I remember when I first got my iPhone 4 and Android was becoming a big thing, I was excited for the day that Google and Apple got together and technology was perfect. A few years later, I can’t help but wonder if I had taken up afternoon drinking because… sure, okay. Ha. But when Apple removed the native Google Maps (and YouTube) from iOS 6, I decided it had gone too far. Maps was replaced with something less accurate than spinning around in a circle and pointing. I could no longer map out transit directions – the sole reason I loved having a map function on my smartphone. I think I had a similar feeling to when a child realizes Mom & Dad really are getting divorced and all they want to do is get them back together all Parent Trap style; in that moment, I felt desperate and helpless to make this right again.
But that won’t happen, just like Apple will never EVER be able to make a mapping function as accurate as Google Maps, let alone achieving their long-term goal of surpassing it. While Apple and Google are not in the exact same business (I don’t recall this feud being a problem until Google was all, “Hey look! A phone with an adorable mascot!”), I can see why they are competing, but it seems so needless when you see how little overlap is involved.
And now there’s the escalation of Facebook vs. Twitter. Seriously, guys? Now, they ARE in the same business, but at complete opposite ends which is why I’m a little puzzled and frustrated about this one.
Facebook:
- 2-Way Communication (friends) via wall posts, tagging, private messages and chat
- Status Updates
- Photo Albums
- Videos
- Groups
- Profiles for people
- Events
- Pages for business
- Applications
Twitter:
- 1-Way Communication (followers) via tagging
- Status Updates with 140 character limits
- One photo per post
- Accounts are for people & businesses alike
- Trending topics
- 140 character profiles
So you’re telling me that this website that provides little blips of opinions here and there and nothing else is your main competitor? And that’s your biggest problem? I never cared about these shenanigans until I noticed today that Twitter is no longer allowed to display previews of Instagram photos (the company Facebook bought for $1 billion), and they are no longer considered part of your “image gallery”. Now in my opinion, I always saw Instagram as something meant for Twitter, but suddenly it’s pretty damn hard to justify that. Facebook’s control of this monsterous photo-sharing app is indeed what will cause Twitter trouble.
The point? I’m hurt by all of this. Apple hating Google means my maps are now useless, and Facebook hating Twitter means viewing my friends’ photos is no longer a simple preview away and I’ll have to open that god-awful Twitter browser to see Instagram photos on my phone. By trying to create a monopoly, neither company is satisfying their customers anymore, so what’s even the point? I seem to remember business being about having what someone else wants and working with them to sell it for the best value. When did we all have to have our own version of everything because everyone is now a competitor? Did we learn nothing from needing to choose between HD DVDs and Blu-Ray?
