Yes this is about sporks. We will get there.
This article had this comment:
“As a linux and mac user at home and a very reluctant MS user at work (saved by a large smattering of open source progs here, thankyouverymuch), I can say without a doubt that the advert for Bing alone is enough to put me off. Even if it wasn’t owned by MS… “the decision engine”? Now MS is telling us that they have been keeping us locked in their OS for decades, but now officially, they want us to willingly hand over our ability to make decisions to them. Sure! Why Not? I hope google stays on top of MS on this one. And that Chrome OS winds up kicking Windows 7 in the tookis. That’s right. The good guy winning for once. – sorry. I’m ranty today.”
*aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand…* it made me think of something… something I hadn’t thought of in a long time. Well, we will start with my thoughts, and then get to the spork analogy for business and life.
I am a ridiculous clouded out google fan boy. I will say this:
1) Google does “search” well, as well as innovation.. but….  Their google desktop has consistently been problematic for my machines (crashing, eating memory). The Chrome browser is the single worst browser in the history of the universe. That.. my friends.. is not hyperbole. Maybe that is my opinion, but jeez… it’s a disaster. I really don’t have much hope for the Chrome OS.
2) I have zero time for Bing. It doesn’t work well (yet? more use the better it gets?) for me…. but the idea of it being a “decision engine” is all marketing and nobody is literally assuming they are giving MS the ability to make decisions for them. The Pareto principle is going to have me waiting and seeing whether it is worth any time at all… so for the time being they are not going to make any decisions for me at all. What’s more, the only thing I find myself typing into Bing is “Google” and I wonder what percentage of people are doing that (tongue in cheek)
3) I want google to kick butt.. big time. I like them… they could do better with back end customer service, but they are trying.
As divisive and outlandish a blogger might like to be in regards to opinions, it never really is that simple, is it?
I am conservative in business, and I see a trend that I am not too thrilled about, and it might be wise to consider.
Enter….
The problem with this situation is precisely about the spork…. the spork is a simple, complete analogy for most situations…. it’s not just about business, it’s about the overriding human condition.
The spork has prongs far too short to actually effectively pick up peas, or meat; just as the spoon is far too shallow to actually be used for soup or the like.
By trying to be efficient, adaptable, and multifunctional – it miserably fails at everything.
Nintendo is a good example of not falling prey to that… as Sony and Microsoft launched into this world of being too many things… DVD, gaming, sound, computer, “media centers”, Nintendo leaned back and said… “Go for it. You guys be “too much”… we will be the game system everyone buys and connects to your media centers. It is far and wide the industry leader in gaming, 2 to 1 vs. competitors. I am not a gamer, don’t own a system, and am more likely to go online and play a free donkey kong knock off…. but I still have to thank Nintendo for that. It does, however, offer an interesting view of business: An acumen for knowing your limitations, and knowing what you do well.
I am not saying Google should stay put and not play this technological game of Risk and world domination…. nor am I suggesting that MS should sit idle in this rapidly redefining tech world. I am just saying they both run the risk at failing at everything by trying to be too many things. Of course, their shareholders would never let that happen, right?