Have We Come Full Circle?

I’ve been listening to the complimentary audio version of Seth Godin’s new book called Tribes and have to say it’s fairly dead on. Except I’d frame it slightly differently. While we may in fact be returning to tribal-like behaviors and looking for “leaders” of these tribes in the process, what we’re really craving is more humanity itself. I see clues of this everywhere, from the direct engagement (people talking to other people) as enabled by Twitter, to Apple’s Genius bar which gives us live, breathing and fairly smart people to help us when a human touch is needed.
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Comments

[Martin]

Hi David,

Love your blogs and graphics and have recommended you to many people.

However, how is an Apple logo warranted or even relevant in the Software box when they have less than 4% global share of desktop operating systems? It is not as if they transformed the desktop PC markets and Internet or anything even remotely similar.

I give Apple it's dues with iPod's and iTunes but I would hardly say they have anything other than single figure market share with iPhones and PC's!

Is this some blatant advertising here? I hope not as it reduces my respect for your fantastic work.

[Adam Singer]

Martin,

Haven't you ever heard of the "cult of mac" ;)

[David Armano]

Martin,

I've thought about it and you are right. Though I did not choose Apple as an advertisement (for selfish reasons, I chose it because the logo looked cleaner with the graphic), Microsoft is more accurate a choice to represent software since that's always been the core business and as a milestone is more significant.

Apple certainly makes software, but as a symbol of it, it's not the best choice. Thanks for pointing this out, I made the change.

[Bruce Stewart]

Microsoft is a wonderful symbol of the old order. If you are correct in noting the return to the desire for humanity, your instinct in using the Apple logo for software (a no less distant corporation, but one which has cared about how its products are used humanly to a greater extent than Microsoft) was actually closer to your point.

Market share (and the numbers are constantly debated) is not the relevant measure, since we are not discussing a product, but a transition in a migration around a spiral from humanity and back to it. One presumes we may well see this spiral again; we have in the past (but with different technologies).

As a result, your software logo could have also been SAP, Oracle, etc., although they would have been even more incongruous to your point.

[Nery]

Martin, David

I would argue the Apple logo is more representative then the Microsoft one is. First off a some factual corrections. Apple currently maintains a 8.5% market share and is showing over a 20% growth year over year even in a downturn economy. These figures can be found in trier forth quarter results and has been recently reported through most news outlets.

Apple is as much of software company as it is a hardware company. Their tight integration of both has resulted a much more elegant and stable experience across all of its products.

So to your final point Apple has transformed the desktop market and internet more then Microsoft ever has. Apple brought the personal computer to the everyday consumer during the early 80's. Long before Microsoft was even a household name. Apples UI design has set trends that have reached more into every day culture then windows has. Microsoft of today is clearly playing catch up with the innovation and trend setting of apples products. Simply look at the shortcomings of the following from Microsoft: Zune, Vista, Xbox Live media store, Fair play, Mobile PC. Even Microsoft's latest marketing efforts are influenced by Apple.

Daniel Eran Dilger of Roughly Drafted Magazine has a great piece that illustrations my points.

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/09/11/how-apple-is-changing-the-pc-software-world-back/

[David Armano]

Nary, BUT when most people think software, they think tech. When people hear Apple, they think design.

I'd put my money on this.

Maybe the best (though not accurate) representative is indeed a floppy disc, just to make it neutral. :-)

[Graham Hill]

Hi David

Getting back to the topic in hand...

Take a look at the article on 'Why the Demise of Civilisation May Be Inevitable' in an earlier edition of the New Scientist. It makes the point that previous societies have gone through a notionally similar cycle leading towards a networked structure (the cloud) before, and here's the rub, collapsing in chaos. Then the whole process starts again.

I hope not this time.

Graham Hill
Independent CRM Consultant
Interim CRM Manager

Further Reading:

New Scientist, 'Why the Demise of Civilisation May Be Inevitable'
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19826501.500-why-the-demise-of-civilisation-may-be-inevitable.html

[Ross Parker]

I think you mean complementary, with an 'e', not complimentary with an 'i'.