Apple News, Analysis and Podcasts

This weekend Apple added a Japan Tsunami donation page to iTunes. Apple claims 100% of your donation will go to the Red Cross. Last week social media giant Facebook announced the rental of Warner Bros. movies through Facebook. In response Netflix stock took a 5.8% hit on the news. Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos fired back (in fear) "Nobody goes to Facebook to watch movies."  Ah,... yet. I remember no one was going to watch movies on their computer when Netflix first started their online streaming services too. There really is no reason Facebook can't do what Netflix did by integrating their movie service into the AppleTV, XBox 360, Wii and more.

These are just two examples (iTunes donation, Facebook movies) of giants walking about and running out of room, so they start bumping into one another.

Back in December I wrote about how Facebook could be Apple's biggest threat. As reality plays out, it seems these two behemoths will continue to step on each other's toes while squishing smaller species. Netflix is a very popular service and has served the market well, but it only has one revenue stream — renting movies. If someone else comes along and makes it easier, better or cheaper, where does Netflix turn to find revenue to continue competing? Donations to the Red Cross have been a popular choice for Americans who want to help in some way when disasters strike around the world. A few years back when a Tsunami struck Thailand we saw many donating money to the Red Cross by their cell phones — a first. Now iTunes is front and center. At the time of this writing a Facebook Japan Tsunami Relief page has just under 1,000 "likes". Google is featuring its people finder application to help people located missing family and friends in Japan.

These large tech giants know that they must show they are caring and authentic when tragedy strikes — even on the other side of the world. This is especially important to Gen-Yer's ( 17 - 34 year olds). A company's brand can quickly disintegrate to this important demographic if it is seen they are just greedy, corporate sons of b$tches that don't care about the environment and those in need.

So the race is on once again, but this time in a "caring" way. Which company can gain the most favor by showing its compassion? Apple is using iTunes because it already has an economic engine and a very wide reach. Facebook seems a little slow, but it's still early and Facebook tends to let the community drive content. That strategy may not be so great this time out. And Google's person finder app is a great contribution, if it works.

In the meantime while giants walk among us, we'll continue to pray for the disaster torn country of Japan.

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