When I read Fred's post on this I thought to myself "oh, he's talking about about companies we like to like and companies we like to dislike". I'm not exactly communal about business, I like Craigslist but something else came along that was better, well I'd use that. I like Netflix alot but when Blockbuster came out with a better deal I went with them, and when Blockbuster couldn't deliver the same lever of service as Netlix, well I went back to them.
The thing I didn't get about Fred's angle on this is the notion that somehow Apple was previously a cuddly company that was benevolant and generous. Apple, in my view, has always been thug-like in their efforts to protect their brand and IP. Apple has never been overwhelmingly partner friendly, and considering how they have handled product upgrades, I don't even think you could call them customer friendly. On top of that they have been merciless in throwing out software that didn't fit in their vision of the future no matter how popular the app was.... hypercard anyone? Apple is successful because they build some really nice products with great software, they see the market in ways that most don't. Let's also not forget that the core personal computer business for Apple has been shrinking over the years - so much for the moniker "we company".
Link: We, Us, They, Them…Whatever.
Fred Wilson says there are two kind of companies - we companies, and they companies. Well we companies are the ones that are supposed to thrive because of their community, sort of like Craigslist. They companies include Microsoft and Apple (because it is charging for putting its stamp of approval on iPod accessories.) Okay there is a reason, why he cannot cite more “we” company examples. In fact, all companies are they companies. In fact companies are just companies. Business, simply put is about making money. Doesn’t matter who you are, what you sell, you want to make as much money as you can get away with. Rest of the arguments are simply blogger-version of throat clearing. We is a good way to describe a community, and community doesn’t mean a company. Scoble be grateful that Microsoft is a they company - gives you a lot to write about. Its “they profits” which let them figure out how to do a “tablet PC.”
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