The launch of Ping, following the mis-handling of Antennagate, show that Apple isn't ready for the success they've already achieved. The problems with the iPhone 4 antenna were easily handled, with an apology and a little grace. Show some concern for customers and the investment they make in these products (very substantial if you add up the monthly fee over the life of the contract). Most other companies Apple's size would have handled it without skipping a beat. Some companies even look for situations like this to demonstrate very visibly an alliance with their customers (thinking of Johnson & Johnson and the Tylenol scares). Now Ping, which, if it were what it appeared to be at rollout would be a total game-changer. Because Apple failed completely to create a social network, and then made the mistake of calling it a social network. The inability to like a song as you listen to it, the assymetry of features for stars and users (they get all the Facebook-like features, we basically get to admire them). And today, it becomes clear that they didn't even anticipate spam. It's not that they're ill-intentioned, they're just ill-prepared. More than their users, they live in a Reality Distortion Field, and the people who make the Computer For the Rest of Us have no clue who the rest of us are and what we're doing. But that's okay, there's a solution. Do some research, ask some questions, and listen. Apple desperately needs to do that. The world has moved on, they have a lot of catching up to do. |