632
Apple’s share price has passed Google’s at $632-a-share. Share prices are basically meaningless since the number of shares outstanding differ (Apple has nearly 3x the number of shares out there, and as such, nearly 3x the valuation). But the numbers are interesting in historical context. They show what a ride Apple has been on (while Google has remained relatively static).
When Google went public in 2004 and their stock immediately popped over $100-a-share, Apple’s stock was trading around $15-a-share. When Google’s stock hit $500-a-share in November 2006, Apple’s stock was around $85-a-share. When Google shares peaked in late 2007 over $700-a-share and people were wondering if the stock was the next Berkshire Hathaway (up, up and away!), Apples stock was around $150-a-share.
With the price and the number of shares outstanding, Apple’s valuation is now approaching $600 billion. The next closest company in terms of valuation is Exxon. Their market cap is $400 billion. The nearest tech company is Microsoft. Their market cap is $265 billion.
In-sane.
Insane indeed!
Source: parislemon
The unbearable “Sound of silence” - #sierre
On March 14, 22 children and 6 adults lost their precious lives in an accident in Sierre, Switzerland.
Language is not a barrier when hearing the unbearable sound of silence. A country divided by language stands united in tragedy, the tragedy of 28 lives taken away from their families and friends in a purposeless accident.
Belgium was completely silenced at 11AM today, March 16, national day of mourning.
Will we remember the true value of life when noise takes over again? Will we be able to distinguish the important from the futile any better after this confrontation with real life tragedy? And most importantly, will relatives and friends of the deceased be able to listen to the sound of life again some day… ?
All my best to the people affected by this incomprehensible event.
(my thoughts go out especially to Kirsten and the kids)
Interview with Jonathan Ive, some inspiring quotes
Jonathan Ive, Sr. VP Industrial Design at Apple does say some inspiring things in this interview.
(source: London Evening Standard - Mark Prigg)
For one, collaboration in the creative design process is crucial:
…The nature of having ideas and creativity is incredibly inspiring. There is an idea which is solitary, fragile and tentative and doesn’t have form. What we’ve found here is that it then becomes a conversation, although remains very fragile.
…The way we work at Apple is that the complexity of these products really makes it critical to work collaboratively, with different areas of expertise.
His view on innovation is strikingly obvious:
…There are different approaches - sometimes things can irritate you so you become aware of a problem, which is a very pragmatic approach and the least challenging. What is more difficult is when you are intrigued by an opportunity.
…This is why these innovations are so hard - there are no points of reference.
He also stresses the importance of consumer awareness of the care people at Apple have for the products they design and develop. This interview does give an indication.
Source: http
Data roaming in Europe - #frustration
Data roaming in the EU… a never ending story if you ask me. Mobile internet usage keeps on rising, apps are commonly used and accessible to everybody. We all want to use the internet anywhere, anytime!
To me, as an IT kind of guy, it’s rather simple to predict which service on my phone or iPad will use a certain amount of data, but I can imagine that for someone not into the technicalities, this is not equally easy.
(data services tariff overview, EC)
So, we found the solution! We will send an sms when usage exceeds a certain threshold (as in: money)… Excuse my choice of words but that’s just plain bullsh*t!
Get those mobile operators around a table and figure out an innovative way of dealing with roaming! Really, this cannot be that hard? I’m sure that people will find a workaround soon. Operators will lose a major part of their turnover if they don’t act now… .
Always knew I’m not really a “southern” kind of person… . (except for Australia ;) ).
So my “better life” is situated somewhere between Canada and Austria… I’ll have to buy my wife some flowers and have a good chat with her! :)
European Innovation - some thoughts
If you look at the scoreboard, some (expected) results pop up.
Report: INNOVATION UNION SCOREBOARD 2011
- Decline in Venture Capital investments: I guess this is partly due to conservatism and the difficult economical situation. Nevertheless, it’s my opinion that this remains a very important field for supporting innovation. Opportunities are there, we only need to acknowledge them.
- Scandinavian countries score well… as expected. Other countries in the EU can learn a lot from our northern member states. What’s with the lack of cross-country-knowledge-sharing? I’m missing initiatives on this part. (and please don’t tell me “language” is still a barrier, nor is “culture”.)
- Some countries acknowledge and act on these numbers. Take Austria for instance, WKÖ-Vizepräsidentin Schultz. Many others should act on these numbers too. An economical decline is a driver for innovation, only when we support initiatives.
… I’ll update this post some more later probably.
The art of Listening!
Service Delivery and the art of listening is what keeps me wondering these days.
My previous post about tourism in Austria is actually a good example. Austrian tourism workers are genuinely ”good listeners”. They really hear what tourists are asking for and most of the time, they deliver! These people are service minded and flexible, they are open to suggestion and they don’t fear what’s new and happening. They don’t cling to conservative values (except for their own well-known traditions) but are always seeking that small opening helping their business take “the extra mile”. They are not blinded by budget forecasts and process flows but instead every move they make starts with listening to the customer.
This way of doing business for many creates a lot of uncertainty. It implies that you adapt your business model to continuous change. A kind of dynamism we tend to swear off in times of economical crisis where we seek stability and retention above all.
Being in ICT Service Management, I get confronted with this attitude daily. We are afraid to provide transparency as this could generate change and change attributes uncertainty about our future. We are afraid to communicate as communication implies confrontation which will force us to reflect on what we do and how we do this.
In other words, we’re afraid to listen…
Tourism in wonderful Austria!
Every year I’m more amazed of the adoption of new- and social media in Austria! Tourism in this beautiful country is not seldom described as simple and conservative… yet, I don’t know any other country (I’m not exactly a world traveler) so in to new media opportunities!
Finding a hotel is dead easy. Lot’s of them have a decent website, free WiFi, a facebook page, Foursquare entries, yes even Google+ pages!
The bigger resorts now already have their own mobile app. Some even have free WiFi on the slopes!
This country’s tourism industry really makes an effort! And yet, the people are amazingly friendly and down to earth… (and yes, they make very good schnapps :) )
Just a few nice examples of great resorts:
Ski Amadé - amazing use of technology - free WiFi hotspots, mobile App, …
Some examples of hotel- and/or resort info sites:
I could go on for ages… just to say, I never experienced a bad holiday in Austria. To me, it’s an innovative “wolf in disguise” with many friendly but smart people running a strong tourism business!
Maybe I’m just “homesick”?
Das aktuelle Wetter in Lech Zürs am Arlberg
Some nice weather in Lech… very nice and cold!
Crisis 2.0, the year is 2012.
When I read the news today (talking mainly EU here), I start wondering how we will ever overcome this financial crisis? Somewhere along all those depressing statements, one has to say “stop, clear your head and think!”. I can’t loose the feeling that battling the crisis by mitigation measures is the only priority we define.
What will we do when we succeed? When every big company and even every family home is “economically dried out”?
Top priorities should also contain “new (means of) business” (in the broad sense). We should stimulate people in just going the other way, taking a turn and move on! Creating opportunities and motivating other people in doing great things. We should empower young people, allow them to develop some of their great ideas and we should focus on the “grey spots” in society where people with great ideas have no means of sharing them or even expressing their thoughts.
Our current approach is surely taking us into an evolutionary coma if you ask me… .
But, I’m not all negative of course. I do see a whole new year of novelty and surprises! We’re only day 2 and already I’m noticing a lot of people standing in the front of the line, acting like children at the entrance of a new playground.
Well, wish all of you a great and exciting 2012. Now let’s get busy and have some fun doing that! ;)
