Tim Starts to Cook

An article in the WSJ states that the new Apple entrepreneur, Tim Cook’s, ability to follow in the footsteps of his late boss, Steve Jobs, is questionable.

Cook’s management strategy differs than Mr. Jobs in a promotional sense. He believes more in the promotion and the iDevices than Mr. Jobs did.

He seems to give more attention to stakeholders outside the firm itself such as consumers and investors. He is increasing the business-consumer relationship by “sending a variety of company-wide emails that address Apple employees as "Team,"”. As for the investors, he is intensifying his meetings with them.

Moreover, his plan is to increase the firm’s corporate social responsibility –philanthropy, to be specific –which will lower the company’s revenue $10,000 yearly while Mr. Jobs opposed charitable programs.

These entrepreneurial strategies may prove to be promising as well as disappointing. The author may think that Tim Cook might not be able to continue “the string of hits that have made Apple the world's largest technology company”, but others might disagree and say “satisfying as much stakeholders as possible is never a hindrance –if not an enhancement”

Google enters the competitive landscape...again

With countless numbers of companies aiming to provide consumers with entertainment, media can be quite a competitive industry. In such a wild competitive landscape, it takes true entrepreneurship to set you apart form the competition. Google is a perfect example of a company that seeks to be involved in competition. Just when we thought Google couldn’t get more involved in the services they provide, they somehow find a way to surprise us. Google has put up several headlines over the past year. First it was the revealing of their social media website, Google +. Then it was revealed that Google would be entering competition with Apple and Amazon’s music services by starting Music Beta. Now, Google appears to be entering competition with Apple’s Apple TV services.

This past Friday, Google announced an update to the software for Google TV. Google stated that they simplified the product to allow users to access the Internet and search for online videos through their TVs. Google TV will also offer on-demand shows that are normally available of services such as Netflix and Hulu. Google has recently reached a deal with various chipmakers, device makers, and TV makers, such as Vizio and Sony, which will bring new Google-powered TVs into the market next year.

Google plans to separate itself from Apple TV in that Google TV will provide access to all content available on the Internet, instead establishing a narrow amount of offerings formatted for use on TVs. Some analysts are viewing Google TV as potential threat to cable/satellite companies. Google on the other hand stated that Google TV isn’t meant to replace TV and cable, but rather to complement it. Google seems to be on the right track. They seem to be doing a great job in entrepreneurship seeing as how they are involved in almost every aspect of media's competitive landscape.