Competition and FanBoys: Entelligence
by admin on Nov.09, 2009, under Entelligence, Michael Gartenberg, Thoughts & Opinions
It seems that Michael Gartenberg has once again updated his Entelligence column, and this time he comments on competition and FanBoy-ism in the mobile space. He raises a number of good points, mostly talking that competition is not a negative thing, and doesn’t have to be about being the next gadget-killer, but instead should be driven by the desire to succeed and make something better. I agree with him on the statement that if a company, a brand, or a series ends up dying out its not because some company came out with the respective gadget-killer, but instead its because that particular gadget got old, fell behind competition, and simply died through natural evolution.
Consider the old Palm OS. Once arguably the best in its class, had to be majorly rebuilt in order to keep Palm afloat. It wasn’t because the iPhone came out and suddenly killed that OS, its simply because the industry moved on, and Palm had to keep up.
Michael also comments on the positive aspects of FanBoys, but also suggests that many FanBoys simply down-talk the other devices and take their own devices to be all-powerful. His recommendation is to instead focus on the positive aspects of the gadgets of which you are a fan. This part of the comment particularly struck home, however after thinking about it I believe I already do this. I’m sure I still need to improve on many aspects, but then everybody does.
I highly recommend the article, its a great read, provides some important insight and a bit of humor along the way.
-Nokia FanBoy
