More in an irregularly occurring series...If you were a monster monolith company and found yourself in 3rd place in a major market, what would you do? Cheat to get to the top? What if that's already been done, and you were fined billions of dollars? Turns out the next step is to kiss up to the market leaders or try to buy them. After last month's discussion that Microsoft tried to partner with Yahoo! against Google, the latest rumors have Microsoft trying to buy eBay and make eBay part of the MSN experience. Yikes. I am sure that eBay would see a flood of buyers and sellers elsewhere rather than share their money with Bill Gates, or see beta software impact their auctions, Microsoft style.
Speaking of market leader search engines, Google is now turning the corner on visual design if the latest news is to be believed. Rather than priding themselves on minimalism forever, it looks like the company is recognizing that applications need more visual care than simple Web sites. As a result, they've just taken on a new hire as a "visual design lead", who will bring flair to all things Google.
Guy Kawasaki continues his "Lies" thread, today introducing the Top Sixteen Lies of CEOs. After slamming engineering, marketing, VCs and others, I'm sure he'll get around to the top ten lies of the maintenance crew shortly.
And if you've ever wondered just why the Apple iPod has dominated the music scene since its introduction, The Observer (UK) discusses the unique alignment of the customer experience with a single slick device. I can't remember the last time I looked forward to walking into a warehouse-like record store only to put down $15 to $18 for a CD album. iTunes has made the music buying experience a relative pleasure rather than a seeming chore.
Listening to ''Push Upstairs - Roger S Blue P'', by Underworld (Play Count: 5)