The Internet and the World Wide Web have made a huge difference worldwide. There is no doubt about that. Today, we worry about the internet’s capacity to grow, and the horrific vision of the future is the moment when the whole system falls apart. If it does. I am optimistic. I believe in human creativity and innovation.
We are also experiencing how we get connected to new kinds of networks, and maybe some of them are growing so large and strong that we can almost talk about new kinds of infrastructure. Facebook has more than 500 million active users. Can you visualize the amount of people sitting by their computers… It’s really impressive. And the use of Facebook develops. Today, it is common for people I know to get in touch via Facebook chat. One advantage of that function is the ability to see when people are online. That function is, of course, nothing new, but together with over 500 million active users, it’s really powerful.
Yesterday I watched Steve Jobs demoing Apple’s latest products and iTunes 10. These new iPods are really delicious, like candy. But iTunes 10, with its new music social media service, Ping, is combining over 160 million iTunes users with a way to communicate with friends and artists and to stay updated on new music, concerts, etc. iTunes already had an amazingly strong market position, but what will happen now?
Many musicians have used MySpace and then Facebook to connect with friends and promote their music. Now, iTunes is offering them a brand-new social media platform with a natural connection to music. A new way to build relations and market their products. It’s brilliant.
But some musicians are not happy. Maybe iTunes is getting too dominant that it gives them no choice? Or maybe they just don’t like Apple? Or maybe they feel forced to enter a new world with new demands, and that they were never asked whether they wanted to participate?
I don’t know. But I get the feeling that Apple is building a kind of musical infrastructure that will grow and set the standard for decades to come. I have been a Mac user since April 1989, and I am proud and happy to have had the opportunity to follow Apple’s remarkable development. Thank you, Apple!
