User Profile
Name
Bob O'Flaurghty
Age
29 years old
Location
Brooklyn, New York
Occupation
Graphic DesignerThe Scenario:¹ As Bob goes through an average day he wants to get information on certain news items and topics.

When Bob wakes up in the morning he makes his coffee and sits down in front of his computer, he opens up Google News to see what the latest headlines are. Since Google News is a computer-generated news site,² he knows he will not experience any bias from any particular publisher as far as what stories are most important. The hierarchy of the page allows all of the stories equal importance (unlike the newspaper), so he can browse until he finds a story that seems interesting.

He selects an article entitled "Busy Day at Court Handling Sect's Children," he looks at the links to sources where he could read the same story and decides that his best bet is The New York Times. He clicks the link. Once on The New York Times website he begins reading. About half way through the article talks about the "Yearning for Zion ranch," Bob has never heard of this before so he clicks the link to learn more about this ranch. There he is able to see an image of the ranch along with several other stories about the ranch, he is satisfied now that he can put an image with a name and clicks the browsers back button to return him to the browser to finish reading the article. (more...)

Steve Jobs doesn't wear a belt. His typical attire when in the public eye includes a black long-sleeve shirt, a pair of ordinary jeans, and casual shoes. A "timeless" look to some degree. But what about the belt?

I began to ponder why this innovation superstar did not opt to wear a belt, and then it occurred to me that he decided he didn't need one. He didn't need the help of that third-party apparatus. And then it all made sense.

Apple has become a superstar in the technology world by reinventing the approach to technology. The products are beautiful. The products are cutting-edge in technology. The products are marketed well, and people will pay a premium price for them. Oh, and they last a long time, but that's why Apple's stock has dropped drastically... people don't need to buy a new one anytime soon. So how has their revenue model changed?

Subscription Model

Apple's Itunes has become a powerful force and direct venue for lots of micropayments. But according to Financial Times they might take it one step further and push an "all you can listen to" subscription that is either a one-time fee when buying a device, or a monthly fee. This consistent cashflow is something nice to have I'm sure.

So to tie it back to the "no belt," Apple has a vertical merger that has a created a perfect Apple experience from the fancy computer, through the simple intuitive software, through the easy, convenient, and fast supply chain, and now you're experiencing your favorite media, whether a movie, a book, or music. All done Apple Style. If the shirt and pants work, why do you need a third-party belt? It just interrupts.

Belts are Out of Fashion.

Media on the internet has become an uncontrollable monster with illegal downloads, torrents, and the works. The only true way to bring it back is to make it more convenient the user, and make it unlimited. This is why I think the subscription model will work, and is where the industry needs to move. Internet TV however does not need a subscription because we are conditioned to commercials. Hulu rocks:)

So in conclusion, Steve Jobs doesn't need a belt, as Apple doesn't need a "belt". I believe this trend will become a staple for media distribution. But if Jobs goes on stage without a shirt, we might all be in trouble!