The Consumer Revolution

I’ve alluded to what I call the “Consumer Revolution” in past posts.  What I mean by this term is that we have entered into a new era of the Web, and for connectivity in general.   An era where the consumer is king (or queen)! In 1995 Netscape brought the internet to the world.  In 1998, Google made it easy to find what we were looking for.  In a decade the web has changed our world. 

As the web evolved, the marketplace has as well.  Innovation in wireless technology, bandwidth, and storage spurred a new generation of mobile gadgets (MP3 Players, iPods, video phones, etc.), putting the web and all its power in the hands (or pockets) of people for use anywhere, anytime, any place. And now the revolution is here…The Consumer Revolution.   

First, Napster changed the music industry, then Digital Video Recording (i.e. Tivo and others) turned the television world upside down, and now T.V. is going broadband…..who wins?  The people! The web is a part of our daily lives just as much as music and television.  Here’s my take on it all….  Music Blazes a New Path…– Napster let us download music and challenged the establishment– The establishment responded by lawsuits but then realized you can’t fight the people– Napster goes legit, and Apple popularizes legal music downloading by giving us iTunes, and mobility by giving us the iPod 

Video is close behind… – Digital Video Recording gets popular, now people can skip commercials – People are spending an equal amount of time online as they are on T.V. – Advertising embrace the web – ads need to be where the people are!–  The value proposition of sending millions on T.V. commercials isn’t that compelling (when people are actually watching, they’re not watching commercials!)– Less money from T.V. sponsors has broadcasters moving content online….T.V. embrace the web! 

Mobilephones, iPods, Zune, MP3 players, etc.  Content is everywhere, anytime, any place.  To win over the consumer companies need to have an answer to the quintessential question of the Consumer Revolution: “I want what I want, when I want, how I want, and anytime I want.  Do you have what I’m looking for?” 

From Telco/Cable 4-Play bundles, Microsoft vs. Apple vs. Google vs. Yahoo vs. Web 2.0, business is innovating, aligning, partnering, and acquiring to have the answer.   But one thing is for sure, when companies compete we all win. 

Long live the revolution!