. 7th, still doesn't tell you how to get it!)

When I tried to order, this is the error message I got on Jan. 5th and again today!

So I resorted to waiting in a chat line for T-Mobile, from which I was bumped after moving from being 76th in line to 34th in line and had to start back over at 98! Eventually, an agent came onto the chat and was able to tell me what I needed to know: What T-Mobile service level do I need for the Android and how do I get it? She told me that I needed the T-Mobile Even More Individual 500 Plan for $79.99/month. I told her that was fine, please upgrade me. What she didn’t tell me (and I should have figured out), is that that move would knock out my Blackberry service. She also couldn’t tell me how soon I could get my Nexus One or how I would move anything (e.g. contact list) from one platform to the other. All in all, it was a disaster from a customer experience standpoint!

During the 24 hours I’ve had to contemplate whether or not the Nexus One will actually work for me and whether I should complete my order or just fix my Blackberry, buyers’ pre-remorse has set in. I realize I’m not sure that I can live without a keyboard for typing email. I’m pretty fast at thumbing my email. I probably will keep my old Blackberry, use it for email and messaging only, turn off the phone feature, and go back to my old plan. So, both companies lost out.

So did I. I was looking forward to learning the Nexus One and being part of both the Android ecosystem and the Apple ecosystem (I have an iTouch, so I use the apps, not the phone part.)  Verizon continues to be my mobile phone provider for voice services. (And, yes, I WOULD like to have a single device, but my need for belt and suspenders in communications, as well as my interest in watching the Apple and Google application ecosystems evolve will keep me juggling devices for another 12 months.) 

What should Google and T-Mobile have done?

Nobody should announce a product without first testing all of the scenarios that would-be customers would use. What I should have been able to do was to find a comprehensive set of guided scenarios on both the Google and T-Mobile Web sites. The scenarios offered should have included:

• I am new to T-Mobile, but I want to sign up today and get the phone and the 2-year service plan, what do I need to do?

• I am an existing T-Mobile customer, how do I migrate from one plan to another? How do I migrate from one phone to this one?

The same information should have been accessible from both sites. There should have been ample customer support people available both by phone and chat to help each customer through their migration scenarios. T-Mobile stores should have been ready to answer questions from walk-ins and call-ins and could have helped staff the flooded customer support lines. 

When I searched for Nexus One on the T-Mobile site on the day of the launch, nothing came up! Two days after the launch, still no page that explains how to buy it from Google and how to upgrade or buy the service contract to support it! At least the search is now redirecting to something that makes sense, but T-Mobile is not going to close any orders this way!

Apple would never have launched a new product or relationship without having designed and fully tested the customer experience for every scenario and every channel. Grow up, Google!

Great Example of Long Tail Outside Innovation: NYCity Apps

A great example of niche applications are those that are specific to a location/place/set of citizens or visitors. Whether your interest is better living, tourism, government transparency, or good citizenship, the chances are that you'll find a great set of applications springing up around any locality. New York City wanted to create a buzz and to spawn innovation. So in October, they announced a New York City Application contest. You can check out the entries here: NY City Apps Contest Entries. Judging closes on January 7th.

I love the way that new applications are popping up for some many devices and for so many different niche purposes! It just goes to show how many people there are with creativity and ideas who, when given reasonable tools and a nudge, will invest their time and creativity into developing something useful and sharing it with the world.

Sometimes these creations are catalyzed by a contest. That's what Mayor Bloomberg did when he announced the New York City Application Contest in October, 2009, along with a panel of prominent judges:

• Dawn Barber (NY Tech Meetup)
• John Borthwick (Betaworks)
• Jason Calacanis (Mahalo)
• Paul Cosgrave (NYC Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications)*
• Esther Dyson (EDventure)
• Lawrence Lenihan (FirstMark Capital)
• Kevin Ryan (Gilt Groupe)
• Danny Schultz (DFJ Gotham Ventures)
• Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures)

to award $20,000 in prizes in the following categories:

• Best Overall Application
  • Grand Prize: $5,000
  • Second Prize: $2,500
  • Third Prize: $1,000
  • Honorable Mention (5 awards): $500
  
  
• Investor's Choice Award
  • Grand Prize: $2,500
  
  
• Data Visualization Award
  • Grand Prize: $2,500
  
  
• City Talent Award
  
• Popular Choice Award
  • Grand Prize: $2,500
  • Second Prize: $1,500
  
  Take a look for yourself -- you can vote on the Popular Choice award. NY City Apps Contest Entries

Besides Contests, Why Else to People Create Apps for Others to Use?

Sometimes these creations are self-serving. You develop an app because YOU need it/want it and then share it with others by publishing it.

Sometimes these creations are self-promotional. You have a business or a product you want to promote. You develop an app to show it off.

Sometimes these creations are just for fun. You want to learn how to do something new, e.g. develop an iPhone or an Android app or a Widget, so you try something you think that others would find useful.

Sometimes these creations are altruistic. You know that folks have a need. You know how to address that need. You contribute your time and talent to do so. (For example, many of the applications created on top of the BBC's API were for giving better access to information for people with handicaps. See my write up on Outside Innovation at the BBC.)