A lot of articles have sprung up about Steve Jobs and the legacy he is leaving behind. Some question the future of innovation and technology now that the icon is no more.
I found this article in BusinessWeek particularly insightful about the impact Steve Jobs has had on the manner in which we consume media, especially music, magazines, and books. The article argues that the iPod actually helped save the global music industry, which was in decline by creating the iTunes store through which music could be previewed and purchased, legally. The article refers to the iPod as a “disruption” that although wasn’t the first in its category, was successful because it combined the technology with the content, making both available to the user through one platform.
The iPhone is referred to as a “ground-breaking” media consumption device, which created a new lingo of “apps” that everyone was racing to put their content on. The iPad, similarly, changed the way people consumed news and published media, choosing to read The Economist and The Wall Street Journal on their iPads rather than the traditional paper forms. Apple also disrupted the model Amazon has worked hard to set-up through it’s offering, the Kindle. Instead of using market dominance, Apple used an “agency-model of pricing” with publishers and retailers. Even though this model didn’t dislodge Amazon’s status as number one in the industry in terms of book sales, it certainly increased the competition.
In conclusion, Steve Jobs managed to disrupt and change the traditional ways in which we have consumed media, a change that will have considerable implications on how and what new technology is created next.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/steve-jobs-and-the-continuing-disruption-of-media-10062011_page_2.html
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