Tend To The Trends

But beware of paralysis when mining your findings.

There's a lot going on in data mining,
and just as much when searching for it.

What's trending now? That's a culturally loaded question, and the answer very much depends upon where you look. What's trending on Twitter? What are the hot topics on Facebook? On a more macro level, what's trending with your customers? What are they buying, what are their gripes, what turns them off and what turns them on?

Start asking those questions, and it's all too easy to get sucked into a virtual world of information overload. You can data-mine yourself into paralysis, always parsing data but never acting on it. And if you're over-monitoring social network trends, you might find yourself with lots of online friends and followers, yet with a spiraling level of productivity.

None of which is to say that data-mining on topical trends isn't worth your time. It's free business intelligence, as close as the Connect channel on Twitter, or the Google Adwords keyword tool. You have at your fingertips some of the most powerful engines imaginable for getting inside consumers' heads, for seeing what matters to them, what they like about products (any products), and what they hate about them.

Just...beware that paralysis. Protect your productivity. Approach this venture with a plan — know which trends you want to monitor; make lists of search engine keywords you want to check hit rates for; identify in advance the specifics of your data-mining: demographics, product preferences, buying history.

Most importantly, know what you want to do with this info. Are you willing to make major changes based on what you find? Or will you at best make some minor tactical adjustments? Either answer is acceptable, as long as that's your plan going in. 

Things are trending right now. A lot of things. A few of them directly impact your business. It's easy to find them, a bit harder to act upon them...but it's all well worth the effort.

The C4:

1. "What's trending" is the new way of asking "What are people talking about?" With social media, they're talking quite a bit, and it couldn't be easier to eavesdrop.
    
2. So listen in. Decide what trends you need to know about — things impacting your business, your product line, etc. — and use the tools at your disposal to data-mine the trending topics in social media, and the most popular search engine keywords.
    
3. But beware analysis paralysis! You can expect a flood of info coming in. Budget your time and resources appropriately, and don't turn trend-mining into a full-time job.
    
4. Above all else, act! Find ways to turn trends (specifically, your knowledge of trends) into a business advantage. Think of your time and effort at trend-mining as an investment, and make sure you get a return on it.

I Phone Home...

When I'm off the map.

Image c/o Businessweek.

The launch of any new Apple device is rabidly anticipated and treated with a level of fanfare that’s slightly puzzling to those of us who haven’t yet drunk of the Apple-flavored Kool Aid. The late September release of the iPhone 5 was no different.

However, one particular difference became evident within days as not-so-happy iPhone 5 owners began reporting surprising problems with the newly created Apple Maps, which was rolled out with the iPhone 5 as a competitor to the industry-leading Google mapping program. The specifics of the Apple Maps issues, which include incomplete and inaccurate road and route data, and even typos in place names, speak of an unready product rushed into service. Clearly not what we’d expect from history’s most successful tech company.

But Apple’s real problem is still developing: their gaffe has turned their newest product into a late-night punchline. (Example: A guy with an iPhone 5 walks into a bar. Or a church. Maybe it was the Pacific Ocean.)

Apple CEO Tim Cook has issued an apology, and fixes are reportedly being expedited. Given the still-strong sales of the iPhone 5, and Apple’s resiliently loyal fanbase, it’s likely the company won’t suffer too much for their mistake.

But that shouldn’t excuse them for the worst kind of PR disaster: the self-inflicted kind. This one began with the widely panned decision, made back in the summer, to ditch Google Maps — reportedly in retaliation for Google’s entering the mobile-hardware arena. The inside story remains to be written, but it sure seems like Apple’s habit of cutthroat competition resulted in the too-soon release of an inferior product, all at their customers’ expense.

The bottom line is that Apple’s reputation, like every company’s, is their most important nontangible asset. No company can afford to risk it needlessly. Apple will undoubtedly survive the iPhone 5 maps fiasco. But how well will they fare the next time hubris lays them low?

Do they really want to find out?

The C4:

1. The iPhone 5 was released on September 21, 2012. Like most Apple releases, this one was treated as one of the most momentous tech happenings of the year.
2. The story quickly shifted, though, as users reported problems with the on-board Apple Maps program, which seemed to make it as useful for navigation as a demagnetized compass. Even though sales of the device are strong, the launch has turned into a PR fiasco, necessitating software fixes and a CEO apology.
3. It never should have happened. The whole sorry episode seems to be the result of Pyrrhic competition between Apple and Google, and of the unacceptable practice of rushing unready products to market.
4. In the long run, despite a hit to their reputation, Apple probably won’t suffer inordinately for their mistake. But reputation is finite. One hopes Apple has learned something from this, lest their reputation comes to be defined by it.

The Six Billion Dollar Email

Just 11 words in a mountain of data may ultimately be the smoking gun.

If there’s a moral to this cautionary tale, it’s this: know what’s inside those boxes you’re handing over.

The background is a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit between Oracle and Google (go ahead and call it the Battle of Silicon Valley), in which Oracle alleges the illicit use of its Java programming platform in Google’s Android operating system.

It started off as one might expect; Google denied wrongdoing, while (reportedly) preparing to pay a token settlement of a few million dollars. Then sometime last year came the discovery phase, where Google responded to Oracle’s subpoenas with a good old fashioned data-dump: truckloads of documents meant to overwhelm and confuse the other side’s lawyers.

But somewhere within those truckloads was a single damning email. It was from a Google engineer to Andy Rubin, head of the Android division. It said (paraphrasing here), “You know, we really ought to buy a license for Java.”

So much for settlement. The trial is now underway; its conclusion is by no means foregone, but legal observers say Google isn’t looking so good. Damages were initially estimated at $6.1 billion, but might be negotiated down to around a billion. That’s still enough of a hit — even to Google’s deep pockets — to spell an end to Android OS as freeware, and higher consumer prices on Android phones and tablets.

For the want of a nail? More like for the want of reading your own email. Or, better still, the true root cause: if you’re using someone else’s software, pay for it. Because ultimately you will...one way or another.

The C4:

1. In August 2010, Oracle (owner of the Java programming platform) filed suit against Google for the unlicensed use of Java in the Android operating system.
2. Responding to Oracle’s subpoena, Google inadvertently supplied an email which apparently acknowledges the use of Java, and the need to pay licensing fees.
3. The trial is ongoing. It could result in a billion-dollar judgment against Google that would inevitably impact the cost of Android devices.
4. Learn from Google’s mistakes: data-dumps can be self-defeating, and it’s always best to simply pay for the products you use.