Twitter Kills the #DickBar
Just weeks after Twitter introduced the Quickbar, which was later dubbed the #dickbar as a jab at Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, Twitter has decided the “feature” just wasn’t a good idea. The Quickbar inserted trending topics and promoted ads into your tweet-stream in the iPhone app and was immediately met with opposition. They attempted to revise the bar, but this didn’t appease anyone.
It’s been reported that the feature was developed by a junior product manager with no senior oversight. This points to flaws in Twitter’s management structure. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s new executive chairman and product leader, is also full-time CEO of Square. Satya Patel, Twitter’s new director of product management, will continue working as advisor to portfolio companies for Battery Ventures.
Twitter needs to get their management structure on point and figure out what, exactly, their business model is. They are at the top now, but that can change in an instant. Just ask MySpace.
via TechCrunch, Business Insider
Amazon Faces Backlash from CloudDrive
Amazon recently launched a pretty awesome cloud-based storage locker, giving users 5GB of cloud storage absolutely free. On the surface, it looks like another Dropbox ripoff, but the magic is in the music. You can upload your music to your clouddrive and then play it in a browser or from your Android phone. Any music you purchase from Amazon can be stored on your clouddrive without counting against your storage limit. The problem with all this is that Amazon did not consult the major labels regarding streaming fees before launching the service.
Now, there is pretty much a stand-off going on between Amazon and the major record companies. The labels think Amazon should have to pay so that users can stream their music from the cloud. I agree with MP3Tunes CEO Michael Robertson, when he says “the labels have engaged in a legal terror campaign over the last 10 years using litigation to try and slow technology progress.” He also gives us an interesting take on what could happen here:
Amazon’s entrance into the business is enormously significant because it will dictate whether Apple or Google enter into a license for their own service or go the unlicensed path. If the labels take no action against Amazon, then expect Apple and Google to follow in their footsteps
via TechCrunch, Reuters
Sprint Opposes T-Mobile AT&T Merger
In a completely unsurprising move, Sprint is opposing a potential acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T. They say such a merge would “reduce competition and harm consumers.” Sprint, currently the number 3 carrier, would could be the biggest loser if AT&T and T-Mobile joined forces. They would end up so far behind Verizon and AT&T-Mobile that catching up might be impossible. Regardless of their primary motives for opposing the transaction, Sprint does make a valid point.
AT&T and Verizon are already by far the largest wireless providers. If approved, the proposed acquisition would create a combined company that would be almost three times the size of Sprint in terms of wireless revenue and would entrench AT&T’s and Verizon’s duopoly control over the wireless market. The wireless industry moving forward would be dominated overwhelmingly by two vertically integrated companies with unprecedented control over the U.S. wireless post-paid market, as well as the availability and price of key inputs, such as backhaul and access needed by other wireless companies to compete.
Vonya McCann, senior vice president of Government Affairs, went on to say “on behalf of our customers, our industry and our country, Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly.”
Location Aware Musical Albums?
A band by the name of BlueBrain has added another dimension to their music album. Harnessing the power of location and mobile, the rhythms and beats change as you physically walk around The National Mall in Washington, D.C.:
When we first had the idea of what was possible with location awareness, we thought about how smartphones have opened the flood gates to what is creatively possible in so many senses. We had this idea of having the music progress and change based on a person’s location. We decided to release an album that’s also an app with whole melodic phrases that change based on a listener’s location. It’s something that no musician has ever had the opportunity to do before. We went to work, and are very excited to show the world. — Ryan Holladay
Will.i.am actually talked about something similar in reference to the Black Eyed Peas 3D music video app. He mentioned the fact that the technology will influence how music is written and created, which is exactly what happened with the BlueBrain album. They started with the concept of a location-based album and built the music around it. A lot of time was spent exploring the mall and the music was composed based on the different areas.
via TNW