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Apple buys controlling stake in Facebook to deal Android it's Ultimate Blow.

post #1 of 18
2/6/12 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
So obviously this is speculation. But Apple has the finances and motive to beat on Android by offering deep Facebook integration in iOS that Google can only dream of.

Imagine a scenario in which Apple buys an enormous stake in Facebook redefining the smartphone on a social level. I honestly can't even begin to imagine the innovation that would take place.

What are your thoughts?
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post #2 of 18
2/7/12 at 7:06am
What does Facebook have to do with killing Google?

I hate Facebook. I'll never use it. I'd hate to see iOS integration. Apple's killing blow to Google would be buying Wolfram|Alpha.

Oh, and having Oracle win their Android suits and Apple win enough to bring their fight to the US.
Suddenly Newton
I actually use my phone. It's not some self-esteem crutch.
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Suddenly Newton
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post #3 of 18
2/7/12 at 7:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HyteProsector View Post

I honestly can't even begin to imagine the innovation that would take place.

Taking very high-level concepts and putting them together hoping it makes something better doesn't always work e.g:

Facebook (popular) + iOS (popular) = iOS/Facebook (more popular)

You have to consider how the two would integrate to make something better. Twitter integration works because it's a messaging app so you can tweet pics and comments. They could offer Facebook links that do the same but it's not innovative.

Apple also doesn't have the best history working with Facebook:

http://allthingsd.com/20100902/faceb...-after-launch/

You never really hear much about Ping in their keynotes. This article is fairly anti-Apple but makes some points about their social network isolation:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/20993...for_users.html

I'd say that Ping as a brand should be done away with and simply replaced with some Twitter feature. You have TwitPics but they can use TwitTunes.

Artists can post a TwitTune, which could be a music track sample hosted on iTunes and links back to iTunes.

Social integration has to have a purpose or people won't use it.
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post #4 of 18
2/19/12 at 11:31am
Why not just integrate Ping with Facebook and/or Twitter? Hell why not surprise everyone and even tie in to Google+!

Microsoft is invested in Facebook. This will be good for MS. Bad for Google and Apple. Sometimes it pays for companies to work together, and they both profit, and the consumer wins, too. Odd that Microsoft is such a good example. But look at how they integrated skype, Bing search, etc. They are upgrades in my opinion. I also assume MS is helping FB with running the servers and infrastructure behind the scenes. That was a smart MSFT investment.
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"Overpopulation and climate change are serious shit." Gilsch
"I was really curious how they had managed such fine granularity of alienation." addabox
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post #5 of 18
2/19/12 at 12:07pm
  • hmm
  • Keylogger
This has troll thread written all over it.
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post #6 of 18
2/19/12 at 7:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by majjo View Post

I don't see how this would affect google much, if at all.

Well for starters. You're looking at this from the wrong perspective. The title didn't say anything about Google. It said Android. No one is going to over throw Google in the area of search in the immediate future.

However, Android is costing Apple millions in sales. Androids weak spot is Social Integration. There's no way Google+ is going to win many people over as it hasn't reached critical mass yet.

Smartphones are inherently social devices. The opportunities for integration are endless. Think: managing your Facebook photos from the native photo app. Managing your contacts using Facebook friends. Sharing events to Calendar. Facebook messenger/ email client hybridization... the list seriously goes on and on. (and I'm just coming up with this just off the top of my head...)

And then there's Safari.

Facebook makes their money through their ads. Web traffic is going mobile and Facebook is going to see a drop in ad revenue in 5 years unless they do something serious about it.

Incorporating Facebook ads into Safari would make sense for both Apple and Facebook. Android wouldn't really be able to compete with the social integration. Users would have a much more immersive experience besides the fact that people would love it.

And just for the record. I'm not even a Facebook users. But the marriage makes a lot of sense. Twitter just isn't going to cut it.
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post #7 of 18
2/20/12 at 8:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HyteProsector View Post

Well for starters. You're looking at this from the wrong perspective. The title didn't say anything about Google. It said Android. ...

Too cute by half. Google owns Android. That is not the real problem with your OP, however. The real problem is that your OP flys in the face of how Apple does business. Your OP as reiterated in the post to which this is responding is monopolistic behavior with a monopolistic motive.

You suggested that Apple leverage its dominance in smart phones to limit the ability of another compete to compete with Apple's own iPhone. However, Apple can't just go out and buy an up-and-coming company like Facebook with impunity. A purchase of this sort must pass antitrust muster with the Department of Justice. Even during the Bush Administration, the purchasing company would have to sacrifice certain related elements of its current business or divest components of the business to be purchased. They also must guarantee that competitors like Android have full access to Facebook. There is no guarantee that the Obama Administration would allow such a purchase to go forward.

At the end of the day, the purchase would ensure the very thing that it was intended to prevent in the best case. In the worst case, the purchase would sully Apple's reputation.
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post #8 of 18
2/20/12 at 10:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post

Too cute by half.

Introduction fail. I'm pretty sure the expression you're looking for is "too CLEVER by half". And mixing it with "too cute by far"...? Not sure. But if you're the type of guy who resorts to insisting upon calling a 15 year old on the internet "cute"... more power to ya.

