A B2C Web 2.0 Application That Really Works

Web 2.0 is old news for many of us. After several years of businesses and Web sites touting their "Web 2.0" or "Interactive Web" or "Social Web" status, I have rarely found sites using Web 2.0 techniques to amplify their inherent "interactiveness". Most of the good newspaper sites like New York Times and Washington Post used this technology effectively, if not in a truly compelling way, like, most popularly, FaceBook. The Better Half is using LinkedIn every day to bridge many personal and professional gaps in online networking in promotion of her company's goals and helping her personal branding as an industry thought leader.

In light of this, after signing up for Verizon FiOS* (no, I do not have any affiliation with Verizon except as a new fiber customer!), and logging into their myFiOS page, I was floored by their magnificent use of the technology. What can I do on my FiOS page?

• Upon log in I am shown the status of my DVR (which I was allowed to rename), with amount of space remaining and shows that are set to record that day
• Remote DVR capability--say I need to work late that night and will miss my Countdown that evening, so I can go online and set my home DVR to record the 8pm broadcast
• Make space on DVR remotely by deleting watched or unwanted programs
• Look at the TV listings for future programs, and set the DVR to record
• Create channel lineup favorites
• Search for programs and set them to record

I don't remember the last time I bookmarked a page from a service provider like this, but after logging on and seeing the capabilities, it is now saved. Sure, there are more features that I'd like to see Verizon add to their site:

• RSS feed, so I can see if there's anything new without going to the Web site
• iPhone app--so I can control DVR from my phone
• request list alerts, so I can enter my favorite movies and be alerted/asked to record them when they make it on to the listings
• Recommendations ala Amazon or Netflix for shows I might be interested based on my DVR recording history
• FaceBook app of TV/Movie Recommendations

Even so, Verizon did a very good job with this and I must applaud good use, and good usability!

*On Saturday, March 7, I switched over from Time-Warner Cable to Verizon FiOS. I know that they are just doing this to entice switchovers and, after they've killed cable and become a monolithic monopoly, they will raise my rates through the roof, but this is really an unbelievable deal: 20/5MB down/up Internet, wireless router, HD DVR, HD TV, and $150 cash back. Not to mention what I just wrote about above!

The Great AT&T and Apple iFiasco of 2008

Yesterday morning, I took an early lunch at 11am to go see if the iPhone was worth getting, and if the line was short, so I walked the block from my office to the Chelsea AT&T store. A quick calculation of about 30 people in front of me, at least 6 salespeople, at 15 minutes per transaction (on average from what was being said on the webs) meant that I'd be taken care of in between 1 and 1.5 hours. I waited 37 minutes and was the 16th person in line, when an AT&T employee came out to announce that only 5 iPhones were left, all 8GB. I turned and went right back to my office.

I had been stymied, like the 100 people behind me (and 11 in front).

Over the course of the day, my RSS feeds on the tech sites and blogs I frequent started revealing the story (mostly on CNet's excellent coverage): Apple and AT&T (but mostly Apple) had completely screwed up what was poised to be a summer blockbuster of major proportions, and during a recession, no less. When I left to go back to the office, there were approximately 100 people behind me. Let's do a quick tally of how much was lost, at minimum, before Noon yesterday, for a single AT&T store's gross profits on the day: 111 x $199 (8GB iPhone) + $36 (activation fee) = $26,085. That obviously does not include the people who would have joined the line at Noon. Let's say this happened roughly equally around the country at all the AT&T stores (according to CNet, there's 1,800), that would mean an extremely conservative loss of approximately $46,935,000. In one day. Before Lunch.

On top of that, when I called to see if the other local AT&T stores had iPhones in stock, both told me that they were out and that all the AT&T stores were out and might, or might not, be restocked on Saturday, Monday, or the week after. That doesn't sound very good for AT&T or Apple.

On Wall Street, AT&T stock lost over .58% by the end of the day. Apple was down 2.28%.

