Have you ever seen the movie Antitrust starring Ryan Phillippe? Probably not, but that's okay, it's not that great of a movie, so I'll go ahead and you give a plot synopsis from IMDB: "A computer programmer's dream job at a hot Portland-based technology firm turns nightmarish when he discovers his boss has a secret and ruthless means of dispatching anti-trust problems." Now, I don't remember exactly why I saw the film, but I do remember quickly realizing that this movie was an poorly guised allegory for the antitrust problems Microsoft was a part of in the 1990's. The company was based in Portland instead of Seattle, the CEO's name was Gill Bates instead of Bill Gates (not really but it might as well should of been) so on and etc. But the funny thing is even in 9th grade I was able to recognize this parallel and was not surprised or dumbfounded. When I left the movie theater I recall saying to my friend, "Man I bet Microsoft DOES kill whistleblowers in their company." This was also quickly followed by, "Did you call your mom to pick us up?"
Anyways, after reading Chapter 7 in the New Influencers I couldn't help but be reminded of the horrible acting and screenwriting that was present in Antitrust, and I became really intrigued about how Microsoft tried to humanize themselves. Robert Scoble's Blogger's Manifesto is truly something every company should ascribe to. My generation has grown up in a reality with Enron, MCI Worldcom, and Microsoft. The idea that corporations are somehow looking out for the best interest's of consumers is laughable, and the notion that they are even more concerned about the welfare of their competitors is even a better joke. While the book goes to say that the humanization of Microsoft was a success is something that I can't really agree with.
Due to my own personal experience I will try as hard as humanly possible to never own a computer that runs on a Microsoft operating system again. Their recent blunder with Windows Vista is further proof to me that they really haven't listened to what the blogosphere or consumers are telling them. Furthermore, I don't feel that they are any more "human" than they have ever been, and still are much like the monolithic giant IBM (rember Big Blue?)was back in their heyday. The question I have is, has Microsoft really read the blogger's manifesto?
The point is you can only be on top of the mountain for so long. While Apple continues to put more and more innovative products, made with better quality, better technical support, at reasonable prices they also continue to build a strong consumer based community and humanize themselves with honest, personal communication from the man himself, Steve Jobs. Although, it is obvious Microsoft based systems dominate the market share of all personal computers, a crack in the dam will eventually break free, and if the New York Giants can beat the New England Patriots; who knows, in a couple decades down the road we might see Antitrust II starring Justin Long showing how Apple was able to eliminate the competition.
I personally feel corporate transparency is essential in this day's market to remain a vital, relevant, and successful company, just make sure whatever is revealed is something worth seeing.
2 comments:
You're blogs rule. I too hated that movie, but thought you incorporated it well with what we're doing here. I'm a PC guy myself, but only run Microsoft on my laptop. I had a friend buld me a linux based PC I use for gaming and other stuff I do at home. Micrsofy could survive alone on Bungie Studios, makers of Halo. If Apple ever comes out with a gaming system, which I suspect they will, then maybe they can destroy Micrsoft for good.
I completely agree with your post. Microsoft is a great example of what is wrong with corporations. They are solely concerned with the bottom line. Microsoft forced their products on everybody, then they refused to listen to consumers ideas on ways to be more innovative and adopt their products to the needs of the customer. Apple is currently stealing market share out from under Microsoft's nose by doing the exact opposite. The think for them to remember though is to continue to listen and be innovative. If they fall behind the curve or start to think that they don't need to seek better ideas from their customers, then they could become Microsoft deux.
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