The point was that phones are inherently social devices and social networking integration would be killer. That is all. I never said pull the Facebook app from the Android store. I never said anything about making it a closed system. I just found the idea interesting for fodder.

Best of luck with your continuing encounters with teenagers.
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post #9 of 18
2/20/12 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HyteProsector View Post

...

The point was that phones are inherently social devices and social networking integration would be killer. ...

All phones are inherently social devices. This is not at issue. What is at issue is the prospect of Apple buying Facebook. You do not make a business case for the purchase. You only state that it should be as a defensive measure to forestall Google's Android. I am aware no instance in Apple's history when it behaved in this way. Now that it is the world's richest corporation with a dominant position in smart phones, I contend that it is too late to start acting in such a predatory manner.
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post #10 of 18
2/21/12 at 7:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post

All I am aware no instance in Apple's history when it behaved in this way. Now that it is the world's richest corporation with a dominant position in smart phones, I contend that it is too late to start acting in such a predatory manner.

Great man. I comprehended that the first time. Well the quoted facts are that Apple doesn't want to act in just a "predatory manner". Steve Jobs didn't care if Apple had to dump $100Bil on it. He wanted to go "Thermonuclear". I dunno sounds pretty rash to me... Where's your killer instincts? Do you honestly believe Google ripping off iOS from right inside Apple's boardroom is kosher? THAT sounds pretty effed up. Regardless. Facebook, iOS integration would destroy what is currently offered through Twitter.
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post #11 of 18
2/21/12 at 2:56pm
Earth to HyteProsector--Apple is well known for retaining an armies of attorneys which it uses to battle its enemies in courts of law. It does not take the law into its own hands. Apple has suffers losses in court. On balance, however, Apple has done well by staying within the law. Your suggestion runs the risk of having Apple add the U. S. Government and other governments to its list of adversaries. IMHO, that would be dumb in the extreme.
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post #12 of 18
2/21/12 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
So why hasn't any government blinked at Apple's inclusion of Twitter? And what would the difference of Facebook be? Anyways. Agree to disagree I suppose.

FB integration is something GOOG will never be able to accomplish. That's all.
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post #13 of 18
2/21/12 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HyteProsector View Post

So why hasn't any government blinked at Apple's inclusion of Twitter? And what would the difference of Facebook be? Anyways. Agree to disagree I suppose.

FB integration is something GOOG will never be able to accomplish. That's all.

Say what? Apple does not own Twitter And what did Apple include Twitter in?
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post #14 of 18
2/21/12 at 7:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HyteProsector View Post

So why hasn't any government blinked at Apple's inclusion of Twitter?

What law is that breaking?
Suddenly Newton
I actually use my phone. It's not some self-esteem crutch.
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Suddenly Newton
I actually use my phone. It's not some self-esteem crutch.
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post #15 of 18
2/22/12 at 10:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by majjo View Post

Funny you should mention that, because the one phone I know of that specializes in Facebook integration, the htc chacha, runs Android: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAyrZiFC2V4

I agree that its unlikely that GOOG will able to get full blown FB integration considering they have a competing service...

Yes. See? People want more Facebook on their smartphone. I honestly didn't think my attention grabbing headline would spark so much debate.

I don't know how well Spotify is actually doing. But if an when it does fail to gain traction in the US... There will be only one other *real* place to turn for music integration in the social sphere.
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post #16 of 18
2/23/12 at 3:16pm
Thread Starter 
"We do a lot with (Facebook), our users use Facebook an enormous amount," he said, adding: "I've always thought that the two companies could do more together." -Tim Cook @ today's shareholder meeting. Fancy that...
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post #17 of 18
2/23/12 at 3:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HyteProsector View Post

Steve Jobs didn't care if Apple had to dump $100Bil on it. He wanted to go "Thermonuclear". I dunno sounds pretty rash to me... Where's your killer instincts? Do you honestly believe Google ripping off iOS from right inside Apple's boardroom is kosher? THAT sounds pretty effed up.

ArsTechnica has put up a very well-grounded article discussing just that. No hint of fanboy-ism for either side. Just a balanced (IMO) discussion of facts and timelines, with opinion on the way the market has developed and why.

Highly recommended reading to put things into perspective.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...the-iphone.ars

melior diabolus quem scies

"No theatrics and no more personal attacks, just stick to the logic and tell me why I don't have any argument ~ Jragosta/2012

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melior diabolus quem scies

"No theatrics and no more personal attacks, just stick to the logic and tell me why I don't have any argument ~ Jragosta/2012

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post #18 of 18
2/23/12 at 6:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post

Highly recommended reading to put things into perspective.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...the-iphone.ars

Totally relevant article. Someone from Xerox PARC in the 70's made the famous quote of (something along the lines of)... "the future already exists you just have to go out and put the pieces together" I think it was Alan Kay or Bob Taylor... not sure.

Unfortunately, putting the pieces together and knowing which one's to assemble is a ridiculous project. The $100Bill cell phone industry didn't even come close before the iPhone. That statement alone comes with a lot of weight.

Michelangelo put it best. He said "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

Apple discovered the David inside the tech world. I think thats incredibly laudable.

No one came up with the magical formula for putting a smartphone together before Apple. If they did they would be the ones raking in billions instead.
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