When Transparency Makes Hiding Impossible
The outrage over the rejection of Google’s iPhone Voice App has hit Apple and AT&T right in the face. Who was the clever dude at either of these companies that thought that they could fly under the radar with declining Google one of their most sought after apps?
The spin is now in full effect as AT&T is denying any involvement and Apple coming up with a very lame excuse: “GV is hurting iPhone’s distinct user experience”. Apple is in quite a pickle: they need to play nice with their business partner AT&T (who is known for having the worst customer service in the galaxy) while not making their *fans* turn on them. Speed is of essence here (as always) as there is a global tidal wave building up not see since the days of Gil Amelio.
When the news about this story hit the tape I smiled. It illustrates so well one of the reasons I love the web: transparency. Dirty deeds done dirt cheap will be hard to get away with in a meritocratic, transperant and authentic world.
Any startup understand these three things. Your brand is who you are, how you act and what you do. It’s very clear to people / customers / users if a company / brand is authentic or not.
We are far away from being in a world where transparency, authenticity and merits rule. Food processing companies are still refusing to let their customer know if the food they are selling is genetically engineered. Telecom companies have monopoly and overcharges on SMS that are virtual free. The banking industry refuses to come clean about how much toxic assets they have on their balance sheets.
It would be cool to enter a world where business is actually creating value w/o hiding, spinning or cheating customers. It’s great to see FCC finally doing their job (SEC, take a note) and I hope we’ll see the Google Voice app in the iTunes store really soon. It’s a great service, good for competition and the right thing to do.
