Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo all have potential to experience vast success in the upcoming year. By the same token, a missed step here or there could be all that stands between any of these three companies and failure of a colossal magnitude.
Like bowling, it’s all in the approach when it comes to the big three. So what resolutions should these companies bear in mind when formulating their respective approaches to business this year?
As usual, I have some ideas.
Google:
• Don’t get too comfortable at the top of the mountain, because it’s a long way down. You know what works, so keep doing it.
• Get this YouTube stuff under control, stat. Those so-called “anti-piracy” measures were supposed to be in effect by the end of 2006, but still are nowhere to be seen. Unless you want to go swimming in a river of litigation, this should be an extremely high priority for the company.
• Keep your services from breaking. People love Gmail, but it doesn’t help the cause when report after report of users losing the entirety of their email accounts hits the blogosphere. A good deal of energy should be spent on optimizing all services in 2007, offering users the cleanest, most secure experience possible.
Yahoo:
• Stop trying to copy Google. Even though you rank second in search and still generate decent revenues from search marketing, you are a completely different beast. Make Yahoo the place where the cool kids hang out again, the ultimate online portal.
• Don’t make things harder than they have to be. Look at the Ninendo Wii portal you’ve constructed. Its elegance is in its simplicity. All the content is user generated; they’ve done the work for you! This model works.
• Push Yahoo Messenger as hard and as fast as humanly possible. You have the #1 instant messenger application for a reason, don’t lose sight of that. Continue to make this service work for you.
Microsoft:
• Make the Zune work better. Figure out something cool to use with the WiFi capability other than just sharing songs. Speaking of sharing music, the current model stinks. Fix it. Allow songs to be re-shared, passed on like a daisy chain from Zune to Zune. Then you might have something viral on your hands.
• Just make Vista work. Incompatibility issues, security vulnerabilities, the list goes on and on with reasons galore to avoid Vista like the plague. Your bread and butter for so long has been the operating system, don’t allow that legacy to be flushed down the toilet. Suck it up, admit the flaws, and fix them.
• Concede the search war. You’re fighting a losing battle, and that money could be better spent elsewhere. While you’re busy engaging Google in the search trenches, you’re being flanked by them in the office application department. Don’t sacrifice territory which you already hold to keep fighting an uphill battle.
Of course, these are my opinions. I don’t have hard statistical data or years of marketing analysis to back these claims up.
But do you really need proof when it comes to using common sense?
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Joe is a staff writer for murdok. Visit murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