Now for Apple's story: it is clear that they did not follow proper Business Process Engineering standards. Nor did they follow proper business procedures.

If I'm an Apple or AT&T executive, based on last year's successful iPhone launch, I would prepare, at minimum, to handle at least as much as last year (about 700,000 iPhones sold from 7/1-7/3 last year). Then I would also plan to handle at least that many concurrently at the moment I made the software upgrade available. Why would they not do something like the following: Day 1, release iPhone 3G in the North American market; Day 8, release software upgrade for iPhone 1 on Apple's Web site (or through automatic update) for the same market; Day 15: Release to Western/Eastern Markets in a phased manner (Europe first day, then Asia, then Australia, then South America, etc.); Day 22, release software upgrade to the rest of the world.

I haven't yet seen the bad sales figures for Apple, nor do I know what they predicted they would do. I can be fairly certain that they will fall far short of expectations for this opening weekend due to this iDebacle. We'll see how low things go when the markets open on Monday. I don't know what the total loss will be when all is said and done, but it will be in the high millions, no doubt, when taking into account lost revenue from the iPhones that weren't sold, the AT&T high rate data plans that weren't started (and compounded by the fact that people will continue to make money for their competitors while using their old phones!) and iPhone apps that won't be bought now, later, or never. This is without even mentioning what will happen to the Apple brand and can't-miss aura.

I wonder if AT&T is secretly happy: the next iPhone might have more telecomm partners (which is what usually happens to exclusive deals in the industry after 1 or 2 years--see Q, Motorola), and perhaps won't sell quite as many as they might have, had they been successful on this launch. Conspiracy theory, anyone? Hmm...

Punk Rock, From The Jam, and Ubiquitous Technology

Last night, my wife and I went to see From The Jam at the Blender Theatre at Gramercy. This is two-thirds of The Jam, missing only Paul Weller. I last saw The Jam in 1982 at the Aragon in Chicago, and it was a transcendent experience: Paul Weller's guitar-playing was incandescent and inspiring, Bruce Foxton's bass exploded melodically, and the thunderous drumming of Rick Buckler almost caused my knees to buckle. Last night wasn't 1982, but it was still amazing and on occasion, I was 18 again.

Before I get to the point about technology, let me mention how politics enters the picture here. The Jam was nowhere near as famous in the States as their contemporaries, The Clash, but for me, from about 1978/1979 to 1984, though I listened to other music, nearly nothing remained on my turntable as long as the The Clash, Gang of Four, and The Jam. Although I'd always been interested in politics, both in the US and abroad, it seemed that these three bands really catalyzed and gave voice to the feelings that I had, and shaped those politics to what they are today, in no small part.

As the unmistakeable riff of In The City started, and the old punk rock blood cells started to emanate from the heart into the rest of my body, I looked around the audience. A lot of grey hair, bald spots, and digital CAMERAS/CAMERAPHONES being held aloft! I just remember thinking, "Boy, do I wish I had these kind of Star-Trek-like gadgets back in the day!" Not that it marred the experience, but I would see them out very frequently, with the now ever-present flash capturing every moment of our lives, like a live blog.

This was then further brought to the fore as they began This Is The Modern World and I now found myself thinking rather than just relaxing and enjoying the show. How prescient this song was back in 1978 when it came out. And this became a theme throughout the show that was different from that 1982 show because the world was different, and the changing meaning of "modern" came up. How so:

• The thick cloud and stench of cigarette and marijuana smoke was no longer there, as it used to be concert de rigeur


• At least half the audience took pictures and crude YouTube videos with their digital cameras and iPhones, and we'll all be able to relive the show by the time this blog posts (to wit: Mary's Flickr Page)


• My ears will not be ringing for a week, even though the sound was loud, but balanced and undistorted


• That A-Bomb in Wardour St. has a very different meaning today to an American than it did then

What was the same from 1982?

