Hey Folks...
I'm going to be talking to my class tonight about the future of some of the more visible technology companies... and how each one seems to be encroaching on the spaces of the others... Google building office apps, Microsoft releasing consumer electronics, Apple moving into TV, Yahoo!... well... where does Yahoo! want to go anyway? Remember when AOL was on this list, too? Is it a Google and Apple world? Is Microsoft really dead? What about Nintendo backing its way on the web through its Wii browser?
Here are what I see as the most interesting questions:
- How far will Google go with its office app strategy... and.. well, why?
- Will Google be successful with other types of media advertising, like TV and radio?
- How will Yahoo! integrate all of the social apps it bought and will they make another run at a social network like Facebook? What are they trying to build?
- Will Apple control all my access to media?
- Will Apple ever gain a major foothold on the web? Does the fact that they don't seem interested in it mean that the web isn't the place for mainstream rich media consumption? What does that say about YouTube?
- Where does Microsoft fit into all this? How long can their OS and applications business survive in a world of Google and open source?
- Who else can be a major player of such size and scope? Sony? What about the media companies? AOL? IAC? NewsCorp?
- Does eBay become the phone company?
- What about Amazon?
It should make for an interesting discussion and I'd like to provide some further post-class reading... If anyone knows of any great "Future of..." posts from reputable sources, I'd love to hear what the thought leaders are saying about the direction of the big guys. I'd be very appreciative if anyone could post links in either the comments or tag something for:ceonyc. Thanks... I'll follow up with another post about the best ones that came in.