Entelligence: Technology is fashion and the new fashion is technology

I’ve been a technology industry analyst for some time now, and I can tell you that the benchmark of a great analyst is the quality of the advice you give based on how well you’re able to forecast trends. In my tenure, my team hasn’t often been wrong. But let me share a secret — here’s one where we totally missed the ball.
A vendor — who shall remain nameless — briefed us in the late 90s with the idea of creating a line of PCs targeted at a mass market audience, with a special focus on the female demographic. The idea was to build PCs in a range of and shapes and focus the marketing efforts through places like Cosmo instead of the usual PC magazines. We were asked to evaluate the plan, and without the slightest hesitation I responded that it was the dumbest idea I’d ever listened to — period. (This is the tact that only an analyst can bring to the table.) I recall saying something to the effect of no user will ever buy a PC because it comes in five delicious flavors. The vendor forgot all about their plans and our analysis proved accurate — until Steve Jobs and the iMac came along. If I had to put a stake in the ground that’s when technology became fashionable.
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Entelligence: Technology is fashion and the new fashion is technology originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:48:00 EST.



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