• At a crossroads of political power between progressives and reactionaries


• Brits and US in two unnecessary wars (then: Argentina, Grenada; today: Iraq for both), and as sung then and now by Foxton: "It was done underneath the flag of democracy..."


• That the audience sang along and knew the words and timing as well as the band

What a weird confluence of events that brought us to this show: hanging out at the Cake Shop in LES with Mary finding a copy of Setting Sons on vinyl two weeks ago and purchasing it; then my friend John Dodge calling me last week to tell me he saw From The Jam in Chicago and that it was surprisingly good; and then seeing it also in my New Yorker's Upcoming Events section. I sometimes tire of what Mary and I call "Geezer Shows", but this one was well worth it, even without the erstwhile Paul Weller.

Here we are Down In the Tube Station at Midnight with my watch as proof!

iPhony or iPhonetastic? An Early Adopter Explains Why He'll Wait on This One Until Gen2.0

Last night, The Wife and I were near the Apple Store on 5th Avenue around Midnight. We thought we would check out the latest electronic gadget. It would not surprise anybody to know that the writer of a blog titled what this one is would be what is called in the business an Early Adopter. Not only am I an early adopter, I'm also an Early Proseletyzer, because if I like the gadget, everyone I know certainly will know about it.

So did I buy the iPhone?

The answer, surprisingly, is no. Why?

The iPhone is beautiful, simply put. The technology packed into this tiny, thin, lightweight device is alluring, in a digital way, of course. But I'm not going to buy it. These are some reasons why:

• I want to listen to music and I have a big collection, over 30GB of mp3s. Why would I want an iPod that only holds 4GB or 8GB? I like being able to put my entire collection on there and listening to anything I feel like. This does not replace my 2nd generation iPod (which replaced a 1G iPod of course).



• I can't use it with the really fast Verizon network I'm currently enjoying with my Motorola Q (which I early adopted and proseletyzed to many, including my boss at GMHC). Web pages looked great on the iPhone, way better than my Q, but they were a lot slower-loading than I'm used to.



• I use my Q for work email, which means it has to work with Exchange Server. Also, my Q syncs with Outlook (and Entourage). There is no mention anywhere of a seamless synchronization with these important workplace technologies.



• Even though my current contract with Verizon finished just this month, and I did not have to pay a cancellation fee, and even though I already pay $99/m for my plan, it is really not worth paying $600 for a new phone or iPod, or iPhone plus iPod.

This morning I read the review in the New York Times by David Pogue who seemed to be dead-set against the iPhone. His main arguments were the battery life, lack of a physical keyboard, and the AT&T plan. I think the battery life problem is really not a big deal, because if it's a phone, who's going to keep it more than two years, really?

Mossberg also mentioned the physical keyboard, as did Michael Robertson, formerly of Linspire and MP3.Com, in one of his self-serving broadcast emails ostensibly trying to be "helpful" to potential iPhone purchasers. Having used it, I don't think it will be much of a problem--people will get used to it. Also, I believe that it will become far less of a liability once voice dial becomes a feature. Not only that, it's probably too short-sighted to claim something like this will be the "downfall" of the iPhone--user-interface design is changing user interaction rapidly, and Apple has been at the forefront since the beginning of the digital revolution, so I don't buy this argument.

Cost, though, that might do it for some people. I'm not exactly frugal--but something has to be a life-changing purchase for me, either by allowing me to listen to a large music collection on the go, check my email, check that I'm still leading my fantasy baseball team (thank you, Q!), use Google Maps and gmail, and put it all in my regular phone, that will do it, and my Q at $149 was somewhat expensive. But I really can't justify $600 plus all that New York City tax to go to slower plan.

You know what I will buy, though? An 80GB iPod that looks exactly the same as the iPhone, without the phone features, but with 802.11g Wireless technology. For $350.

And next year's 2nd gen iPhone, when my Q becomes two years old!

NOTE: first image by Mary S. Butler, Q photo, on msb_nyc Flickr.com; second image by me using the iPhone at the Apple Store